Building the Next Alphas (Another Article on Samsung)
by: hlpinout
By John G. Spooner, PC Week Online
December 7, 1998 9:00 AM ET
Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd. plans to begin
mass-producing the next generation of Alpha
processors by the end of the year.
The Seoul, South Korea, company, which
has been manufacturing second-generation
Alpha chips since last year, announced the
plans to build third-generation Alpha
processors two weeks ago.
Starting this month, Samsung Electronics will
supply third-generation Alpha processors to
Compaq Computer Corp. for use in the
Houston company's servers and
workstations.
Compaq's most recent Alpha-based servers
include the high-end AlphaServer GS series,
based on Alpha 21264. Compaq has
announced plans for Alpha-based ProLiant
Windows NT servers, due in the first half of
next year.
Over time, Samsung will become the primary
manufacturer of the Alpha, edging out Intel
Corp. That's because Compaq, the largest
Alpha customer, said that Samsung is
competitive in pricing and next-generation
process technology.
Samsung Electronics said that the forthcoming Alphas will double the
data processing performance over second-generation chips, which run
at speeds of up to 633MHz, and add real-time audio and video
playback along with improved support for Windows NT and Unix.
Samsung Electronics also recently announced that it has developed a
new 0.18-micron process for Alpha, which it will use to increase the
chip's speed to 1GHz in the second half of next year. In the same time
period, it also plans to switch to copper interconnects for Alpha.
Going forward, Samsung Electronics expects the processor to become
the mainstay of its nonmemory business, with projected sales of more
than $100 million next year and more than $1 billion in the next five
years.
Samsung Electronics is a member of Alpha Processors Inc., a joint
venture with Compaq and Intel that provides a single point for sales and
marketing for Alpha.
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