To: kash johal who wrote (62799 ) 6/22/1999 10:32:00 PM From: kapkan4u Read Replies (1) | Respond to of 1579770
Nice synergies are emerging between the K7 and Alpha infrastructures:techweb.com The Alpha Processor subsidiary of Samsung will bring the costs of Alpha-based systems to a new low as it launches two motherboards and a processor module at PC Expo in New York this week. The company will also tip word of a low-cost version of the Alpha 21264 processor it plans to produce early next year, and it will demo a 1-GHz version of the chip that is expected to ship in next year's second quarter. The Alpha group on Tuesday will roll out its UP1000 motherboard, which uses a modified version of Advanced Micro Devices' Iron Gate chip set. The board is geared for systems that could sell for as little as $3,500. "This will be the lowest-cost desktop platform Alpha has ever had," said Gerry Talbot, chief technology officer of Alpha Processor. The company will also roll out a board that uses Compaq's Tsunami chip set and targets systems that would sell for about $4,500. The UP2000 reduces memory-upgrade options to shave costs from an existing Alpha board aimed at a $6,000 system configuration. Both boards will use a Slot B processor module defined by Alpha Processor and based on the mechanical specs of Intel's Slot 2 for Xeon processors. Slot B uses a massive copper heat spread and accommodates 5-volt or 12-volt operation. The 21264 draws 1.5 volts to 2 volts and will ultimately hit 1.5 GHz, Talbot said. At PC Expo, the company will demonstrate a version of the 21264 running at 1 GHz, though it does not expect to ship such speed grades in volume until the second quarter of 2000. A 750-MHz version, made in a 0.25-micron process with aluminum interconnects, will ship in July. Samsung will bring up a 0.18-micron process with a mixture of aluminum and copper interconnects late this year. The shift is expected to yield parts at 833 MHz before year's end. Alpha Processor expects to ship a low-cost version of the 21264 early next year that will be based on a die shrink of the 264 core running at less than 800 MHz and fabricated in a 0.18-micron process. Late next year, Samsung will add silicon-on-insulator and a more extensive use of copper to eventually yield parts as fast as 1.5 GHz.