Compaq Computer Corp launched a new workstation yesterday, the first in a new line of what it is calling affordable performance systems. The AP400 is a dual processor system using the Intel 440BX chipset and the AGP Advanced Graphics Port, using up to two 350MHz or 400MHz processors, and a range of graphics options from entry-level Matrox Millennium II 2D up to Diamond Fire GL 4000 3D. The workstation supports Ultra ATA and Wide Ultra SCSI hard drives ranging from 4.3Gb to 9.1Gb. Prices start from $2,600. Compaq spokesman Gary Frazier said the new Windows NT workstation marked the first stage in a new initiative at Compaq to break its workstation line down into multiple subsets for different market sectors. All our previous products were designed to get the most performance you could get, but customers are now telling us that they have other uses for which those systems are overkill. Compaq’s current high-end line includes the 5100, 6000 and 8000 line, and the company cut prices on those lines by up to 28% yesterday, simultaneously with the new systems launch. That brings the 5100 prices to a level below the new AP400 to just under $2,200 – it uses slower chips and has less memory and disk space, and is obviously not long for this world. The next stage is for Compaq to rationalize its high-end systems, something that is likely to be timed with the launch of the next generation of its HPSA highly parallel system architecture, using technology from Fujitsu Ltd’s Reliance Computer Corp (CI No 3,371).
