Digital Equipment Corp is not going to be left out of the chip fest – well it is the Microprocessor Forum in San Francisco this week – and the company today announces its second generation Alpha AXP RISC, the DECchip 21064A. The new part doubles the size of the on-chip cache and comes it 225MHz and 275MHz versions, with the faster rated at 170 SPECint92 and 290 SPECfp92. Overall performance of the faster one is put at 50% better than the existing 200MHz 21064. The parts will be fabricated in 0.5 micron 3.3V CMOS at DEC’s South Queensferry, Scotland and Hudson, Massachusetts plants. The slower one samples in December with volume in July at $970 for 5,000-up, samples of the faster follow in March with volume one year from now, at $1,595 for 5,000 or more.
