Author: Robert Hyatt
Date: 19:21:45 08/23/99
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On August 22, 1999 at 15:08:08, Bruce Moreland wrote: > >On August 22, 1999 at 13:13:20, José de Jesús García Ruvalcaba wrote: > >> You have asked for opinions about which new computer to buy. Your final >>decision depends on your specific needs and budget. >> But I have been thinking which computer would I buy if I needed one for my own >>personal use. >> And after some thought, my choice is an Alpha workstation. Those Dec guys offer >>really nice machines at reasonable prices. And they give you a lot of options to >>choose from. >>Their homepage: >>http://www.dec.com > >I can't imagine a circumstance where I personally would want one of these, and >here is why. > >1) Clones Alphas are much much cheaper. this is true, but the clones are also much worse machines. IE you won't find a clone with the ev56 bus... the PC bus is 64 bits wide.. that is pretty puny for feeding a real 64 bit architecture, yet it is what the clone makers use to be able to use all the PC support stuff. a 256 bit bus is very expensive and different from the PC. The digital alpha (500mhz) we used in paris was producing over 3x the performance of the P6/200 I was using on ICC at the time... I was doing 80K on the P6 and 250K in an identical position on that DEC machine. On a clone in another department here at UAB I was barely getting 2x faster using a 533 mhz machine. > >2) Salvage value can't be that high. I have a Polywell 533 mhz Alpha and I >can't figure out why anyone else would want it. My old Intel boxes are handed >down to my kids and work great for them. > common problem. :) I have several boxes laying around myself... >3) Performance is not that fantastic. You may get ahead of the curve for a bit, >but the Intel machines catch up quickly and there you are with something that >won't play Mech Warrior 3. they won't catch the 21264 for a couple of years I am afraid. It absolutely screams... > >4) The line of questionable longevity. I know that Intel will be around in five >years but Alpha might not be. > >bruce
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