Digital Equipment Corporation
                                               Maynard, Massachusetts 01754-2571

Editorial contact:

Sarah Miller
(508) 493-1822

Sandy Hennessy
(508) 493-1827


                  DIGITAL WORKSTATIONS SET NEW MARK FOR SPEED,
               PRICE/PERFORMANCE IN OPEN CLIENT/SERVER COMPUTING


           New Multiprocessor Clustered Server, Workstation Pricing
      	            Push Alpha AXP Power and Affordability


MAYNARD, Mass. -- July 21, 1994 -- Digital Equipment Corporation today continued
its workstation leadership in open client/server computing with two  new  models
boasting the industry's best performance and price/performance. Digital's latest
desktop and  deskside  workstations  combine  the  world's  fastest  single-chip
microprocessors with new graphics accelerator cards to  provide  the  industry's
best 2D graphics performance and superior 3D performance.

Digital also reduced the price of  the  DEC 3000 Model 600 AXP,  the  industry's
most  powerful  workstation  under   $20,000.   Further,   it   introduced   the
AdvantageCluster  Compute Server 5000  system,  offering  high-performance  UNIX
clustering capability with symmetric multi-processing (SMP) support.


Power-Hungry Applications

The new workstations, DEC 3000 Models 700 and 900 AXP, are  based  on  Digital's
newest Alpha AXP microprocessors that incorporate CMOS-5,  the  industry's  most
advanced semiconductor technology. Both workstations  run  DEC OSF/1,  Digital's
standards-compliant  UNIX,  and  powerful  OpenVMS   operating   systems.   This
capability gives users access to a huge portfolio of nearly five thousand  Alpha
AXP applications.

"We're seeing  sharp  growth  in  the  number  of  customers  with  power-hungry
applications that require true 64-bit computing and  full  64-bit  UNIX.  Unlike
some vendors who are telling customers they will have to wait until the  end  of
the century to get this power, Digital is providing it  now  with  its  complete
workstation  lineup,"  said  Willy  Shih,  Digital  vice  president,  UNIX   and
Windows NT Systems.

"The business implications for this advanced technology are enormous. Users  can
run complex technical, business, and scientific applications  right  from  their
workstations with quicker response and faster turnaround, leaving them more time
to develop new designs, run more simulations or improve existing  models,"  Shih
added.

"The software versatility inherent in the Alpha AXP architecture is the basis of
our operating system neutral strategy. It ensures protection of  our  customers'
software investments," noted Jesse Lipcon, vice president, OpenVMS  Systems  and
Servers. "These hot new workstations provide an excellent growth  path  for  the
hundreds of thousands of OpenVMS  workstation  users,  with  complete  operating
system and application compatibility," he said.


World's Fastest Desktop 

The DEC 3000 Model 700 AXP workstation, powered by the Alpha  AXP  21064A-225MHz
microprocessor, is the industry's fastest desktop system.  It  offers  customers
the best combination of performance, price/performance, and 2D  and  3D  desktop
graphics   performance.   The   workstation   delivers   SPECint92   of    162.6
(SPECbase_int92 of 153.4) and SPECfp92 of 230.6 (SPECbase_fp92  of  213.3).  The
Model 700's processing capabilities enable it to handle large applications  such
as 2D, 3D MCAD (mechanical computer-aided design)  and  EDA  (electronic  design
automation), scientific visualization, and high-end financial modeling.


World's Fastest Deskside 

The DEC 3000 Model 900 AXP workstation easily handles the range of  applications
supported by the Model 700 and, in addition, excels at complex  applications  in
structural engineering, computational fluid dynamics,  structural  biology,  and
condensed matter physics. In most applications, that means faster and more vivid
image  processing  and  faster  time-to-market.  The  Model 900  features   more
expandability than comparable workstations from Hewlett-Packard. It provides six
I/O slots, one for  the  graphics  accelerator  and  the  others  available  for
customer requirements.

The new high-end deskside workstation is based on  the  Alpha AXP  21064A-275MHz
microprocessor,   the   world's   fastest   and   most   powerful    single-chip
microprocessor. The DEC 3000 Model 900 AXP workstation offers a 40%  performance
increase over the Model 800 which it replaces, and has double the disk capacity.
It delivers SPECint92 of 189.3 (SPECbase_int92 of 178.4) and SPECfp92  of  264.1
(SPECbase_fp92 of 244.6).


Pricing, Availability and Upgrades 

Prices begin at $27,698 for the DEC 3000 Model 700 AXP workstation  and  $43,373
for the Model 900. Board-swap upgrades from existing DEC 3000 Models 600 and 800
AXP workstations are available for $5,995 and $8,995, respectively. Shipments of
the new workstations begin next month.


Most Powerful Under $20,000 

The DEC 3000 Model 600 AXP workstation price has been reduced  to  $17,495  from
$19,995. Based on the Alpha AXP 21064  microprocessor  running  at  175MHz,  the
Model 600 is the fastest, most powerful workstation available  in  the  popular,
under-$20,000 price range.


High Performance Graphics Accelerator Cards 

Both DEC 3000 Models 700 and 900 AXP workstations use  the  new  2D  ZLX-E2  and
2D/3D ZLX-E3 graphics  accelerator  cards  for  high-speed  image  rendering  in
graphics-intensive applications. The ZLX-E3 and the Model 700 yield the  world's
top performance in the Xmark93 2D  benchmark  --  14.89  Xmarks,  and  the  best
desktop graphics performance -- 80.2 PLBwire93. In addition, the  ZLX-E1  yields
Xmarks of 16.82 on the Model 900, much faster than  competitive  offerings;  the
ZLX-E3 delivers superior PLBwire93 3D performance of 83.0.

The ZLX-E2, priced  at  $1,995,  accelerates  24-bit  pixel,  true  color  image
display. The ZLX-E3, delivering high-end 2D and 3D graphics capabilities, offers
superior 3D price/performance. Priced at only $2,995, the ZLX-E3 provides  users
with better 3D performance than  any  competitive  3D  graphics  options,  which
typically cost up to eight times more. Both accelerators provide the  industry's
best 2D graphics performance.

The ZLX-E family is one part  of  Digital's  overall  graphics  portfolio  which
includes the ZLX-M mid-range 3D graphics options and the Denali line of high-end
3D graphics.


Cost-Effective Supercomputer Replacement 

Featuring high-performance UNIX clustering capability with SMP support, the  new
AdvantageCluster Compute Server 5000 system excels as an economical solution for
such applications as complex process simulation, computational  fluid  dynamics,
and financial modeling. It consists of four Digital 2100 Model A500MP  rackmount
systems packaged in a single enclosure to create a cost-effective,  high-powered
alternative to costly supercomputing systems in networked UNIX environments.

The new server houses up to 16 Alpha AXP 21064 microprocessors and is expandable
to 400 processors. It is preloaded with Digital's multiprocessor-optimized  High
Performance FORTRAN (HPF) and Load Sharing Facility (LSF) software  for  dynamic
load balancing.

The processors in the AdvantageCluster Compute Server 5000  system  are  two  to
five times more powerful  than  processors  in  traditional  massively  parallel
processor  (MPP)  systems  such  as  those  from  Intel  and  Thinking  Machines
Corporation. Four- to 16-processor AdvantageCluster Compute Server 5000  systems
range in price from $200,000 to less than $300,000. The 16-processor system  has
power equivalent to 32- to 80-node systems from traditional  MPP  vendors  which
typically are priced from $1 to $5 million.

"Digital is the only computer manufacturer with  truly  clustered  systems  that
dramatically  boost  reliability  and  throughput,"  Shih  said.  "By  combining
clustering and multiprocessing techniques, the AdvantageCluster  Compute  Server
5000 equals or surpasses the performance of systems costing many times more."

Digital Equipment Corporation  is  the  world's  leader  in  open  client/server
solutions from personal computing to integrated worldwide  information  systems.
Digital's scalable  Alpha  AXP  platforms,  storage,  networking,  software  and
services, together with industry-focused solutions from business partners,  help
organizations compete and win in today's global marketplace.

                                      ####

Note to Editors:  Digital's new workstations with graphics accelerators will  be
                  demonstrated at the SIGGRAPH Conference & Exhibition,  at  the
		  Orange County Convention Center in Orlando, Florida, from July
		  26-28, in Booth #1006 (Hall B).

                  Digital, the Digital logo, DEC, Alpha AXP, AXP,  OpenVMS,  and
                  AdvantageCluster   are   trademarks   of   Digital   Equipment
                  Corporation.
 
                  Hewlett-Packard is a registered trademark  of  Hewlett-Packard
		  Company.  

                  Intel is a trademark of Intel Corporation.

                  Load Sharing Facility is a  trademark  of  Platform  Computing
                  Corporation.

		  OSF is a registered trademark  of  Open  Software  Foundation,
		  Inc.

                  UNIX is a registered trademark  licensed  exclusively  in  the
                  United States and other countries by X/Open Company, Ltd.

CORP/95/513
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Electronic Editorial Contact: 
  sarah.miller@bxb.mts.dec.com
  sandy.hennessy@mro.mts.dec.com
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