DIGITAL'S NEW ALPHA 21066A CHIP WITH PCI PUTS MORE
                 SPEED INTO EMBEDDED APPLICATIONS, DESKTOP PCs


MAYNARD, Mass. -- November 14,  1994  --  Digital  Equipment  Corporation  today
announced a new, 0.50-micron version of  its  Alpha  21066  microprocessor.  The
Alpha 21066A chip features increased speed for faster realtime response in high-
-end embedded applications and higher performance in desktop applications. It is
the  latest  of  Digital  Semiconductor's  highly   integrated   microprocessors
containing the industry's first on-chip implementation of  the  PCI  (Peripheral
Component Interconnect) bus.

"The new, 233MHz Alpha 21066A chip enables us to put  the  power  of  the  Alpha
architecture into embedded, realtime control systems with more performance  than
ever," said Tim Miller, Digital  Semiconductor's  marketing  manager  for  Alpha
Microprocessors. "For the  Windows NT  desktop  market,  the  highly  integrated
design with PCI greatly simplifies the task of building low-cost  RISC  PCs.  We
are well positioned for this market, with more than 750  native-mode  Windows NT
applications shipping for Alpha systems  and  over  1,400  additional  committed
ports."

Miller added that Digital is an acknowledged leader in PCI technology, and  that
in addition to PCI support for all Alpha microprocessors, Digital  Semiconductor
offers a family of PCI  peripheral  products  for  Fast  Ethernet  and  Ethernet
networking, graphics, and PCI-to-PCI bridging.

Like its predecessor, the Alpha 21066A contains  an  integrated  on-chip  memory
controller and graphics accelerator in addition  to  the  PCI  interface.  These
features can substantially reduce the cost of system  implementations  based  on
the Alpha 21066A and provide an easy link to inexpensive,  off-the-shelf  memory
and peripheral devices. The  integrated,  richly  functional  design  makes  the
product especially useful for high-performance, small-form-factor applications.

The new chip also features programmable, software-controlled  power  management,
which can vastly reduce power consumption during periods of inactivity and  help
qualify systems for Energy Star certification.


More Power for Embedded Applications

The Alpha 21066A microprocessor is the latest and most powerful in a  family  of
highly integrated chips for high-end embedded applications. The  chip  has  been
chosen by Prime Option, Inc., as a controller for  high-end  print  engines.  It
will be used  by  Alpha  Data  Parallel  Systems  Ltd.  in  PC  and  workstation
accelerator platforms and as building blocks for parallel processing systems, as
well as by Alta Technology, Inc., in  board-level,  ATM  (Asynchronous  Transfer
Method)-linked parallel processors.

The Alpha 21066A chip also runs VxWorks for Alpha software, a realtime operating
system adapted from Wind River  Systems'  VxWorks  application  development  and
runtime system. VxWorks software is popular for developing and running  embedded
applications such as  network  routers,  RAID  controllers,  industrial  process
controllers, and telecommunication cards.

The chip will be the heart of Digital's AXPvme  series  of  VMEbus  single-board
computers (SBCs), used by embedded-application  OEMs  and  system  designers  in
control systems for many military and industrial realtime applications.


Choice for Desktop Systems

Like other members of Digital's Alpha microprocessor  family,  the  new  product
runs Digital's 64-bit DEC OSF/1 (UNIX) and OpenVMS operating systems in addition
to increasingly popular Windows NT software. The chip will power new  models  of
NekoTech's Mach 1 series of desktop PCs for the Windows NT market.

Digital Semiconductor also announced  the  new  EB66+  Evaluation  Board,  which
provides a reference PCI and ISA motherboard design using the Alpha 21066A chip.
The EB66+ is intended as a starting point for new designs and as a platform  for
parallel development  of  hardware  and  software  applications.  The  board  is
packaged with a user's manual, full layout and  mechanical  information,  design
database, material lists, debug monitor, and firmware development tools.


Prices, Availability

The Alpha 21066A microprocessor is offered  at  two  clock  speeds:  100MHz  and
233MHz. At 233 MHz it is estimated to deliver a SPECint92 rating  of  94  and  a
SPECfp92 rating of 110. Version 2.1 Dhrystone MIPS performance is 189.5 for  the
233MHz version and 89.8 for the 100mhz version. The Alpha 21066A Chip is  priced
at $175 for the 100MHz version and $360 for the 233MHz version in quantities  of
5,000. Samples are available now.

Production of both the Alpha 21066A Chip  and  the  EB66+  Evaluation  Board  is
scheduled for the first quarter of 1995.

Digital Semiconductor, a Digital Equipment Corporation business headquartered in
Hudson,  Massachusetts,  designs,  manufactures  and  markets   industry-leading
semiconductor products including Alpha microprocessors and PCI-based  peripheral
chips. Digital Semiconductor also operates fabrication facilities in Hudson  and
South  Queensferry,  Scotland,  and  design  centers  in  Hudson;   Palo   Alto,
California;  Austin,  Texas;  and  Jerusalem,  Israel.   A   new,   $450-million
semiconductor fabrication facility with sub-half-micron  capability  is  nearing
completion in Hudson. Mitsubishi  Electric  Corporation,  the  industry's  sixth
largest  semiconductor  manufacturer,   is   the   second   source   for   Alpha
microprocessors.

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 platforms, storage, networking, software and  services,
together  with  industry-focused  solutions   from   business   partners,   help
organizations compete and win in today's global marketplace.