Conference noted::sf

1114.0. "DEC has SF now!" by TINCUP::XAIPE::KOLBE (The Dilettante Debutante) Thu Oct 22 1992 13:57

Forwards removed - I got this on the CSC social distribution list. There was no
other origination information but forwards from Deccies. liesl

    Consumer Guinness/Alpha release
    
                RECORD BREAKING COMPUTER CHIP SET TO MAKE
                        SCIENCE FICTION A REALITY
    
    A new computer chip no bigger than a human finger nail, yet as 
    powerful as the room-size supercomputers of ten years ago, is 
    named as the world's fastest computer chip in the latest issue of 
    the Guinness Book of Records, published today.  The new chip, 
    called Alpha AXP, is almost as quick as the speed of light and now 
    joins the ranks of some of the world's most incredible 
    achievements including the first man on the moon and the splitting 
    of the atom.
    
    Alpha AXP has been developed by one of the world's leading 
    computer companies - Digital Equipment Corporation - and will 
    bring to life concepts and possibilities that have been confined 
    to the realms of science fiction until now.
    
    Virtual reality, for example, may soon be available in the comfort 
    of our own front rooms.  Virtual reality is the ability to 
    experience the world of the computer from "within."  The 
    possibilities are unlimited - learner drivers could go out on the 
    road without leaving the comfort of their home.  In the world of 
    entertainment, who knows, a good round of golf without leaving the 
    office could be quite feasible!
    
    Other record-breaking facts about Digital's Alpha AXP include the 
    following:
    
    *    The chip, barely quarter of an inch square, contains nearly 
    two million transistors
    
    *    To make each individual transistor on an Alpha AXP chip 
    visible to the naked  eye, the chip would have to be enlarged to 
    the size of Switzerland
    
    *    In 1975, it took Concorde approximately three hours to fly 
    from London to Washington.  If Concorde had achieved a comparable 
    improvement in speed as Digital has from its computers then to 
    today's Alpha AXP, the flight would take less than two minutes!

    Technical Alpha/Guinness press release
    
                ALPHA, THE WORLD'S FASTEST MICROPROCESSOR,
                       ENTERS THE WORLD RECORD BOOK
    
    
    Published today, the latest edition of the world's most 
    authoritative record book - the Guinness Book of Records - has 
    Digital's Alpha AXP microchip recorded as the world's fastest 
    microprocessor.  Alpha AXP, announced in February this year, is a 
    totally new open 64-bit RISC computing architecture designed to 
    run a number of industry standard operating systems.
    
    Details of the Guinness Book of Records entry are:
    
         "FASTEST CHIP - In March 1992 it was reported that DEC of 
         Maynard Massachusetts USA had developed an all-purpose 
         computer chip, a 64-bit processor known as Alpha which could 
         run at speeds of up to 200 MHz (compared to 25MHz for many 
         modern personal computers).  One Alpha chip is claimed to 
         have about the same processing power as a CRAY-1 which          
         went on sale in 1976, as the Cray company's first 
         supercomputer, at a cost of $7.5 million".
    
    
    Commenting on the Guinness Book of Records entry,  Peter Miller, 
    director of Digital's European  Alpha AXP business said :"Alpha 
    AXP is much more than the most advanced and most powerful chip 
    technology in the world.  It is a strategy that demonstrates 
    Digital's long term dedication to leadership in Open Systems.  
    With Alpha, Digital is developing the open architecture of choice 
    for 21st century computing.  This technology will make Digital, 
    its partners and customers as successful for the next 25 years as 
    in the first 30 years."
    
    Other record-breaking facts about Alpha AXP include the following:
    
    *    With clock rates of up to 200MHz, the chip is capable of 
         delivering 400 peak  MIPs and 200 peak MFLOPS - over twice 
         that of most of Digital's competitors
    
    *    It handles 30 watts of power with 64-bit virtual and physical 
         addresses and 64-bit integers and floating points, with a 
         wide choice of operating systems and four billion times the 
         addressible space of existing chips
    
    *    It is the world's fastest IEEE compatible floating point chip

			end

    
    
    Read an article the other day that said Intel were to produce the next
    in their series processors (ie. next up from 486, but not called 586)
    and that it would contain 3 million transitor.  Supposed to be out next
    year I believe...
    
    Stu

    I believe it's called the P5 -- the official name
    is still being decided by Intel.
    
    -EG