> > I ordered a couple of those machines, and also got 2 16MB simms for
> Are the sims the same kind (72 pin with/wo parity) which are readily 
> available for the PC market?

yes.


> > > I can get this system (without monitor) for $800 which seems like a good
> > > bang for the buck.  
> > 
> > probably without monitor or keyboard, actually.  8-)
> The keyboard LK411 (108 Key, Digital layout) Keyboard
> is included in this price.

really?  That's a better deal than I got...  8-)


> > It's an OK deal, i'd say.  They're not incredibly speedy machines.
> > I'd guess that an intel box would beat them in terms of
> > price/performance, but i can't say for sure.
> 
> The 166MZ Pentium Pro chip is about $600 on the net.
> The 166MZ Pentium chip is about $800.  (I think Intel is trying to get
> people on to the Pentium Pro).
> 
> [ ... ]
>
> Is it possible that the 166MHZ Alpha perform at 69 SPECint92 (97 * 166/233)
> while the 100MHZ regular Pentium performs at 138 SPECint92 (_Twice_ the 
> speed?)

In a nutshell, yes.

(0) processor cycle time and performance are not necessarily related.

(1) from what I understand, the 21066 apparently (due to design flaws)
    has some serious performance limitations, but i don't know
    exactly what they are.

(2) the Multia/UDB/whatever typically only has 256k of cache.  From
    all indications i've seen, this is too small a cache for good
    performance on an Alpha.  Note that most of DEC's 21064-generation
    workstations ship with 512k cache, and the rest ship with a 2M or
    larger cache...  



Chris