The Alpha 21264 CPU: NT's Greatest RISC (1998)
This archival piece from 1998 discusses the performance capabilities of the Alpha 21264 RISC processor. It highlights the competition between Digital Equipment's Alpha architecture and Intel's upcoming IA-64 Merced chip for the Windows NT market.
Why it matters
It provides historical context on the evolution of CPU architectures and the intense competition that shaped modern computing standards.
article was originally scheduled for publication in the
September 1998 issue of BYTE Magazine but was canceled when BYTE folded in
June 1998. It appeared instead in Windows NT Magazine
While the world waits for Intel's 64-bit Merced chip and
Microsoft's 64-bit version of Windows NT, Digital
Equipment is offering a sneak preview of the next
generation in NT processing. The Alpha 21264 is a 64-bit
processor that runs NT. It's one of the fastest chips in
The 21264 is the latest generation of the Alpha
microprocessor architecture. Digital expects the 21264 to
reach clock speeds of more than 700MHz this year, so this
processor upholds the speed demon reputation that the
21164 and 21064 established for Alpha chips.
Alpha is the last RISC architecture for which Microsoft is
developing future versions of NT. Microsoft is phasing out
NT for MIPS Rx000 chips, and the PowerPC NT never really
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