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Tuesday, July 14, 1998

Compaq To Cut AlphaServer Prices

ompaq's AlphaServer unit, in its first public move since Compaq finished its acquisition of Digital Equipment, will cut prices and introduce new server configurations next Monday.

The price cuts, made possible by Compaq's financial strength and economies of scale, will help push the AlphaServer machines out in broader volume, the company claims. While the Alpha-powered machines are generally known for high performance, customers leery of Digital's future have steered clear of investing in the Digital platform.

"Now that financial stability is pretty much not a question anymore, we're going to be aggressive in the market to grow the AlphaServer to volume," says Margaret-Ann Bolton, director of AlphaServer product marketing.

The company will cut its entry-level AlphaServer 800 5/333 to $6,900 from $7,950. In the midrange, the AlphaServer 1200 5/533 will fall to $28,800 from $34,400, and the AlphaServer 4100 5/600 will drop to $66,700 from $82,000. The high-end AlphaServer 8200 will drop to $129,000 from $175,000, and the AlphaServer 8400 will fall to $344,000 from $430,000.

Also slated for introduction are M-Series AlphaServers that are preinstalled in rack mountings. The AlphaServer unit will also offer its Ready To Go Unix Clusters with RAID storage as an option, in addition to its original shared- disk storage.

-- Jeff Sweat