Re: Alpha motherboards

Jim Paradis (paradis@amt.tay1.dec.com)
Fri, 6 Oct 1995 13:51:42 -0500 (EDT)

> I am trying to select a platform for an Alpha Linux system. To that
> end I have been trying to compare various Alpha motherboards. If there
> are DEC people listening, I got quite a runaround; Digital's DECDirect
> doesn't know about them, Digital Semiconductor sends us to
> manufacturer reps, reps send us to distributors, distributors don't
> know much.... In particular, I couldn't get any pricing info after
> full day of trying.

Unfortunately, the motherboards are billed as OEM items. This means
that DEC is set up to sell them through distributors, and the distributors
are set up to handle OEM orders in hundreds of units. Nobody is yet
prepared to sell them in onesies. "Maddog" Hall is working on lining up
a reseller who is willing to sell onesies, can take credit cards, and is
Linux-literate.

In the meantime, here is some info that I garnered by talking to the
"right" person in the Embedded Systems Group. You can call a Digital
sales rep or distributor and order these directly by part number:

Item Part # List price
---- ------ ----------
AXPpci/33 motherboard, EBP20-AA $1,170
166MHz CPU, AT-style
keyboard connector, NT
console firmware

AXPpci/33 motherboard, EBP20-BA $1,170
166MHz CPU, PS/2-style
keyboard connector, NT
console firmware

AXPpci/33 motherboard, EBP22-AA $1,295
233MHz CPU, AT-style
keyboard connector, NT
console firmware

AXPpci/33 motherboard, EBP22-CA $1,295
233MHz CPU, PS/2-style
keyboard connector, NT
console firmware

EBP22-CA mounted in an ETN22-CA $1,495
FCC-approved enclosure,
w/250-watt power supply

(Don't worry about the "NT firmware" bit; you can just throw it away
and load MILO instead 8-) )

-- 
Jim Paradis (paradis@amt.tay1.dec.com)        "It's not procrastination, 
Digital Equipment Corporation		       it's my new Just-In-Time 
(508)952-4047				       Workload Management System!"