End of the line for HP’s Alpha processor

Hewlett-Packard Co. will release the final processor upgrade for its AlphaServer line of Unix servers on Monday.

The 1.3GHz EV7z marks the last in a line of RISC (Reduced Instruction Set Computing) processors initially developed by Digital Equipment Corp. but ultimately acquired by HP as part of its 2002 acquisition of Compaq Computer Corp.

“This is the last significant upgrade that was committed in the roadmap,” said Mary Ellen Lewandowski, Unix marketing manager

First developed in 1992, the Alpha processor was well regarded by analysts for its technical capabilities, but it never managed to attain the market share of rival RISC processors from IBM Corp., Sun Microsystems Inc., or HP. Its death blow came with the Compaq acquisition when it became a victim of HP’s strategic decision to adopt Intel Corp.’s Itanium processor in favor of RISC alternatives.

HP will continue to sell its AlphaServers through 2006, and will support them until 2011, Lewandowski said.

The EV7z will be available immediately in HP’s AlphaServer GS1280 servers, which start at $96,100, according to HP.

HP will also offer a faster, 1.15GHz version of the EV7 processor, which ships in its lower-end ES47 and ES80 systems. Pricing for the ES47 and ES80 systems with the new 1.15GHz EV7 will start at $29,200 and $49,300, respectively.