DEC, HP do double duty
Digital and Hewlett-Packard charge up their high-performance, Pentium Pro-based desktop computer lines to run Microsoft's Windows NT operating system.
Digital has announced additional Pentium Pro models that can be upgraded to its super-fast Alpha RISC processors, while HP for the first time will ship a desktop model with dual Pentium Pro processors as a standard configuration.
Digital's 200-MHz Pentium-Pro-based Model 200i Personal Workstation comes with an Ultrawide SCSI disk controller, 2GB hard drive, an 8X EIDE CD-ROM drive, 3D workstation-level graphics, integrated 16-bit audio, and integrated Ethernet. Windows NT version 3.51 or 4.0 can be shipped factory-installed. A fully configured 200i is priced from $5,372.
The Model 200i base system is priced at $3,792, while a dual-processor model costs $4,751. Digital also announced the availability of a Windows NT cluster kit for RAID (redundant array of independent disks) storage with 10GB to 60GB; prices range from $499 to $3,479.
HP added new models to its Vectra XU line of desktop computers that follow a "double-up" theory of improvements: twice the memory and twice the hard drive storage capacity of older models. Other improvements include new LAN (local area network) connectivity options, according to HP.
A Vectra XU 6/180 with a 180-MHz Pentium Pro, 2.1GB hard drive, 32MB of RAM, an 8X CD-ROM, and 10BaseT/100VG-AnyLAN has an estimated street price of $4,353, while an XU 6/200 with the same features will have a street price of $4,479. HP said a dual-processor XU 6/200DP with a 4.3GB hard drive and 64MB RAM will retail for $6,387.
Digital said its new computers are available through channel resellers, while HP expects the newest Vectras to be available in October through authorized dealers.