engineering sample samples qualification cpu processor prozessor information mhz pictures core frequency chip packaging info ic x86 museum collection amd cyrix harris ibm idt iit intel motorola nec sgs sgs-thomson siemens ST signetics mhs ti texas instruments ulsi hp umc weitek zilog 4004 4040 8008 808x 8085 8088 8086 80188 80186 80286 286 80386 386 i386 Am386 386sx 386dx 486 i486 586 486sx 486dx overdrive 80187 80287 387 487 pentium 586 5x86 386dlc 386slc 486dx2 mmx ppro pentium-pro pro athlon duron z80 sparc alpha dec dirk oppelt
home
DEC Alpha AXP
  DEC Alpha AXP 21-35023-13 (21064-AA, 150 MHz)
  DEC Alpha AXP 21-35023-21 (21064, 190 MHz)
  DEC Alpha AXP 21-35023-21 (21064, 200 MHz)
  DEC Alpha AXP 21-35023-12 (21064, 200 MHz)
  DEC Alpha AXP 21-40532-03 (21064-BB, 233 MHz)
  DEC Alpha AXP 21-40532-04 (21064-DB, 275 MHz)
  DEC Alpha AXP 21-40532-08 (21064-P1, 275 MHz)
  DEC Alpha AXP 21-40532-06 (21064-EB, 300 MHz)
  DEC Alpha AXP 21-40658-17 (21164-BA, 300 MHz)
  DEC Alpha AXP 21-43918-45 (21164-P8, 533 MHz)
  DEC Alpha AXP 211PC-03 (21164PC, 533 MHz)
» DEC overview
» all Alpha AXP chips
 
The DEC Alpha AXP Processor
The DEC Alpha, also known as the Alpha AXP, is a 64-bit RISC microprocessor originally developed and fabricated by Digital Equipment Corp (DEC). Designed to power successors to the VAX line of computers, it was used in a variety of DEC workstations and servers, eventually forming the basis for almost all of their entire mid-to-upper-scale lineup. Several third-party vendors also produced Alpha systems, as well as PC compatible form factor motherboards.
 
Alpha supported both the VMS operating system, as well as Digital UNIX. Later open source operating systems also ran on the Alpha, notably Linux and BSD UNIX flavors. Microsoft supported the processor in Windows NT until NT 4.0 SP6 but did not extend Alpha support beyond release candidate 2 of Windows 2000.
 
The Alpha series was sold, along with DEC as a whole, to Compaq in 1998. Compaq, already an Intel customer, decided to phase out Alpha in favor of the forthcoming Intel Itanium architecture, and sold all Alpha intellectual property to Intel in 2001, effectively "killing" the product. Hewlett-Packard purchased Compaq later that same year, continuing development of the existing product line until 2004, and promising to continue selling Alpha-based systems, largely to the existing customer base, until 2006.
 
References:  Alpha at Wikipedia  DEC Documentation Library  DEC Documentation Archives  HP Alpha Systems  Alpha: The History in Facts and Comments  Brief Introduction to Alpha
Alpha EV4 and EV45 product codes
Order-Number Product MHz
21064-AA 21064 150
21064-CA 21064 166
21064-BA 21064 200
21064-BB 21064 233
21064-DB 21064 275
21064-AB 21064A 200
21064-BB 21064A 233
21064-DB 21064A 275
21064-P1 21064A-PC (for NT) 275
21064-EB 21064A 300
The first processors of the Alpha family were designated the DECchip 21064 series (the "21" signifying the 21st century, "0" corresponding to the processor generation and the "64" indicating 64 bits), also code-named EV4. Internally, Alpha processors were also identified by EV numbers, EV officially standing for "Extended VAX".
 
The first few generations of the Alpha chips were some of the most innovative CPUs of their time. The EV4 was the first CMOS microprocessor whose operating frequency rivalled higher-powered minicomputers and mainframes.
 
The EV4 core is a dual-issue (it can issue 2 instructions per CPU clock) superpipelined core with integer unit, floating point unit and branch prediction. It is fully bypassed and has 64-bit internal data paths and tightly coupled 8 KB caches, one each for Instruction and Data. The caches are write-through.
DEC Alpha AXP 21-35023-13 (21064-AA, 150 MHz)
DEC Alpha AXP 21-35023-13 (21064-AA, 150 MHz) Top Side DEC 228D H 9313
J40793-28
(C) (M) DEC 1991
DEC 21064-AA
21-35023-13
KE E+
DEC Alpha AXP 21-35023-13 (21064-AA, 150 MHz) Back Side
The first Alpha workstation was available in November 1992: The DEC 3000 Model 500 AXP (code-named Flamingo), with a 150 MHz EV4, 512 KB of L2-cache, 32 MB RAM, integrated 8-bit video controller with 2 MB VRAM, 1 GB SCSI HDD, SCSI CD-ROM, built-in 10 Mbit Ethernet controller (thick coaxial and twisted pair), built-in sound and ISDN controllers, equipped with a 19" monitor (1280x1024 at 72Hz). The price was quite impressive: 39000 US$.
 
References:  Design of the DEC 3000
 
add comment
Core Frequency:150 MHz
Data bus (ext.):64 Bit
Address bus:64 Bit
Transistors:1,680,000
Circuit Size:0.75 µ
Voltage:3.3 V
Introduced:February 1992
Manufactured:week 13/1993
L1 Cache:8+8 KB
L2 Cache:ext. 512 KB
CPU Code:EV4
Package Type:Ceramic
PGA-431
top of page
DEC Alpha AXP 21-35023-21 (21064, 190 MHz)
DEC Alpha AXP 21-35023-21 (21064, 190 MHz) Top Side DEC 290A H 9422
S11223-39
(C) (M) DEC 1991
21-35023-21
KB E+S
DEC Alpha AXP 21-35023-21 (21064, 190 MHz) Top Side
A 190 MHz 21064 mounted on a DEC B2020-AA CPU board (50-23143-03) for the DEC AlphaStation 2000. Later revisions of the B2020-AA (54-23144-03) are 200 MHz versions for the AlphaStation 2100 4/200.
 
add comment
Core Frequency:190 MHz
Data bus (ext.):64 Bit
Address bus:64 Bit
Transistors:1,680,000
Circuit Size:0.75 µ
Voltage:3.3 V
Introduced:1992
Manufactured:week 22/1994
L1 Cache:8+8 KB
L2 Cache:ext. 512 KB
CPU Code:EV4
Package Type:Ceramic
PGA-431
top of page
DEC Alpha AXP 21-35023-21 (21064, 200 MHz)
DEC Alpha AXP 21-35023-21 (21064, 200 MHz) Top Side DEC 290A H 9451
S12098-13
(C) (M) DEC 1991
21-35023-21
KB E+S
DEC Alpha AXP 21-35023-21 (21064, 200 MHz) Back Side
add comment
Core Frequency:200 MHz
Data bus (ext.):64 Bit
Address bus:64 Bit
Transistors:1,680,000
Circuit Size:0.75 µ
Voltage:3.3 V
Introduced:1992
Manufactured:week 51/1994
L1 Cache:8+8 KB
L2 Cache:ext. 512 KB
CPU Code:EV4
Package Type:Ceramic
PGA-431
top of page
DEC Alpha AXP 21-35023-12 (21064, 200 MHz)
DEC Alpha AXP 21-35023-12 (21064, 200 MHz) Top Side DEC 228D 9313
S43599-27
(C) (M) DEC 1991
21-35023-21
KE E+
DEC Alpha AXP 21-35023-12 (21064, 200 MHz) Back Side
add comment
Core Frequency:200 MHz
Data bus (ext.):64 Bit
Address bus:64 Bit
Transistors:1,680,000
Circuit Size:0.50 µ
Voltage:3.3 V
Introduced:1992
Manufactured:week 13/1993
L1 Cache:8+8 KB
L2 Cache:ext. 512 KB
CPU Code:EV4
Package Type:Ceramic
PGA-431
top of page
The EV45 core has a couple of tweaks to the EV4 core: it has a slightly improved floating point unit, and 16 KB caches, one each for Instruction and Data (it also has cache parity).
DEC Alpha AXP 21-40532-03 (21064-BB, 233 MHz)
DEC Alpha AXP 21-40532-03 (21064-BB, 233 MHz) Top Side DEC 284J H 9448
B50264-08
(C) (M) DEC 1993
21064-BB A233
21-40532-03
KA E45
DEC Alpha AXP 21-40532-03 (21064-BB, 233 MHz) Back Side
add comment
Core Frequency:233 MHz
Data bus (ext.):64 Bit
Address bus:64 Bit
Transistors:2,850,000
Circuit Size:0.50 µ
Voltage:3.3 V
Introduced:1993
Manufactured:week 48/1994
L1 Cache:16+16 KB
L2 Cache:8 MB ext.
CPU Code:EV45
Package Type:Ceramic
PGA-431
top of page
DEC Alpha AXP 21-40532-04 (21064-DB, 275 MHz)
DEC Alpha AXP 21-40532-04 (21064-DB, 275 MHz) Top Side DEC 284J H 9519
B50461-20
(C) (M) DEC 1993
21-40532-04
KKB E45L
DEC Alpha AXP 21-40532-04 (21064-DB, 275 MHz) Back Side
add comment
Core Frequency:275 MHz
Data bus (ext.):64 Bit
Address bus:64 Bit
Transistors:2,850,000
Circuit Size:0.50 µ
Voltage:3.3 V
Introduced:1993
Manufactured:week 19/1995
L1 Cache:16+16 KB
L2 Cache:8 MB ext.
CPU Code:EV45
Package Type:Ceramic
PGA-431
top of page
DEC Alpha AXP 21-40532-08 (21064-P1, 275 MHz)
DEC Alpha AXP 21-40532-08 (21064-P1, 275 MHz) Top Side DEC 284J H 9546
B51132-45
(C) (M) DEC 1993
21064-P1 PC275
21-40532-08
KKB E45L
DEC Alpha AXP 21-40532-08 (21064-P1, 275 MHz) Top Side
The P1-version of the 21064A is designed for Windows NT desktop PCs and workstations. This CPU is from my DEC Alpha XL266, a machine shipped with Windows NT 4.
 
add comment
Core Frequency:275 MHz
Data bus (ext.):64 Bit
Address bus:64 Bit
Transistors:2,850,000
Circuit Size:0.50 µ
Voltage:3.3 V
Introduced:1993
Manufactured:week 46/1995
L1 Cache:16+16 KB
L2 Cache:8 MB ext.
CPU Code:EV45
Package Type:Ceramic
PGA-431
top of page
DEC Alpha AXP 21-40532-06 (21064-EB, 300 MHz)
DEC Alpha AXP 21-40532-06 (21064-EB, 300 MHz) Top Side DEC 284L H 9601
B51218-49
(C) (M) DEC 1993
21064-EB A300
21-40532-06
KKB E45L
DEC Alpha AXP 21-40532-06 (21064-EB, 300 MHz) Back Side
add comment
Core Frequency:300 MHz
Data bus (ext.):64 Bit
Address bus:64 Bit
Transistors:2,850,000
Circuit Size:0.50 µ
Voltage:3.3 V
Introduced:1993
Manufactured:week 01/1996
L1 Cache:16+16 KB
L2 Cache:8 MB ext.
CPU Code:EV45
Package Type:Ceramic
PGA-431
top of page
Alpha EV5, EV56 and PCA56 product codes
Order-Number Product MHz
21164-266 21164 266
21164-P1 21164 (for NT) 266
21164-300 21164 300
21164-BA 21164 300
21164-P8 21164 (for NT) 300
21164-333 21164 333
21164-JC 21164A 500
21164-KC 21164A 533
21164-P8 21164A (for NT) 533
21164-MC 21164A 600
211PC-01 21164PC 400
211PC-02 21164PC 466
211PC-03 21164PC 533
The Alpha 21164 or EV5 became available in 1995 at processor frequencies of up to 333 MHz. In July 1996 the line was speed bumped to 500 MHz, in March 1998 to 600 MHz. DEC unveiled the first information about the 2nd generation Alpha processor at the Hot Chips conference in Palo Alto on August 14th 1994. The official release of the 21164 (EV5) was on September 7th 1994. The processor was based on the core of the EV45 and was more an evolution than a revolutionary new design.
 
The EV5 core is a quad-issue core. It also has a tightly-coupled 96 KB on-chip second-level cache (the SCache) which is 3-way set associative and write-back (in contrast to the L1 caches). The EV4 to EV5 performance increase is better than just the increase achieved by clock speed improvements. As well as the bigger caches and quad issue, there are microarchitectural improvements to reduce producer/consumer latencies in some paths.
DEC Alpha AXP 21-40658-17 (21164-BA, 300 MHz)
DEC Alpha AXP 21-40658-17 (21164-BA, 300 MHz) Top Side (C)(M) DEC 1994 275K H
B52874-02 9637
21164-BA 300
21-40658-17
KKC E5
DEC Alpha AXP 21-40658-17 (21164-BA, 300 MHz) Back Side
Donated by Dennis Grevenstein. Thanks a lot!  
add comment
Core Frequency:300 MHz
Data bus (ext.):64 Bit
Address bus:64 Bit
Transistors:9,700,000
Circuit Size:0.50 µ
Core / I/O Voltage:2.5 / 3.3 V
Introduced:September 1994
Manufactured:week 37/1996
L1 Cache:8+8 KB
L2 Cache:96 KB
CPU Code:EV5
Package Type:Ceramic
PGA-499
top of page
The 21164A (EV56) was introduced at Microprocessor Forum in October 1995. It was a modified version of the EV5, after a technology shrink to a 4-layer 0.35µ CMOS6, manufactured at the same factory in Hudson (DEC had invested about 450 Mio. US$ into modernisation). The EV56 core is fundamentally the same microarchitecture as the EV5. The most important architectural difference was BWX (Byte-Word Extension) - a set of 6 additional instructions to load/store data in 8 or 16 bit parts. These are primarily intended for use by device drivers.
DEC Alpha AXP 21-43918-45 (21164-P8, 533 MHz)
DEC Alpha AXP 21-43918-45 (21164-P8, 533 MHz) Top Side DEC 1026J H 9714
JD0930
(C) (M) DEC 1995
21164-P8 533
21-43918-45
KKB E56
DEC Alpha AXP 21-43918-45 (21164-P8, 533 MHz) Back Side
The P8-version of the 21164 Alpha processor is designed for Windows NT desktop PCs and workstations.
 
add comment
Core Frequency:533 MHz
Data bus (ext.):64 Bit
Address bus:64 Bit
Transistors:9,300,000
Circuit Size:0.35 µ
Core / I/O Voltage:2.0 / 3.3 V
Introduced:1995
Manufactured:week 14/1997
L1 Cache:8+8 KB
L2 Cache:96 KB
CPU Code:EV56
Package Type:Ceramic
PGA-499
top of page
DEC Alpha AXP 211PC-03 (21164PC, 533 MHz)
DEC Alpha AXP 211PC-03 (21164PC, 533 MHz) Top Side
DIGITAL Semiconductor
(C)(M) DEC 1997 1039E
JD2258 H 9747
21164PC 533
211PC-03
KKA PCA56
DEC Alpha AXP 211PC-03 (21164PC, 533 MHz) Back Side
The Alpha 21164PC is much like the Alpha 21164, with no L2 cache on board, and an additional 8K of instruction cache to keep costs down, and performance adequate. It was created to be a volume processor for workstations, but never really sold in any great numbers due to the weak L1 cache.
 
References: Byte.com: Alpha Arrives at the Desktop Alpha 21164PC announcement  Data Sheet
 
add comment
Core Frequency:533 MHz
Data bus (ext.):64 Bit
Address bus:64 Bit
Transistors:3,600,000
Circuit Size:0.35 µ
Core / I/O Voltage:2.5 / 3.3 V
Introduced:March 17, 1997
Manufactured:week 47/1997
L1 Cache:16+8 KB
L2 Cache:4 MB ext.
CPU Code:PCA56
Package Type:Ceramic
PGA-413
top of page