OSfOM

I did get in contact with a fellow Retroenthusiast who had some DEC stuff, that he wanted to part with … I had some overstock Sun stuff, so we switched his AlphaStation 255 with my Sun Blade 150.

The machine is the 233MHz version, equipped with 96 MB RAM, 2 SCSI HDs (1GB & 2 GB), CD-ROM and Floppy.

Only technical issue: a depleted CR2032 :).

The 64-bit Workhorse: Remembering the DEC AlphaStation 255
In the mid-1990s, the computing world was dominated by two major architectural shifts: the rise of the desktop PC and the push for true 64-bit computing. Digital Equipment Corporation (DEC) was at the forefront of the latter movement, and few machines exemplified this better than the AlphaStation 255.

Launched starting in March 1996, the AlphaStation 255 was positioned as a cost-effective, high-performance workstation built to deliver the blistering speed and massive address space of DEC's proprietary Alpha microprocessor. It became a critical machine for engineers, developers, and scientists who needed more power than what mainstream PCs of the era could offer.

The Alpha Advantage
The heart of the AlphaStation 255 was the DECchip 21064A processor (also known as the EV45). The 255 series offered two main variants:

• AlphaStation 255/233: Running at 233 MHz.
• AlphaStation 255/300: Featuring a more powerful 300 MHz clock speed.

The Alpha architecture was arguably the fastest processor of its time, pioneering many features that would later become standard in the industry, including superscalar execution and a native 64-bit design. This architecture was built with a simple, high-speed RISC (Reduced Instruction Set Computer) philosophy, giving it exceptional performance in floating-point calculations—a necessity for scientific and graphical workloads.

The Power of Platform Choice
One of the AlphaStation's greatest strengths was its OS versatility. Unlike some proprietary architectures limited to one operating system, the 255 could run three major platforms, ensuring compatibility with virtually any professional environment:

• Digital UNIX (later Tru64 UNIX): DEC's own commercial UNIX variant, providing a robust and highly performant environment favored by developers and system administrators.
• OpenVMS Alpha: The evolution of DEC's legendary VMS operating system, known for its mission-critical stability and cluster capabilities.
• Microsoft Windows NT Workstation (later Windows 2000): The presence of AlphaBIOS firmware allowed the machine to run Windows NT, providing a powerful platform before x86 versions caught up in performance.
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Key Technical Specifications
The 255 was a well-balanced machine designed for high I/O throughput:

• CPU: Single DECchip 21064A (EV45) processor.
• Memory: Supported a maximum of 512 MB of memory.
• I/O: It featured a mix of expansion slots, typically including two high-speed PCI slots (delivering up to 132 MB/second throughput) and often one or more legacy ISA slots for backwards compatibility with older peripherals.
• Networking: Built-in 10BASE-T Ethernet provided standard connectivity.

While not the highest-end model in the AlphaStation lineup (that honor went to the 400 and 500 series), the 255 achieved an excellent balance of performance and cost-effectiveness, making it a dependable workhorse for labs, offices, and universities worldwide.

A Lasting Legacy
The DEC AlphaStation 255 represents a fascinating chapter in computing history. It was a testament to DEC's engineering ambition, demonstrating the power of a dedicated 64-bit architecture at a time when the x86 platform was still struggling to cross the 32-bit barrier effectively.

While DEC was eventually acquired by Compaq, and the Alpha architecture later passed to HP before being discontinued, the AlphaStation 255 remains an iconic example of the high-performance UNIX and VMS workstations that truly pushed the boundaries of computing in the mid-90s.