New Compaq Desktop PCs, Breakthrough Storage Technology Significantly Increase Business Productivity Price Reductions, Enhancements Add More Customer Value; Pentium Pro Shipping

Business Wire, March 4, 1996

--(BUSINESS WIRE)--

Editor's Summary Compaq today announced:

o New Business Desktop PCs: 35 new models, including the fastest

Pentium and Pentium Pro processors, deliver enhanced functionality,

features and power to businesses

o Breakthrough Storage Technology: The industry's first standard

120MB diskette drive provides customers with 80 times the storage

capacity over regular diskettes

o New, easy-to-use Support Software CD for Compaq Desktop

Products

o Price Reductions/Product Enhancements: Across-the-board

business desktop and option price reductions up to 21 percent; faster

memory and graphics, increased hard drive sizes

HOUSTON--March 4, 1996--Compaq Computer Corporation (NYSE: CPQ) today fired another value shot into the commercial business desktop market with the announcement of 35 new feature-packed desktop personal computers, breakthrough storage technology -- including the industry's first standard high-capacity 120-megabyte diskette drive -- significant product line enhancements and across-the-board U.S. desktop and option price reductions.

"Compaq continues to raise the value bar for its customers," said John T. Rose, senior vice president, general manager, Commercial Desktop Division, Compaq Computer Corporation. "When you add it all up, Compaq is differentiating itself in a very competitive market by providing business customers with innovative, easy-to-use and affordable desktop tools to manage their operations. And, as the world's leading supplier of Pentium desktop products, the company is well positioned to appeal to a broad range of customer needs."

NEW PRODUCTS PACK POWER

Compaq introduced 33 Intel Pentium and two additional Pentium Pro processor-based models to the product line. New competitively priced Pentium 150MHz and 166MHz models were added to both the ProLinea and Deskpro families. A new Pentium Pro 180MHz processor-based model was added to the Compaq ProLinea E family and a Pentium Pro 200MHz processor-based unit was added to the flagship Compaq Deskpro XL product line.

Compaq also said that its previously announced Pentium Pro 150MHz processor-based desktop models have begun shipping in volume to resellers.

Compaq ProLinea 5150 and 5166

Ideal for users who are both performance and price sensitive, the new additions to the ProLinea family deliver the enhanced performance capabilities of high-end PCs at an affordable price. The seven new ProLinea 5150 and 5166 minitower and desktop PCs, which range in price from $2,685 to $3,425(a), feature the most powerful Pentium processors and a combination of industry leading core features and capabilities to deliver the widest range of business functionality in an affordable stand-alone PC.

The ProLinea family offers customers a wide selection of today's most powerful Pentium processors (from 100MHz - 166MHz), larger hard drives (840MB, 1.2GB, 2.0GB); Compaq PCI architecture, EDO system memory, enhanced PCI local bus graphics, and support for the leading operating systems.

Compaq Deskpro 5150 and 5166: Comprehensive Features for the Networked Environment

With the addition of eight models to the Deskpro PC family, Compaq is targeting customers who require cost-effective PCs that are easy to install and manage on a network. The new Deskpro models range in price from $2,819 to $3,579. In addition to fast Pentium processors, the Deskpro line features larger hard drive sizes (840MB, 1.2 GB, 2.0GB) and an integrated 32-bit PCI network card.

Designed specifically for networked environments, the new Deskpro products deliver all the performance, features and value of the ProLinea, plus integrated network controllers and Intelligent Manageability, Compaq's industry-leading desktop management solution for making networked PCs easier to inventory, troubleshoot, protect and maintain. Two of the new Deskpro models (5133 and 5166) are the industry's first to come standard with the 120MB diskette drive, the latest in drive technology.

Compaq Deskpro XL 6200 and ProLinea 6180e: The Most Powerful Desktops Available

Offering the most powerful desktop solution available, the new Deskpro XL 6200 ($6,885) and ProLinea 6180e ($4,225) are designed for business customers who require the fastest and most reliable products to run their most powerful software applications. Incorporating Intel's latest processor technology, the Pentium Pro 200MHz, the new Deskpro 6200 offers the most extensive array of capabilities to users running industry-standard 32-bit operating systems, such as Microsoft Windows NT, to run 32-bit software applications.

The ProLinea 6180e, incorporating the Pentium Pro 180MHz processor, is a high-end stand-alone desktop PC with a full feature set, including a standard 1.6GB hard drive, 16MB of RAM and a CD-ROM drive. Both Pentium Pro models feature Windows NT as the primary operating system.

BREAKTHROUGH IN STORAGE TECHNOLOGY

Compaq's new LS-120 Drive (see separate release: Compaq First to Offer Innovative Solution in Personal Storage Management) is the industry's first standard 120MB diskette drive. The drive uses diskettes that hold 80 times the storage capacity of regular 1.44MB diskettes and it reads and writes to the disk at five times the speed of standard diskette drives. The new drive enables customers to transfer large files onto a single diskette, frees up hard drive space and makes it easier to back up data. It is also backward compatible with the large installed base of 1.44MB and 720KB diskettes which protects the customer's investment.