News release

Compaq to Offer Affordable Gigabit Ethernet Capability on New Evo Business PCs

Gigabit Ethernet Improves Application Performance by Up to 341 Percent on Evo Desktops and Workstations at 10/100 Fast Ethernet Price Points

Compaq Computer Corporation (NYSE: CPQ) today announced it will offer high-performance Gigabit Ethernet technology at today's Fast Ethernet price points in Evo desktops and workstations.

"Most every employee of a company whose technology is networked has at some point experienced the aggravation of waiting for an e-mail to send or a Web page to load," said Jeri Callaway, vice president and general manager of the Compaq Access Business Group Desktop and Workstation Business. "Compaq envisions Gigabit Ethernet significantly changing the way our customers conduct business—allowing our technology to vastly improve their efficiency with increased networking speed and ultimately lowering the cost of doing business."

Gigabit Ethernet allows for 1000 megabit per second transmission of data over an existing network—up to 10 times faster than today's common 10/100 Fast Ethernet connections. Recent benchmarking on the Compaq Evo D500 desktop and a Compaq ProLiant DL360 server by eTesting Labs found that Gigabit Ethernet technology can enable standard applications like e-mail and database programs to run up to 341 percent faster than with a traditional 10/100 Ethernet connection. This technology also reduces the time to perform standard IT management tasks, such as reducing the time to install a standard corporate image by up to two-thirds.

Network bandwidth is a key to productivity as enterprises run more network-intensive applications. Gigabit Ethernet also helps with emerging applications that require higher bandwidth and faster response time such as online video training and a host of sales, marketing and operational activities.

Compaq PCs and workstations with Gigabit Ethernet capability are completely backward-compatible to today's business networks, providing a cost-efficient way to future-proof a company's technology. The systems work with today's 10/100 Mbps Ethernet while protecting a company's long-term technology investment by supporting the 1000 Mbps Ethernet service when it is deployed in the enterprise.

Most Compaq Evo D500 and D300 Series desktops, as well as Evo Workstations W4000, W6000 and W8000 will be available direct from Compaq or an authorized reseller with Gigabit Ethernet at the Fast Ethernet price of just $49 for the NetXtreme™ 10/100/1000 Management Gb Network Interface Card (NIC) in early June. The NetXtreme NIC is based on the Broadcom NetXtreme BCM5702 PCI Gigabit Ethernet controller for desktop and mobile applications. The NetXtreme NIC card also comes with a comprehensive software suite that provides a complete solution for desktop NIC applications, including drivers for all popular operating systems and support for the latest desktop manageability specifications.

For more information about Compaq PCs and workstations for businesses, visit www.compaq.com/showroom.

Company Background

Founded in 1982, Compaq Computer Corporation is a leading global provider of information technology products, services and solutions for enterprise customers. Compaq designs, develops, manufactures and markets information technology equipment, software, services and solutions, including industry-leading enterprise storage and computing solutions, fault-tolerant business-critical solutions, communication products, personal desktop and notebook computers, and personal entertainment and Internet access devices that are sold in more than 200 countries directly and through a network of authorized Compaq marketing partners. Information on Compaq and its products and services is available at http://www.compaq.com.