Sure. My point was that Intel's embrace of x86-64 marked the final door closing on any rationale for choosing Alpha over x86. >4GB without magic tricks was impo

Sure. My point was that Intel's embrace of x86-64 marked the final door closing on any rationale for choosing Alpha over x86. >4GB without magic tricks was important even then for large scale database and similar applications. Believe me, there were still true believers waiting for EV8 in 2004, despite the mounting evidence that Compaq wasn't at all interested in proving the world was wrong about Alpha.