I as aware from past posts that some FormZ users are on this platform and would be grateful if they would care to update their comments.
Alpha is a great investment and it is still a little bleeding edge.
You can get a 533 megahertz alpha for about the same price as a fully loaded G3 mac at 300 mhz. My understanding of the wonder of G3 is what they do with the bus speeds. When picking your alpha make sure you pay attention to this. Some OEM's do better with this than others. I think the Carerras look especially good here.