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IBM uses Intel chips for new workstations
Reuters Story - March 13, 1997 07:56
FINANCIAL DE US DPR CORA ELI BUS ENT IBM INTC MSFT AAPL CPQ DELL V%REUTER P%RTR
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By Neal Boudette
HANOVER, Germany, March 13 (Reuter) - IBM Corp said on
Wednesday it would use Intel Corp processors for
several new high-powered workstations -- products that
previously only used IBM's own PowerPC chips.
The IntelliStation Z Pro, which uses Intel's 200 megahertz
Pentium Pro processor to run the Windows NT operating system,
would be sold both by IBM's PC Co. and the workstation group
that develops PowerPC-based RS/6000 machines.
IBM officials denied the shift was another blow for the
PowerPC, which IBM has sought to establish as an alternative to
Intel microchips.
"The PowerPC is still a very strong platform," Satish Gupta,
head of IBM's Professional Workstation group, told Reuters. "We
will drive both technologies."
The IntelliStation products would give IBM workstations that
can run Windows NT, the high-end Microsoft Corp
operating system that is gaining acceptance for corporate data
systems and Internet servers.
The PowerPC, which is used by no large PC makers except for
Apple Computer Inc , suffered a serious setback earlier
this year when Microsoft, IBM and other companies ended efforts
to get Windows NT to run on PowerPC machines.
"Microsoft is pleased to see IBM's commitment to Windows
NT," said Jonathon Roberts, Microsoft's business system chief.
Within the next few months IBM expected to have another
InteliStation based on the Pentium II chip Intel planned to
release in the second quarter, Gupta said.
The two machines would have the same price and the same
performance as the entry-level and mid-range RS/6000 computers
based on certain PowerPC 604 chips, Gupta said.
The IntelliStation Z Pro was designed to run complex
visualisation programmes that can simulate earthquakes or car
crashes. With pricing ranging between $4,800 and $10,000, they
come with many times more memory and disk storage than standard
business PCs, as well as extra networking and backup gear.
IBM resisted producing Intel-based workstations for the last
three years, while competitors Digital Equipment Corp. and
Hewlett Packard Co. have had duel Intel and RISC lines.
Meanwhile, nimbler PC makers like Compaq Computer Corp
and Dell Computer Corp have used Intel's latest chips
to break into the workstation business with Windows NT systems. |
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