Intel Investors - IBM Rolls out Pentium III Workstations
I guess the K63 workstations aren't ready yet !
Paul
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techweb.com
March 08, 1999, Issue: 1051 Section: Systems & Software
IntelliStations carry Pentium III processors -- IBM workstations host single-chip 3-D graphics Margaret Quan
Research Triangle Park, N.C. - IBM Corp. introduced a line of Windows NT-based IntelliStations last week that feature Intel's Pentium III and an IBM-developed single-chip graphics solution that the company claims brings true 3-D graphics to workstations priced under $3,000.
The line comprises dual-processor, expandable-tower IntelliStation M Pro models and single-processor IntelliStation E Pro machines based on both 450- and 500-MHz Pentium III processors. The workstations are available in configurations with 2-D and 3-D graphics options that include IBM's new Fire GL1 single-chip graphics solution and Intergraph Corp.'s Intense 3-D Wildcat graphics.
The workstations are the first IBM products to use Fire GL1, a 256-bit Accelerated Graphics Port solution that combines full OpenGL 3-D acceleration, a full 2-D engine and 250-MHz RAMDAC. Fire GL1 is optimized on the IntelliStation for advanced 3-D. The chip and memory, which cost $600, make it possible to put together a true 3-D workstation for less than $3,000, the company said.
Intergraph equivalent?
Doug Oathout, worldwide brand manager for IBM's IntelliStation, said the new graphics solution compares with the Intergraph Pro3400 with geometric acceleration graphics, a more expensive, 16-chip solution used in IBM's previous generation of IntelliStation M Pro 3-D workstations.
The Fire GL1 chip was designed by IBM in Austin, Texas, and is being manufactured at the company's facility in Burlington, Vt. Diamond Multimedia is manufacturing the graphics board in Germany and has licensed the chip technology from IBM so that it can produce Fire GL1 boards for other NT-based workstations expected to be available later in 1999.
Work on the Fire GL1 solution began three years ago in IBM's RS6000 organization. A special AIX-focused version with a different architecture will be introduced in RS6000 machines later this year.
For the higher-level 3-D performance required by complex modeling and product simulation, IntelliStation M Pro models are available with Intense 3D Wildcat graphics. With 1 Gbyte of memory, six slots and six bays, a SCSI interface on the motherboard and a 450-MHz Pentium III, M Pro models are priced beginning at $2,792.
The entry-level IntelliStation E Pro machines have a 750-Mbyte memory, five slots and four bays, and either a high-end Matrox graphics card or an IBM Fire GL1. The 450-MHz Pentium III-based machine sells for $2,155.
IBM singled out the IntelliStation E Pro as the world's first desktop to have its chassis and internal mechanical parts made from 100 percent recycled plastic resin. All of the machine's 3-1/2 pounds of plastic is from recycled material recovered from IBM Worldwide Materials Recovery Centers, which process millions of pounds of plastic waste each year. IBM said using recycled plastic did not add to the products' cost.
The new IntelliStations feature 40X CD-ROM drives; the Intel Katmai SSE (streaming single-instruction, multiple-data extensions), which improve graphics performance by boosting the floating-point cycle of the CPU; and the newest NT service pack, Version 4.0, which includes all the latest fixes and drivers.
IBM's System Migration Assistant software tool is said to allow users to migrate to the new IBM systems efficiently. The System Migration Assistant pulls a user's personal data-such as Internet Protocol addresses, bookmarks, printer setting, data files and settings such as menu selections, desktop icons and screen savers-into files that can be placed on a server or backup device. The information can then be loaded from the server onto the new workstation.
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