scAMDria & Intel Investors - HP, NEC, Toshiba announce Pentium III product lines.
Note the new HP Vectra line that will support Celerons, Pentium IIs and Pentium IIIs.
Paul
{===================================}
infoworld.com
Hardware vendors line up behind Pentium III
By Cheri Paquet and Bob Trott InfoWorld Electric
Posted at 11:07 AM PT, Feb 17, 1999 A number of hardware vendors -- including Hewlett-Packard, Toshiba, and NEC -- jumped on Intel's Pentium III bandwagon Wednesday.
HP announced Wednesday two new models to its Vectra PC line, the Vectra VE and the Vectra VL, both based on Intel's Celeron and Pentium II processors but which can be upgraded to run the forthcoming Pentium III chip.
Toshiba and NEC also pledged support for the Pentium III Wednesday, announcing various systems which will sport the new processor.
Toshiba announced that it would make Pentium III processor-based systems available later this quarter in its Equium 7100 line of commercial desktops. NEC said its Express5800 servers and PowerMate corporate desktop computers would support the Pentium III.
But HP sought to differentiate itself from the Pentium III pack.
While other PC manufacturers are retrofitting their systems to fit the Pentium III, HP has launched a completely new line of computers that run Celeron, Pentium II, and Pentium III, which have total compatibility across the line, according to Ken Bosley, HP's Vectra product manager.
"HP is the only vendor to redesign their line in coordination with the Pentium III announcement," Bosley said. "The new Vectras won't require a BIOS upgrade to the computer."
New features in the HP Vectra series include a more compact design; quieter operation; a mini-tower featuring six slots and shelves; a desktop model with slot and bay expandability; and an easy-access chassis.
The HP Vectra VE PC with the Pentium II 400MHz processor, including a 4.3GB hard disk, 32MB of synchronous DRAM, an integrated 16-bit stereo full -duplex, PCI sound, a Matrox MGA G200 graphics controller with 8MB of synchronous DRAM, and running Windows 95 costs $1,196.
A Windows 2000-ready HP Vectra VL PC with a Pentium II 400MHz processor, an 8.4GB hard disk drive, 64MB synchronous DRAM, a Matrox MGA G200 2d graphics controller with 8MB of video memory, integrated sound, a 3Com Fast Ethernet XL 10/100 TX LAN adapter and a 24x slim CD-ROM, and running Windows NT is priced at $1,337.
HP enhanced the desktop design of its HP Vectra VE PC in order to make it 30 percent smaller than its predecessors, the company said in a statement.
In addition, the PC's minitower is more serviceable, Bosley said. For example, with the addition of sliders and color-coded tabs, the hard drive and motherboard can be removed without the use of tools.
From a mechanical standpoint, everything, including the motherboard and system, is brand-new, said Bosley. The new Vectra models are slated to ship March 4, he said.
NEC will integrate the Pentium III processors into its Express5800 workgroup level server product line, with many models available with 450MHz and 500MHz Pentium III processors.
NEC also will put 450 and 500MHz Pentium III chips in its PowerMate 8100 line of PCs.
Hewlett Packard Corp., in Palo Alto, Calif., can be reached at www.hp.com. NEC Computer Systems Division can be reached at www.neccsd.com. Toshiba Corp., in Irvine, Calif., can be reached at www.toshiba.com. Intel Corp., in Palo Alto, Calif., can be reached at www.intel.com.
Cheri Paquet is a correspondent in the San Francisco Bureau of the IDG News Service, an InfoWorld affiliate. Bob Trottis InfoWorld's Seattle bureau chief.
Related articles:
"Pentium III preview spotlights 3-D"
Go to the Week's Top News Stories
Please direct your comments to InfoWorld Deputy News Editor, Carolyn April
Copyright © 1999 InfoWorld Media Group Inc.
InfoWorld Electric is a member of IDG.net
|
