NEWS BRIEFS

Research Triangle Park, N.C. — IBM announced a new IntelliStation computer that delivers workstation power for the price of a PC. Priced under $1,500, the new IBM IntelliStation E Pro workstation enables Web page developers, architects, financial analysts, and product designers to affordably upgrade from a PC to a workstation so they can crunch large amounts of numerical data or manipulate large 3D models faster and more reliably.

Featuring a completely new design based on customer feedback, the workstation includes new usability features, such as modular components with tool-free access, and the choice of a compact desktop or highly expandable rack-mountable minitower.

IBM also announced new models of its IntelliStation M Pro and Z Pro workstations with faster processors, support for more software applications, and the versatility of single or dual processors. The new models are the first in the industry to offer the new Fire GL2? graphics adapter card, based on IBM’s copper chip technology. Since copper-based microprocessors increase performance dramatically as compared to chips based on aluminum, the Fire GL2 delivers higher computing power for one-fifth the price of comparable adapter cards.

The IBM IntelliStation was the fastest-growing workstation in the industry for the second quarter of 2000, according to technology research firm IDC. “IBM has traditionally been strong in engineering accounts. In 1999, among branded personal workstations, IntelliStation revenue was No. 1 in the EDA market, and No. 2 in the CAD and economic/financial segments,” said Kara Yokley, workstation research analyst at IDC. “With its new E Pro, IBM can expand it presence among more price conscious customers in the creative markets like multimedia authoring and video editing.”

To capitalize on the workstation market’s growing emphasis on solutions for tasks ranging from Web design to digital content creation for motion pictures, the IBM IntelliStation workstation is certified for use with more software applications than any other vendor in the industry – 209 certified solutions, nearly four times that of its nearest competitor.

The new IntelliStation workstations are backed by IBM’s industry-leading service and support. In addition to telephone and Web-based support, customers can contact IBM IntelliStation’s exclusive “Ask Engineering” response team, which provides personalized, on-line expertise to keep the growing list of IntelliStation-supported applications running smoothly. IBM’s other support and services, which range from system design to network integration, also includes helping customers move and deploy large numbers of workstations. Working with a large company, IBM recently moved more than 1,400 workstations over a weekend, with virtually no loss of productivity.

IBM IntelliStation workstations also deliver customizable manageability tools to provide simpler, more cost-effective integration into existing networked environments so designers can develop concepts more quickly and share them more easily with colleagues. IBM’s Universal Manageability protects the workstations, makes deployments easier, safeguards data. and helps reduce the cost of doing business. Life cycle tools include SMART Reaction?, which automatically backs up hard drive data and predicted hard drive failure; LANClient Control Manager, which helps customers simplify the rollout and ongoing maintenance of networked workstations; and Netfinity Manager Software, which enables customers to remotely manage, maintain and trouble-shoot networked IBM workstations.

To help customers deter theft and unauthorized access, IBM IntelliStation models include security features such as lockable covers, power-on password, setup utility password, diskette read-only mode, mouse and keyboard port disable, and boot sequence control. Besides deterring intrusion, these features allow the customer to control who is authorized to use or administer the workstation, and to govern exactly how the workstations are used, so that the level of system security can be matched to the value of business data.

“With a wider variety of products priced from under $1,500, there’s an IBM workstation for almost every customer, from the individual graphic designer to a large firm of industrial engineers,” said Wayne Flaggs, Vice President, Sales and Marketing for IBM IntelliStation. “In addition to our award-winning line of products, IBM leads the industry in certified applications, services and support, so more workstation customers are turning to IBM for the breadth and depth of our offerings.”

With its new, low-cost IBM IntelliStation E Pro, the company is expanding its reach to price-sensitive customers who require workstation-class performance for complex tasks such as weather forecasting, non-linear video editing, and designing aircraft and automobiles. From its elegant black exterior design to its uncluttered interior, the IntelliStation E Pro workstation enables easy upgrade and delivers the power to handle data-intensive computing. The new model is available as an expandable, rack-mountable mini-tower (seven bays, five PCI slots, 1 AGP slot) or compact desktop design (four bays, three PCI slots, 1 AGP slot). Both are equipped with Intel Pentium III processors at speeds up to 1.0GHz, and up to 1.5GB of SDRAM ECC memory. Fast, cost-effective SDRAM helps minimize the cost of memory upgrades. 2D and 3D graphics solutions include Matrox and NVIDIA, and for fast I/O and large disk capacity, the new models offer the economy of ATA/100 EIDE hard disk drives or the flexibility and performance of Ultra160 SCSI storage. Microsoft Windows 2000 Professional is preloaded with the option to recover to Windows NT. The model is available immediately, beginning at $1,458.

The new IBM IntelliStation M Pro workstation models are faster, support more applications, and offer the choice of single or dual Intel Pentium III processors at up to 1.0GHz and the latest ATA or Ultra160 SCSI storage. For high-performance 2D graphics, the 16MB Matrox G450 offers dual-display support as a standard feature. For 2D and 3D OpenGL visualization, the NVIDIA Quadro2 MXR 4X AGP is a cost- effective 2D/3D adapter with 32MB DDR SDRAM and dual-display capability. For extreme 3D applications, the new Fire GL2 4X AGP graphics adapter with 64MB DDR SGRAM increases price/performance, outperforming much costlier solutions. Systems comes preloaded with Windows 2000 Professional with the option to recover to Windows NT. The model is available immediately, beginning at $2,423.

For maximum workstation power and scalability, the IBM IntelliStation Z Pro workstation will have single or dual Intel Pentium III Xeon processors at up to 1.0GHz, combined with next-generation 2D/3D graphics and optimized subsystems. For high-performance 2D graphics, the 16MB Matrox G450 offers dual-display support as standard. For 2D and 3D OpenGL visualization, the NVIDIA Quadro 2 MXR 4X AGP is offered with 32MB DDR SDRAM and dual-display capability. For extreme 3D applications, the new Fire GL2 graphics adapter is available with 64MB DDR SGRAM. The Z Pro is designed for maximum scalability (six PCI slots, one AGP Pro slot, 9 bays), 490W power supply, and up to 4GB of Rambus ECC memory. Systems come preloaded with Windows 2000 Professional with the option to recover to Windows NT. The model is available immediately, beginning at $3,913.

Early next year, IBM plans to deliver next level of workstation performance with an Intel Itanium Processor-based solution. Based on new instruction and memory technologies, the Itanium 64-bit processor will provide customers with a wide-bandwidth architecture for a new generation of demanding technical applications. IBM plans to announce its new IntelliStation workstations concurrent with Intel’s announcement of Itanium processor availability, with the quality and performance that have come to be associated with the IntelliStation family of products.

In addition to the new IntelliStation models, IBM is making available the new IBM 8.4/4.7GB DVD-RAM drive, which delivers up to 9.4GB of rewritable, removable storage capacity per DVD-RAM disc. This drive provides virtually unlimited flexibility for workstation users needing reliable large file back-up and portability applications. Visit http://www.ibm.com for more information.

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