I just bought myself a very cool "toy"...

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leoblob · #1 Post by **leoblob** » Mon Apr 23, 2007 3:53 pm

... actually a new desktop computer... It's an IBM (of course) Intellistation Z Pro (series 6221). Twin 2.66GHz Xeon processors, 2GB of RAM, twin 120GB hard drives, and an Nvidia Quadro4 980XGL video card. Fastest computer I've ever used. I don't think I'll be outgrowing it any time soon (but wouldn't a a 15,000 RPM SCSI hard drive be nice?

).

IMO, this thing is so beautiful... like a piece of modern art... flat black with an area of gloss black, and the honeycomb black air grill... the lines and proportions are just right. The IBM styling/design people really know what they're doing... there's another thread on this exact topic.

#2 Post by **ryengineer** » Mon Apr 23, 2007 3:59 pm

Wooow!, Congratulations.

Can you post some snap(s) perhaps?

#3 Post by **gator** » Mon Apr 23, 2007 4:08 pm

Photos! Photos! Photos! Please?

Temetka · #4 Post by **Temetka** » Mon Apr 23, 2007 9:25 pm

This thread is useless without pics.

leoblob · #5 Post by **leoblob** » Mon Apr 23, 2007 9:37 pm

Tomorrow

Torque · #6 Post by **Torque** » Tue Apr 24, 2007 1:33 am

Temetka wrote:This thread is useless without pics.

I agree.

#7 Post by **BillMorrow** » Tue Apr 24, 2007 2:58 am

cost..??
how much did this powerhouse COST..???

leoblob · #8 Post by **leoblob** » Tue Apr 24, 2007 10:13 am

Here's a few pix. None do it justice...

I took this one:

http://www.MyOnlineImages.com/members/l ... 0015-8.JPG

I found this one on-line:

http://www.MyOnlineImages.com/members/l ... telliZ.JPG

I'd take pix of the inside (it's really cool) but I have a 30-day warranty on it, and if I break the sticker (you can see it at the top, on the side, in the pix I took) I lose the warranty.

I got this used, off-lease. I guess the big boys lease these for a couple of years, and then get new ones that are even faster. This one is fast enough for me! $500 with a clean, legal install of WIN2K, all the drivers installed, ready to use, cosmetically almost perfect. When I looked at the refurb units* on the IBM site, or (heaven forbid) on the Dell and Gateway sites, they all looked like pretty bad deals, in comparison.

*EDIT: I meant conventional desktop computers

Superego · #9 Post by **Superego** » Tue Apr 24, 2007 5:22 pm

Absolutely beautiful. I use several of these at work and hate the fact that I have to go home to a crappy desktop (when I'm not my T60, of course). How do you like the 980XGL? I know mine has a slightly different video card, but can't remember off the top of my head.

#10 Post by **ryengineer** » Tue Apr 24, 2007 5:27 pm

Magnificent!

Apparently, it looks my type of machine to work on.

leoblob · #11 Post by **leoblob** » Tue Apr 24, 2007 10:59 pm

I'm still just using it to load my programs and get the settings the way I like them, but I can already tell I'm in love with the thing. Everything seems so effortless. I checked out some TV shows from abc.com, and the streaming video is perfect, no pauses, no nothing. It used to jerk a bit with my PC300GL (which will now be my #2 computer). (and I moved from dial-up to 4 MB/s cable just last November, so my computing experience has improved quite a bit in the last few months.)

I'm setting it up using an old, worn out (dim & low contrast) Gateway monitor, but using the software settings on the video card, it's looking pretty decent. I can't wait to hook up my nice NEC LED and my Sony Trinitron second monitor.

I was getting by OK with my old computer, but when my wife saw how much I was interested in this one, she insisted I buy it. I'm a lucky guy!

I spend so much time in front of a computer, it will be nice to have one I really like... and one which is not something you'd normally find in someone's home office.

qviri · #12 Post by **qviri** » Tue Apr 24, 2007 11:54 pm

I covet that computer... I have no use or space for it... but I covet it nevertheless...

Temetka · #13 Post by **Temetka** » Wed Apr 25, 2007 1:46 am

My machine is plenty fast, but I do have to admit I would love to have one of those cases to stick it in. They just scream bad [censored] industrial piece of hardware.

Purcy · #14 Post by **Purcy** » Wed Apr 25, 2007 7:02 am

Congratulations, I can tell you are really happy with it. Serious computer you got there, I'll bet it has one intense cooling fan. I find it cool they thought to put a floppy drive in there, something you don't find on too many computers anymore.

leoblob · #15 Post by **leoblob** » Wed Apr 25, 2007 11:00 pm

Thanks!

There's three fans that I can see on the back. I haven't had a chance to look thru the HMM yet, but I think there may be 2 more on the front. During POST it must test the fans as they really rev and the amount of air moving thru the case is unbelievable.

I like having the floppy, too. I'm "old school" and having a floppy is my security blanket.

qviri · #16 Post by **qviri** » Thu Apr 26, 2007 12:04 am

leoblob wrote:During POST it must test the fans as they really rev and the amount of air moving thru the case is unbelievable.

What's actually happening is that once POST is over, BIOS takes control of the fans and slows them down because they don't have to run that fast to keep the CPUs cool. If you do a lot of intensive work they'll probably spin up again.

leoblob · #17 Post by **leoblob** » Thu Apr 26, 2007 11:49 pm

Temetka wrote:...but I do have to admit I would love to have one of those cases to stick it in...

How about this one... Item # 110120232801 on ebay... currently less than $30 including power supply

Temetka · #18 Post by **Temetka** » Fri Apr 27, 2007 12:26 am

Thanks!

leoblob · #19 Post by **leoblob** » Sat Apr 28, 2007 9:23 pm

Now I have both of my good monitors connected, and I cannot get the video card to handle each one as a separate monitor. I have struggled with this for 2 days & am getting very frustrated!

.

This type of "dual head" set-up is a no-brainer with the Matrox cards... that's one of the many reasons I like them so much. If I can't get this nVidia card to work, I'm going to pull it & put it in my 300GL, and put my (very nice) Matrox P-650 (from my 300GL) into my new workstation. I won't need dual monitor support on the 300GL once I get it working on the Intellistation.

bigtiger · #20 Post by **bigtiger** » Sat Apr 28, 2007 11:36 pm

What a machine! Congras.

qviri · #21 Post by **qviri** » Sun Apr 29, 2007 9:14 am

leoblob wrote:Now I have both of my good monitors connected, and I cannot get the video card to handle each one as a separate monitor. I have struggled with this for 2 days & am getting very frustrated! .

If you are using Windows, I think it's a simple issue of going to Control Panel -> Display -> Settings and then selecting "Extend my Windows desktop onto this monitor" with the monitor #2 chosen.

Now if you can't do any of these steps, it's a touch more serious... Can't help you, I have a Matrox G450 myself. (Sorry if I'm stating the obvious.)

leoblob · #22 Post by **leoblob** » Sun Apr 29, 2007 5:08 pm

With Matrox's elegant, refined drivers, it is that easy.

With my nVidia, however, first you have to go thru a lot of menus to even find where you might have the settings to run 2 monitors. When you get there, you're greeted by "single," "horizontal", "vertical," "clone," and "install DualView (reboot required)" or something like that.

First I tried horizontal (since that's what I wanted), and it came back with such weird, ultra-low screen resolutions, that the menu boxes for changing resolutions ran way off the screen on the top and the bottom. The only way I got the resolutions back to anything usable was by booting up another computer, and looking at what keystrokes were needed to change the resolutions back (in other words, without using a mouse).

So then I tried "install DualView," and it re-boots just like it says, and when it's all booted up, it comes back to exactly where it was before... same choices, including (again) "install DualView (reboot required)." After going in circles like this for a while, I gave up (for now).

... and the hassle on nVidia's site trying to get (or even find) the right documentation or latest drivers... ((rant deleted by me))... Compare this to Matrox, where everything is easy to find, driver support for (truly) old cards is still there, and you don't have dozens and dozens of cards to sort through, to even attempt to find what you need. Needless to say:

.

leoblob · #23 Post by **leoblob** » Wed May 02, 2007 9:12 pm

One call to nVidia tech support and problem solved. Basically I had to uninstall the video drivers and re-install in a specific order (evidently there's a quirk in their drivers on WIN2K machines). Still, I could not get the right-side monitor to be the "primary." Finally, I just switched the monitor connectors on the card itself and that took care of it.

It runs well. Very fast. Image quality possibly slightly worse than my Matrox P-650. Quality of drivers is definitely worse than my P-650.

I may still swap the video cards, but for now I am happy.

tselling · #24 Post by **tselling** » Thu May 03, 2007 10:33 am

Can you tell me how many PCI slots and how many 3.5" HD bays it has?

#25 Post by **gator** » Thu May 03, 2007 1:50 pm

tselling wrote:Can you tell me how many PCI slots and how many 3.5" HD bays it has?

I have a simlar machine in my lab, and it has 4 PCI slots and 4 3.5 HD bays.

leoblob · #26 Post by **leoblob** » Thu May 03, 2007 2:41 pm

I haven't been inside my machine yet (still on warranty), but from looking at the HMM, it appears that I have 3 internal 3.5" drive bays.

It has one standard 32-bit PCI slot and three 64-bit PCI-X slots. I am new to this PCI-X business, but I believe newer 32-bit PCI cards will work in those PCI-X slots (something about 3.3 vs. 5 volt signalling, and where the notches are cut on the side of the card... ??)

leoblob · #27 Post by **leoblob** » Wed Jun 13, 2007 11:48 am

Update, 6 weeks later...

It runs like a champ. I did switch out that nVidia card since images and text didn't look great to me. I put my lowly Matrox P-650 in there, and what a difference. Text, images, gorgeous. Hi-res images look almost 3D (sort of like a pair of really good stereo speakers gives you a soundstage with depth). It seems to be a tad bit slower than the nVidia, but I don't care... the image quality is so much better.

I knew this thing would be loud (two 60 CFM fans plus the power supply fan) but it was louder than I thought. Eventually, I figured out that a plastic hood over the heatsinks was a bit loose and it would start rattling/buzzing when the fans stepped up to a higher speed. Fixed that, and now it's fine... sure doesn't sound like a a regular desktop computer... it has almost the whine of a turbine engine (but at a very acceptable sound level)... I think it's cool

IBM rules!

I just bought myself a very cool "toy"...

I just bought myself a very cool "toy"...

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