It's IBM but not a laptop --- Intellistation Z Pro

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pc4pplwmd · #1 Post by **pc4pplwmd** » Sat Feb 28, 2009 2:43 pm

Well after having about 30 IBM ThinkPads I found what I think to be a pretty good deal. I bought a IBM INTELLISTATION Z PRO DUAL XEON 2.4GHz tower/server to use at home for a media center and fun time pc. I don't know to much about them so any help would be great. From what I have read it can take around 16-32 gigs of ram and has like 8 pci slots, I also read that it can have multiple hard drives from sata to ide ro scsi. I have also heard they have pretty nice video cards in them. I don't have the model number in front of me but if anyone has any experience with these units please chime in and tell me if it is worth it and also what type of ram and hard drives I should get for it.

tom lightbody · #2 Post by **tom lightbody** » Sat Feb 28, 2009 7:32 pm

> intellistation info

http://www.ibm.com/us

put in your model number xxxx-yyy they'll tell you all about it. The different submodels
often have very different specs.

our intellistation is from the "M" series, 3.0GHz processor, 1gig RAM--and 3 HD's 2 PATA
and the big SATA. Machine is dependable, noisy fan on startup: warms yr shack in Winter

monitor 17' IBM LCD (L170P), keyboard "M" spacesaver, rodent Kensington trackball

TheRedFox · #3 Post by **TheRedFox** » Mon Mar 02, 2009 9:46 pm

whoa... that's a lot of expandability options

Temetka · #4 Post by **Temetka** » Tue Mar 03, 2009 12:01 am

Now that sounds like a serious Man's Box right there.

May it serve you well.

t140568 · #5 Post by **t140568** » Sat Mar 07, 2009 4:48 am

Welcome to the club! I've been loving my Intellistation Z Pro for ~a year and a half now. It's been everything I've hoped it could be.

I hope you enjoy yours.

pc4pplwmd · #6 Post by **pc4pplwmd** » Sat Mar 07, 2009 7:39 am

I still haven't received it yet

but I am already getting parts for it. Big video card,tv tuner and video capture card,internal memory card reader,and I defiantly need 8 gigs of ram if anyone has any extra they want to get rid of.

gb_ibmguy · #7 Post by **gb_ibmguy** » Tue Mar 10, 2009 6:42 am

You are gonna love it!

I've got 2 of the monsters now! The first one only had a single 2.8 Xeon. In looking at CPU prices and other replacement parts, I realized that buying another would be a good deal. After getting the second box and removing the CPU to add to the first unit, I realized I could buy 2 more cpu's and have 2 screaming machines. Found a good deal on matched 3.2 Xeons and swapped them into the first box. Then I found a good deal on some 15,000 RPM Ultra wide SCCI drives. Things then kinda got out of control, Dual DVD burners, zip drives, 6 gigs of ram etc, etc.

These things fly and laugh at anything I throw at them. Try as I might I can't get the processers at more than 50% usage!

You will probably want to replace at least the 2 rear cooling fans with something a little quieter. The stock cooling fans are very, very loud even when set to "quiet". On 'Full Power", you can't hear yourself think.

Max memory is 8 gigs - with all slots filled with 1 gig sticks. And at least on mine, I can only cram 2 internal HD in the drive bay. The documentation says 3, but there is no way. You'll need the proprietary blue HD mounting rails as well. Most all the stuff from the X-Series line of servers will work in these things.

Be sure to flash to bios to latest version as well as the SCSI firmware. Depending on the model, you may need to flash the Broadcom LAN firmware for it to play nice with XP SP3 or Server 03. All the drivers and manuals are still on the IBM (not Lenovo) site.

Good Luck and enjoy! If you have any questions, drop me a line, glad to help keep these space heaters running!

pc4pplwmd · #8 Post by **pc4pplwmd** » Tue Mar 10, 2009 3:14 pm

I have 3 175gig 15,000 RPM Ultra wide SCCI drives comming and 8 gigs of ram,dvd,cdrw,tv capture card,video card,and card reader. and yes the fans a really loud and its quick s all get out

t140568 · #9 Post by **t140568** » Tue Mar 10, 2009 8:13 pm

pc4pplwmd wrote:I have 3 175gig 15,000 RPM Ultra wide SCCI drives comming and 8 gigs of ram,dvd,cdrw,tv capture card,video card,and card reader. and yes the fans a really loud and its quick s all get out

Sweeeeeeeet! Where'd you buy the RAM?

For whatever reason, I'd never thought about replacing the fans. *Sniff, sniff*...I think I smell a new project.

pc4pplwmd · #10 Post by **pc4pplwmd** » Tue Mar 10, 2009 9:06 pm

one of my partners had 20k of servers and pc's given to him so we worked out a trade

gb_ibmguy · #11 Post by **gb_ibmguy** » Wed Mar 11, 2009 6:26 pm

Replacing the fans helps a lot with livability! With 2 of these running on stock fans, It seemed at was at the end of EWR airport watching the 747's come in - Not pleasant. I bought my fans from Newegg, $2.99 each. After install, the CPU temp, measured by Everest is 30 C, Perhaps a little higher, but Oh so quieter! My memory I got from E-Bay, just enter the FRU # and search, some really great deals on this memory. Since no typical desktop can use this memory, you can sometimes steal it.

Just my .02

pc4pplwmd · #12 Post by **pc4pplwmd** » Thu Mar 12, 2009 10:26 pm

I may have 2 or 3 of these coming in next week if anyone would be interested. I am buying a group lot of 75 computers and from what I can see in the pictures sent to me I pretty much know there are 2 of them or different models also it looks like there are 2 other servers, 1 looks to be a dell and I am unsure about the other. Just a heads up shipping is not cheap on these things because of the weight. They weigh about 40 pounds a piece so an est. shipping cost of around $50 just to let you know up front. I do not know the condition or model #'s I just got a heck of a deal on a ton of used computers. Also I will have tons of older P3 NetVista's, these are great machines that usually run a 1 gig processor. I have 2 already that I built for my children for Christmas and I love them, they are work horses, they will be selling very cheap and if you live near Louisville KY you can pick them up and not pay for shipping.

t140568 · #13 Post by **t140568** » Fri Mar 13, 2009 3:00 am

pc4pplwmd wrote:one of my partners had 20k of servers and pc's given to him so we worked out a trade

Man, apparently, I've got the wrong friends!

leoblob · #14 Post by **leoblob** » Tue Mar 17, 2009 6:34 pm

The fans are loud, but I couldn't find replacements that had nearly as high a CFM rating as what IBM put in there. I've also found that the plastic shroud over the CPUs can be the source of a lot of noise since it tends to buzz and resonate.

If you're looking to push your CPU usage over 50%, go onto youtube and find a video that's in true 720p HD. They are starting to have some. Play it in full screen and I think you'll be surprised at the CPU usage (but you need a fast connection to stream it).

I have a 15,000 RPM U320 SCSI drive in mine, but it only tests out at 160MB/s. I am wondering if it's the cable since I can't imagine any other reason why it doesn't work at the speed it's supposed to ... ??

It's IBM but not a laptop --- Intellistation Z Pro

It's IBM but not a laptop --- Intellistation Z Pro

Re: It's IBM but not a laptop --- Intellistation Z Pro

Re: It's IBM but not a laptop --- Intellistation Z Pro

Re: It's IBM but not a laptop --- Intellistation Z Pro

Re: It's IBM but not a laptop --- Intellistation Z Pro

Re: It's IBM but not a laptop --- Intellistation Z Pro

Re: It's IBM but not a laptop --- Intellistation Z Pro

Re: It's IBM but not a laptop --- Intellistation Z Pro

Re: It's IBM but not a laptop --- Intellistation Z Pro

Re: It's IBM but not a laptop --- Intellistation Z Pro

Re: It's IBM but not a laptop --- Intellistation Z Pro

Re: It's IBM but not a laptop --- Intellistation Z Pro

Re: It's IBM but not a laptop --- Intellistation Z Pro

Re: It's IBM but not a laptop --- Intellistation Z Pro

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