IBM unifies Unix, Intel workstation lines

The IntelliStation product name, which covers Intel-based workstations running either Linux or Windows, now will also be used for the models running AIX, IBM's version of Unix, on its Power processors.

Workstations are powerful desktop machines used for heavy-duty computational tasks such as designing chips, optimizing a stock-trading strategy or simulating rocket aerodynamics. IBM has lagged Unix workstation sellers such as SGI, Sun Microsystems and Intel workstation leader Dell Computer, but the company is trying to increase its presence in a market with $7.5 billion in annual sales.

IBM has made some progress, luring Pixar Animation Studios for animation work once done on SGI machines. The Pixar deal is important to IBM in part because the customer is using Linux, a clone of Unix that's growing from a hobbyist curiosity into a full-fledged corporate product. IBM said last week it nearly recouped the $1 billion it spent on Linux in 2001.

IBM will announce new models under the IntelliStation Power brand for Unix workstations and the IntelliStation Pro brand for Intel workstations.

Its IntelliStation Power Model 265 on the Unix side will come with IBM's GXT6500P or GXT4500P graphics cards. It accommodates two 450MHz Power3 CPUs and 8GB of memory.

IBM also is introducing several new IntelliStation Pro models, the lower-end 6204 and 6214 products, the mid-range 6229 and the top-end 6850. The systems come with Pentium 4 or Xeon chips running at 2.2GHz.