LonnRodine

I just purchased a IBM Intellistation Z Pro / 6223-24U... and not clear what I've gotten myself into here. **Any assistance/advice would be greatly appreciated.

The actual item: http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...=STRK:MEWAX:IT

No HDD but arrived as advertised. Planning on WinXP Pro, 64-bit

1. The Operations Manual states this PC can only use a 64-bit operating system, which I can obtain. ** However, will this system have any WELL KNOWN compatibility issues. I wanted it as my primary computer or run a new music system from it. >>> Will I have KNOWN issues with normal programs, MS office pro, A-CAD, SolidWorks, LabView, MS Media Player, Outlook and ten year old software that currently works with std. XP Pro. Will this PC work for a standard computer?
2. It did not come with a HDD. Is there anything specific I should be looking for in an SCSI hard drive?

3. How difficult will this unit be to set up as a standard PC?... or should I be looking at reselling it? I do not have a clue how to reload the bios should it not be correct or how to change it. The Operation Manual is descriptive enough but there are a fair amount of manual settings that did not make a lot of sense. Any assistance here would be very much appreciated.

My knowledge: I set up a new computer for myself and another at work once every couple of years... one or the other. I've never configured a computer with SCSI HDD's. I've only set up IDE and SATA

taydan04

Basicly youv gotten yourself in to buying a very outdated machine. I mean, AGP Graphics? wow. Pluss the graphics card is a quadro. its good for Computer Aided Design but practically unusable in games. If I were you I'd sell it. In that situation id look into converting it and selling it as a server? It would need a bigger HDD and probably a different OS to XP. But Having 2 Xeon CPUs may be use full for someone needing a server. Just my opinion though. It could be used as a home computer as long as gaming isn't one of the things you'd do with it. as for an SCSI HDD you'l have to wait for a verdict from a Hardware teem guy as I have also never used one. I just know from looking at them just now, they aren't cheap.

Well, This is the only one I found with a decent capacity and just look at the price... http://www.eclipsecomputers.com/prod...code=HDF-300RC

amdg3

This machine will work great as a standalone computer. I have the same model. All you have to do is disable the scsi and raid in the bios....and use the machine's onboard sata as your primary hard drive interface. Just use sata only.

The machine will run 32 bit just fine. Yes it is capable of running 64bit operating systems but will run 32 perfect. If you run windows xp64, that windows version has a built in 32 bit program emulator. 99 percent of your old 32 bit programs will run within windows xp64bit without a hitch.

Or just install a 32bit version of windows.

No need to sell it and why? It has dual cpus that gives it a lot of torque when you are running multiple applications. And you have the 6223 that has an 800mhz bus. That is plenty fast and is plenty current for your use.

The only downside to this machine as a standalone desktop pc is the post and bios. That is, the pre operating system test and basic input output system boot process. It is very slow to boot because it goes through detailed start up designed for remote lan server functions. Once you get through the post and bios (2 minutes) you have a normal desktop computer. Forgot...one more downside is the power supply remains "hot" even when the computer is turned off . This is remote lan wakeup but it causes the power supply fan to spin anytime the machine is plugged in. You can put the power cord on a surge protector and click it off to solve this problem.

Conclusion: pick yourself up a used sata 74gb raptor (10,000 rpm) drive for 45 bucks on ebay and you are going to be real happy with this machine.

Phædrus2401

Don't bother with Raptor drives; they offer no performance improvement over a 7200RPM drive with a 16MB or 32MB cache and cost more than three times as much per gigabyte. The Western Digital Caviar Black drives are a good deal.

ebackhus

I'm a huge fan of Western Digital, but I'm also fond of Samsung's SpinPoint series.

LonnRodine

Thanks for all the comments... even the negative if truthful, which I think these are. All of this helps me gage if the system is worth the effort. I found new SCSI drives on ebay in the 200 gb range cheap enough. I can get Windows 7 super cheap though my employer, $40. If I run SATA drives, and correct me if I am wrong, but I will be negating one of the CPU’s.

** Tell me how this system would measure up to a standard Dell 755 nominally equipped if I with new drives, Windows 7 or XP 64bit?
When I am on my PC I tax a computer fairly hard. I can and usually am running Solidworks CAD, and have up to 20 windows open to different sites while streaming Alex Jones off YouTube or a DVD. It is not gaming but it heats up the CPU I am currently using.

If you think I’d be better off just buying a Dell 755 and filling the RAM please let me know. I use a 755 at work and like it. If you think the IBM would not be as good let me know because I want at least that much power.

*** Music - Please allow me to change the subject since I have a fairly intelligent audience. If you're not interested don't waste your time... it's wordy.

First – I do not want to make a science out of a sound project here. I designed a 4 speaker 2-channel commercial sound system about 18 years back. Not commercial like people talk about like they talk about hot rods but truly commercial, using 500 to 1200 watt Yamaha instrument power amplifiers. The tweeters alone cost $650 per and will break glass at the right frequency, and will damage your ears as well. No matter, all of the hardware before the amps is old school. Just playing around a bit feeding the amps with a soundblaster Live sound card and using Windows Media Player with it’s lame mixer I am able to get clear AND CONTROLABLE output.

I was thinking about rack mounting a nominal PC with the amps and a small monitor and keyboard and use this for my sound system. Yes I can easily add one additional channel but not interested in any rear channels since this is music. The center channel would only be used to watch movies. What are there 30 good movies ever made that can be watched several times over?

Would the IBM be a good candidate to use to play music?

If I want to change the volume and some of the tones or adjust the frequency balance on digital music what software would be good. My time is my most valuable asset and wasting it on learning overly complicated software that I will only use 5% of is not what I am looking for. I am looking for an good sound card to interface with the sound system for music and movies. Something that will process the music with clearity and straight forward to set up. Would ASUS Xonar D2 be good? Should I use Media Player or something else? Back to the tone control on the original song file: You know how some songs are much louder than others and you are constantly changing the volume? I would like the ability to level this and enhance some songs using software if anyone has a good suggestion. Again, time is the critical element here then quality. I do not want sw or hdwr that is useless either. Cool but simple additional idea are very welcome. Just a note as well I could separate the music sound system from watching movies. I have a nice German made 2-channel amp and could build another sound system not so earth shattering to watch movies. If you think it is better to separate the sound from movies let me know and I’ll just strap the second sound system onto whatever primary pc I will end up with.

While I am at it here what sw is best to watch movies? Currently I use this old HP software which works better than Media Player… for me anyway. If you're wondering where I use to use this sound system?... I use to own a business near Boulder in a really cool business park. When we'd get together with friends we had a bit more of one mile square to ourselves in the evenings and would turn it up but learned early on it could also break windows. I cannot do this now... not even close but the primary sound system is good at moderate and low volumes as well.

Thanks, Lonn