Motorola Computer Group Unveils PowerPC-based PowerStack II Series Optimized for Microsoft Windows NT; Motorola Offers Commercial System Price/Performance Advantages for the Enterprise

Business Wire, Sept 17, 1996

ATLANTA--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Sept. 17, 1996--Motorola Computer Group (MCG) today announced its next generation of PowerStack systems.

Six new systems comprise the new PowerStack II series and bring to the enterprise market powerful workstations and servers that allow customers to benefit from the performance advantages of the PowerPC platform, Microsoft's latest Windows NT 4.0 and AIX operating systems.

Combined with an industry-leading five-year warranty, the new PowerStack II series offers an exceptional price/performance alternative for the enterprise computing market.

"We are confident these new high-performance Windows NT/PowerPC based systems, coupled with our five-year warranty, will fulfill the enterprise market need for competitively priced, quality computer systems," stated Dennis Schneider, vice president and director of worldwide marketing, Motorola Computer Group. "These new PowerStack II servers also compliment our StarMax line of Mac-compatible systems, also announced today, by providing the enterprise market with a complete client/server solution."

"We believe Windows NT 4.0 on the PowerPC-based PowerStack II series of workstations and servers offers an attractive solution for our enterprise customers," said Richard Tong, vice president marketing and training, Desktop Business Systems Division at Microsoft. "Businesses and customers will undoubtedly benefit from the high-performance advantages of Windows NT 4.0 and the PowerPC platform."

Key PowerStack II Product Features

Designed to meet the needs of a broad range of customers from Fortune 2000 companies to small businesses, the PowerStack II series offers a high level of integration, functionality and performance at an affordable price.

The new line of computer systems are based on the robust PowerPC 603ev- and 604e-166 MHz and 200 MHz microprocessors. These microprocessors provide higher performance and lower power for the volume desktop market than today's fastest Pentium and Pentium Pro desktop processors. The PowerStack II series systems are designed to optimize performance of the Windows NT 4.0 and AIX operating systems.

The PowerStack II series combines industry-standard hardware features and key PowerPC functionality, such as raw processing speed and high-level imaging and multimedia capabilities, to provide a complete, reliable systems solution for the enterprise market.

The PowerStack II series consists of a range of workstations starting with the entry-level Pro2000 and Pro3000, which deliver exceptional value to sophisticated business users requiring outstanding performance in today's networked corporate environment. The mid-range Pro4000 offers industry leading price/performance to traditional workstation users who require high performance, 2/3D graphics, data integrity and network connectivity. The high-end Pro6000 and the dual-processor Pro6200 workstations are designed to meet the needs of the most demanding users by providing maximum performance, multi-processing and scalability at an exceptional price/performance value.

The Pro2000 and Pro3000 workstations use a robust PowerPC 603ev or 604e-200 MHz microprocessor and includes 256 KB L2 cache memory. The workstations have 32MB of non-parity RAM, EIDE Interface, standard Ethernet and 2.5 GB EIDE disk. The systems also come equipped with Cirrus Logic or Matrox Millenium Graphics. The Pro4000, Pro6000 and Pro6200 workstations use a robust 604e-166 or 200 MHz microprocessor. These systems have standard SCSI interface, a 2 GB SCSI hard drive, integrated 10/100 Ethernet and graphics capabilities include Matrox Millenium or Accel PRO.

The PowerStack II family also includes a range of high-performance servers starting with the Net4000, which delivers uncompromising quality and high performance and is ideal for a wide range of business networking environments. On the high-end, the Net6000 or dual processor Net6200 offers exceptional performance, scalability and expandability to compute in I/O intensive environments.

The Net4000 and Net6000 family of servers uses a PowerPC 604e-166 or 200 MHz and includes 256KB L2 Cache. Standard features include 32MB or 64MB ECC RAM, F&W SCSI-II Interface and 2.0GB SCSI Disk. They also come equipped with 5446 Cirrus Logic Graphics.

All configurations in the PowerStack II Series include a standard 8x speed CD-ROM, Standard Ethernet Controller and an industry leading five-year limited systems warranty. All announced PowerStack II products will support Windows NT 4.0 and AIX operating systems.

Along with the introduction of the new PowerStack II product lines, significant enhancements have also been made to the PowerStack Series E Servers. The new PowerStack Series EX will support a 604-133 MHz or a 604e-166 MHz PowerPC microprocessor and includes up to 512MB of ECC RAM, a standard fast and wide SCSI-II expansion chasis and optional PCI expansion cabinet allowing up to 11 additional PCI slots. The PowerStack Series EX servers will also support Windows NT 4.0 and AIX operating systems and have the same industry leading five-year limited systems warranty.