Big Blue upgrades workstations

IBM (IBM) will announce on Wednesday that it has upgraded its RS/6000 line of workstations with faster processors, enhanced graphics capabilities, and price reductions of up to 37 percent across the product line.

IBM's RS/6000 workstations are used by engineering and scientific professionals for applications such as airplane or automobile design. The company says it will offer upgrades for the 233-MHz PowerPC 604e to existing RS/6000 customers, as well as for new systems with the faster processor.

Processor upgrades for the 43P Model 140 will be priced at $5,100 for those customers upgrading from 166-MHz or 200-MHz systems. Customers using the 43P Model 240 can have a second 233-MHz processor installed for $3,000.

New 43P 140 systems with single 166-, 200-, or 233-MHz PowerPC 604e processors, 64MB of high-quality ECC memory, and a 2.1GB hard drive have starting prices ranging from $5,900 to $10,500. The systems will be available starting April 25.

IBM says a new 43P 240 with the 166- or 233-MHz PowerPC 604e processor in single or dual processor versions comes with 64MB of memory and a 2.1GB hard disk. Prices for 166-MHz systems are $9,995 for the single processor version and $10,995 for a dual processor version. The 233-MHz systems are $10,995 for single processor and $13,995 for dual processor. The 43P 240s are expected to be available on May 30.