NEW - System x3950 M2 servers featuring latest Intel Xeon MP processors

IBM Canada Ltd. Hardware Announcement A08-1184
September 16, 2008

Planned availability – October 10^th, 2008

New IBM® System x3950 M2 servers incorporate high-performance, Xeon® MP processors:

• Models of the x3950 M2 server are powered with quad-core and six-core Intel® Xeon MP processors at up to 2.66 GHz with 9 MB of L2 cache and 16 MB L3 cache


• Up to 256 GB of high-speed, lower-power, PC2-5300 ECC double data rate 2 (DDR2) SDRAM system per chassis memory with the ability to scale to 1 TB


• Seven 2.5 Gb PCIE x8 I/O slots (two are hot-plug) per chassis with ability to scale to 28 slots in a 4-chassis configuration


• Serial Attached SCSI (SAS) controller


• Integrated Broadcom 5709 Dual-port 10/100/1000 Gigabit Ethernet


• Four 2.5-inch hot-swap bays for flexible installation of HDDs, supporting up to 584 GB¹ internal data storage


• Standard Remote Supervisor Adapter II Slimline, enabling remote, full-band systems management


• Two 1440-watt, voltage sensing, rear access, hot-swap power supplies


• UltraSlim Enhanced SATA CD-RW / DVD-ROM Combo drive


• Five USB ports (two can be used for USB keyboard and mouse), SVGA video port, one serial port, and two Gb Ethernet ports per chassis

Warranty: Three years, customer replaceable unit (CRU) and on-site² service, limited warranty³; optional warranty service upgrades available.

Potential benefits include:

• Increased performance


• Memory reliability and availability


• Scalability up to 16 sockets


• Low-power cost-effective memory with Advanced Buffer eXecution chip helps lower power usage by the memory subsystem as much as 37% and low latency for optimal performance


• Enhanced systems management capabilities


• Power management savings


• Quad-core and six-core processing performance

Power and scalability

• Fourth-generation EXA chipset powering XpandOnDemand up to 16-socket (64-core)


• Active Memory^tm with hot-swap support: Memory ProteXion, Chipkill^tm memory mirroring, and hot-swap and hot-add memory, for high performance with 256 MB XceL4v cache per chassis


• Up to 32 DIMM slots per chassis delivering up to 256 GB of high-speed PC2-5300 double data rate (DDR2) memory per chassis; expandable to 1 TB in a 16-socket (64-core) complex


• Serial Attach SCSI (SAS) plus RAID to maximize throughput and ease installation of a RAID card


• Four 2.5-inch SAS HDDs, up to 584 GB of maximum internal storage


• High-performance integrated dual Gigabit Ethernet built-in, high-speed networking with support for latest technologies


• Integrated Remote Supervisor Adapter II Slimline


• 4U rack-optimized, tool-free chassis that strikes the balance between rack density and ease of maintenance


• Rear access power supplies for easy access

Fourth-generation EXA features

• Advanced fourth-generation Chipkill ECC memory controller to help correct single-, two-, three-, and four-bit memory errors


• Memory ProteXion and memory mirroring support


• Active PCIE x8 I/O slots, as well as hot-add and hot-swap adapters


• Hot-swap drive bays and redundant fans to replace select components without powering down the server


• Two hot-swap, rear access, redundant power supplies


• Predictive Failure Analysis® (PFA) on processors, memory, fans, power supply, and HDD options to help warn of problems before they occur


• Innovative light path diagnostics and top access design; easy to service and configure

System x3950 M2 Scalable Models - 3 year warranty

System x3950 M2 - - 2 x 2.13 GHz/6 MB L2/8 MB L3, 4 core,

72332SU             E7420, 90W, 4x1 GB w/2 memory cards

System x3950 M2 - - 2 x 2.4 GHz/9 MB L2/12 MB L3, 6 Core,

72335SU            E7450, 90W, 8x1 GB w/4 memory cards

System x3950 M2 - - 2 x 2.66 GHz/9 MB L2/16 MB L3, 6 Core,

72336SU            x7460, 130W, 8x1 GB w/4 memory cards

System x3950 M2 - - 2 x 2.13 GHz/6 MB L2/12 MB L3, 4 Core,

72337SU            L7445, 50W, 4x1 GB w/2 memory cards