First post, by anderswk
Some weeks ago I bought an IBM Intellistation model 6889-930 of eBay. The picture in the listing was a stock photo, so when it arrived I was happy to see that it was in pretty good condition. The plastic does have some scratches, but nothing major that can’t be fixed.
Here's a pdf from back then: http://ps-2.kev009.com/pccbbs/commercial_desk … op/dts6154f.pdf
The specs for my particular unit are:
- Intel 440BX, Dual Slot-1
- Single 600 MHz Pentium 3
- 128MB ECC PC100
- Built-in Adaptec 7895
- Built-in Crystal 4235 Audio
- AGP + 5 x PCI + 1 x ISA
- Matrox G400 16MB AGP
- 2 x IBM 9.1GB SCSI
- Floppy + CDROM
The sticker underneath says Mfg Date 910, so October of 1999.
I was glad to see the machine POST without errors. However, after some time it would randomly turn off. Turned out the PSU was bad, but luckily it can accept standard ATX plugs, so not a big problem. With a new PSU it ran the IBM Diagnostics self tests without errors 😀
The plan is to turn this into a dual processor workstation running Windows NT 4.0, but first I took everything apart and cleaned it:
I was unsure of the condition of the hard disks it came with, so I ordered a new 300GB 10K SCSI. 300GB is obviously way overkill, but I couldn't find a good deal on a smaller hard disk. A full installation of NT4, Visual C++ 6, a few games, and several other big programs takes ~1.5 GB. Those were the days!
I found an extra matching CPU for 5 USD and an extra 256 MB RAM.
The seller also had an extra motherboard for sale for ~25 USD. Nice to have as a backup, since it is a non-standard form factor.
For graphics card, I knew I didn't want to use the Matrox card it came with. Back in the day, the machine could be ordered with an Intergraph Intense 3D Pro 3400. I also briefly considered something like a 3Dlabs GVX1, which is available on eBay. However, then I saw a review of Nvidia's first Quadro card here: https://www.anandtech.com/show/439.
Despite their minute size, the Quadro cards perform remarkably well, so I ordered an IBM branded Elsa Gloria II. These were an option in the Intellistation model that replaced the one I have. Since the Quadro card is basically a GeForce 256, but with twice the memory and slightly higher core clocks, it is probably good for gaming in Windows 98, too.
I was planning to use an YMF-724 based PCI sound card instead of the built-in chip. Unfortunately the computer won't even POST with this card installed, so it's probably dead.
Installing NT4 turned out to be more difficult than anticipated. I booted the NT4 install CD, but no matter what I did, it would not recognize the built-in Adaptec 7895 SCSI controller. I tried loading several different versions of the driver disk during setup, but no luck. Eventually I found a document on the IBM website, which said that installing NT4 to a SCSI hard drive must be done from floppies. Installing from a IDE CDROM is simply not possibly! After generating the install floppies, everything went smoothly. NT4 runs very well on this machine. Haven’t experienced a single BSOD or other instability,
Plans going forward:
- Install second CPU + RAM
- Test spare m/b
- Replace fans since PC is quite noisy
- Dual boot Windows 98SE
- Remove scratches from plastic somehow.
- Replace built-in Crystal 4235 with new sound card
Any other suggestions welcome!
1991: IBM PS/2 Model 35 SX
1995: IBM Aptiva 2144
1999: IBM IntelliStation M Pro 6889