IBM Chops Power7+ Processor Prices On Flex Iron
August 26, 2013 Timothy Prickett Morgan
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If you are shopping for a new two-socket Flex p260+ server node, then good news. IBM just slashed the prices on the processor cards on three out of the four processor card features that were announced with the machines earlier this month. As The Four Hundred previously reported, IBM trotted out three new server nodes in the Flex System chassis on August 6. Apparently IBM is unhappy with the pricing of the 7895-23A processor cards, which were aimed specifically at IBM i shops and which have two Power7+ processors running at 4 GHz, each with two cores. But the fatter Power7+ processors used in the 7895-23X cards got a big chop on prices in announcement letter 313-065. Specifically, feature EPRA, which is a 16-core server node with two 4.1 GHz Power7+ chips, now costs $8,802, down 50 percent from its original $17,524 price less than a month ago. Feature EPRB, which has two eight-core Power7+ chips running at 3.6 GHz, cost $15,409 on announcement day but now costs $6,223, which is a whopping 59.6 percent cut. And the feature EPRD processor card, which has two four-core Power7+ chips running at 4 GHz now also costs $6,223 after a 27.7 percent price cut. No, there is no good reason why the EPRD and EPRB features should cost the same, considering that the EPRB card should have roughly 80 percent more CPW oomph based on core counts and clock speeds. But, the prices are lower across the board, and that is always a good thing for customers. As far as I know, the price cut is only in effect for the United States and Puerto Rico. In announcement letter 313-066, IBM tweaked the price of the one processor module in the PowerLinux 7R4 Linux-only machine. The feature EL3H processor card, which has two four-core Power7+ chips running at 4 GHz, had a 10 percent price hike to $9,946. But the per-core activation fee for the card, which is called feature EL3M, had its price chopped from $3,782 to zero. That’s a big price cut at a system level, and deeper as more cores are activated. As usual, IBM did not explain the price changes. RELATED STORIES IBM Rolls Out Three New Power7+ Flex System Nodes IBM Dresses Up The Power 750+ In A Linux-Only Tuxedo IBM Beefs Up The Power7+ Midrange With Double-Whammy Sockets Invader II: New Power7+ Machines Take On Entry X86 Iron Surprise! Power7+ Chips Launched In Flex System p260 Servers Thanks For The (Higher Priced) Memories? IBM Launches Single-Socket PowerLinux Server, Tweaks Power Systems I/O IBM i And AIX Shops Pay A Hefty Premium Over PowerLinux Buyers IBM Peddles Discounted, Linux-Only Power Iron IBM Launches Hybrid, Flexible Systems Into The Data Center A Closer Look At The Flex System Iron
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