2:01 BusinessCompute: OK, thanks. It's noon, so let's get started. I'm Peter Krass, editor of Business Compute Community. I'll be our chat moderator.

Transcription

1 Date: June 12 th Time: 12 pm EST Total Chat Participants: 95 Total Duration: 45 minutes 2:01 BusinessCompute: OK, thanks. It's noon, so let's get started. I'm Peter Krass, editor of Business Compute Community. I'll be our chat moderator. 12:02 BusinessCompute: Welcome, everyone, to Business Compute Community s first live chat. 12:02 BusinessCompute: Please join me in welcoming our guest, Rob Herman. Rob is Lenovo s Director of Worldwide Marketing for workstations. Rob_Herman: Hello everyone! Thank you and happy to be here to chat. 12:02 thebhard-1: Hi. 12:02 ustreamer :. 12:02 BusinessCompute: At any time during this chat, please feel free share with Rob your workstationrelated questions or comments. 2:03 BusinessCompute: So to get the chat started Rob, would you tell us when you joined Lenovo, and what your main job duties are? 2:03 Rob_Herman: Hi. I joined Lenovo in I am responsible for worldwide product management for our workstation PC product line. ustreamer : Will there be any LINUX based offerings going forward? 12:03 Rob_Herman: Hi. I joined Lenovo in I am responsible for worldwide product management for our workstation PC product line. 12:04 BusinessCompute: Ok, thanks. Rob, a question above...linux? 2:05 Rob_Herman: We qualify our systems for RedHat Linux. Customers can buy systems with a Windows OS and dual boot using their own Linux distribution or buy a system with no OS and load Red Hat Linux. 12:06 ustreamer : Is it just specific models that can be bought without an O/S? And should we assume that those are lower in cost because no royalties are paid to Microsoft? 12:06 kevinlarocque: When will the new P300 be able to support the next gen processors 12:06 ustreamer : can we by tinies without an os? 12:06 Rob_Herman: yes, specific models and we adjust the price 2:07 Rob_Herman: The P300 does support the new Haswell based Intel Xeon E3 processors today 12:07 BusinessCompute: Rob, the new P300...at about $730, who's the intended market?

2 12:07 ustreamer : when P300 available? 12:09 ustreamer : Since you mentioned ReadHat Linux, there should be no problems with the Fedora Distro?? 12:09 ustreamer : howdy 12:09 Rob_Herman: P300 will be available June 18 12:09 garwynn: What would be the advantage for Xeon based workstations vs a higher end consumer product, like the upcoming 8 core Haswell-E? 12:09 rob_herman: Xeon supports ECC memory which is a more reliable memory to dramatically reduce computational errors over standard parity memory on Core processors. Xeon processors are more robust and reliable for mission critical functions. 12:09 ustreamer : Does the warranty provide advanced replacement? 12:09 rob_herman: If advanced replacement means 4 hour or 24 hour response or whole system replacements those services are offered via upgrade. Our standard warranty is a 3 year limited warranty with next day onsite warranty service. 12:09 ustreamer : how is new 4 series icore cpu's going to effect the laptop market? 12:09 Rob_Herman: I don't suspect issues with Fedora. 12:09 garwynn: (Are the E3 solutions mentioned still cheaper, for example?) 12:10 ustreamer : What is the major competition for the workstation and why is the P300 better 12:10 rob_herman: HP Z230 and Dell T1700. Our designs are more reliable than the competition and we provide customers more flexibility with features like our Flex Bay module to allow customers choose their front facing IO. 12:10 kevinlarocque: Xeon processor support ECC memory, Intel Core i7 processors do not 12:10 ustreamer : Is the video onboard or is a separate card necessary? 12:10 rob_herman: Customers can choose integrated Intel graphics or NVIDIA discrete graphics cards from NVS all the way up to Quadro K4000 (with 450W power supply). 12:10 Rob_Herman: Xeon means more cores. As we all have multiple tasks and multiple applications, Xeons multi cores ensure they are running fast and efficiently 12:10 dawnmooney71: I like the multiple monitor capability 12:11 ustreamer : will this xeon and ecc memory use allow for lower installed memory for windows 8.1 (9)? 12:11 Rob_Herman: No, ECC memory does not impact the amount of memory needed. 12:11 ustreamer : Is Lenovo looking forward for the new CPU going beyond 4GHz?? 12:11 ustreamer : and still have high performance?

3 12:10 Rob_Herman: There is no performance degradation with ECC memory. 12:11 Rob_Herman: we have both integrated graphics models with intel and discrete graphics options from NVIDIA 12:11 What E3 CPUs are available with the P300? 12:12 ustreamer : so, the discreet graphics option, is that a user-replaceable daughter card kind of thing? 12:12 ustreamer : I am interested in the Lenovo product line. Where would I go for the partner program? 12:12 Rob_Herman: 4GHz models will be in the higher end of product line 12:12 ustreamer : Hi Rob, When are the new Thinkstations being Launched? 12:12 ustreamer : How does this compare to the Yoga? 12:13 Rob_Herman: We sell though all the major business partners - check with CDW and others. 12:13 Rob_Herman: The P300 is a desktop workstation PC 12:13 ustreamer : which NVIDA cards do you use? 12:13 kevinlarocque: Yoga is a convertible notebook, not a workstation 12:13 ustreamer : what is the projected date for the IBM sale? 12:13 ustreamer : ok 12:13 Rob_Herman: We announced the P300 on May 12th. They are available next week. 12:14 ustreamer : wow 12:14 ustreamer : Great 12:14 ustreamer : Does Intel provide a deal registration option for resellers to obtain larger discounts on te workstations? 12:14 ustreamer : what is the estimated cost points? 12:14 ustreamer : Rob, is there info to look into the new Lenovo servers? spec and MSRP info. 12:14 Rob_Herman: The P300 starts at under $800 and, depending on the configuration, can scale up to as much as $ :15 Rob_Herman: Just throwing that out as an example. Our North American sales team can help with reseller registration 12:16 BusinessCompute: Rob, can you talk a bit about the P300's FLEX module...what exactly is it, and what are the benes? 12:16 ustreamer : what was the response on this question: Do you have an employee purchase plan in order to get a personal demo unit for autorized Lenovo Resellers?

4 12:16 dawnmooney71: >>> is a reseller and has sold quite a few Lenovo's recently... mostly the AIO 12:16 kevinlarocque: I'm more interested in the P300 FLEX 12:16 dawnmooney71: these seem to be a quite a higher price point... 2:17 dawnmooney71: not sure if I can justify the xeon processor on a workstation 2:17 ustreamer : if doing cad you could 2:18 Rob_Herman: The FLEX module allows for flexibility in configuring the front I/O of the machine. It allows the user to config a MCR, 1394 or esat port from the front of the machine. 12:18 Rob_Herman: esata 12:18 Depends on what type of processing you need 12:18 ustreamer : have some clients using revit ( cad ) that requires VERY high end performance 12:18 dawnmooney71: most of mine are medical offices that are accessing a database software.. 12:18 ustreamer : what Lenovo tablet will be like Surface 3? 2:18 kevinlarocque: Lenovo owns the AIO business... why not build a AIO workstation? 12:19 ustreamer : the miix 2 is the surface equivalent 12:19 Rob_Herman: Revit would be better suited on our ThinkStation S30 or D30 products. The P300 is more entry level CAD 12:20 ustreamer : what make the P300 so robust 12:20 ustreamer : I echo that remark! 12:20 Rob_Herman: Thanks, there are a lot of questions coming. Trying to keep up : ) 12:20 ustreamer : hat it can tackle mission critical stuff 12:20 ustreamer : Do you have an employee purchase plan in order to get a personal demo unit for autorized Lenovo Resellers? 12:20 ustreamer : We have sold the Yoga with great results and am looking forward to testing the flex. 12:20 ustreamer : what makes P30 so robust 12:21 Rob_Herman: We do have EPP that offers a better discount. Are you an employee? 12:21 ustreamer : authorized reseller 2:21 ustreamer : ustreamer , if that's how you feel, why are you here? 12:22 ustreamer : would you recommend the P300 for multimedia applications 12:22 you're better off getting your products at distie cost over a Lenovo EPP program

5 12:22 ustreamer : Rob, please you have the Chat 12:22 ustreamer : Yeah, why speak up to make something better, just be passive and accept it. idiots! 12:23 ustreamer : Yes, reseller employee in the Federal marketplace, where the Feds are reluctant to accept demo units. However, the will evaluate on a personal visit 12:23 BusinessCompute: Rob, how about the question re the P300 and multimedia? 12:24 Rob_Herman: ok, so - a lot of questions came thru in the last 5 minutes. 12:24 dawnmooney71: these would be great for my cad users... 12:24 kevinlarocque: P300 is great for entry level CAD... if you need more power look at the S30, C30, or D30 12:25 ustreamer : I really would like to learn more about the P300 on this discussion 12:25 ustreamer : apologies, just received link and would like to get specs on the "high-end workstations." 12:26 Rob_Herman: The P300 supports up to a NVIDIA K2000 graphics card. It's great for enbtry to midrange CAD work and for light multimedia creation and editing 12:26 ustreamer : My engineering clients want a mobile workstation. The P300 doesn't quite fit that model. :) 12:26 ustreamer : just a suggestion, HP has come out with some comparison charts for their workstation to the apple workstation, would like to see Lenovo in that comparison 12:26 ustreamer : any e32 product left? 12:26 ustreamer : Yes, Lenovo v HP comparison would be beneficial 12:26 Rob_Herman: should not be problem with Fedora. 12:26 - you should be looking at the ThinkPad W540 notebooks 12:27 ustreamer : looking for enough horse power for both virtal and IVR development 12:27 Rob_Herman: Xeon means more cores to run multiple applications simultaneously 12:26 - you should be looking at the ThinkPad W540 notebooks 12:27 Rob_Herman: Also support for ECC memory to prevent errors. 12:28 garwynn: Rob: Does the P300 support dual CPU? 12:29 kevinlarocque: For a dual processor workstation, go to the C30 or D30 workstations 12:29 ustreamer : Rob, that's kind of my earlier point about how terrible a forum this is for this type of discussion 12:29 Rob_Herman: The P300 is a single socket system - one CPU. The D30 and C30 support dualk CPUs 12:29 BusinessCompute: Rob, I know we've scheduled just 30 minutes, but can you run a bit longer? As you've noticed, we've got a big crowd and lots of questions.

6 12:29 Rob_Herman: thanks for your patience and your interest. I love the questions! 12:30 kevinlarocque: What is the one BIG thing about the P300 that would to say 12:30 thechannelcompany: Hi All - to make sure we get all your questions answered - we will publish a archive of this with answers to your questions on the site 12:31 Xeon E3 processors max out at 32GB 12:31 ustreamer : what does the P300 compete with from Dell and HP? I'd like to present it as an alternative 2:31 Rob_Herman: P300 is about price performance value! Whether Xeon or Core, the performance for the price is undeniable. All backed with professional graphics, OS, ECC memory, and a 3 year warranty 2:32 ustreamer : what is the Video capacity for the p300 please? 12:32 Rob_Herman: NP Z220 or Dell T :32 kevinlarocque: Thank you Rob... sorry for the chaos 12:32 Rob_Herman: HP Z220 12:32 ustreamer : Rob why dont you give a short summary of why you believe this w/s is the best that the channel should be selling,i can't keep up as this is quite disjointed 12:33 Rob_Herman: P300 supports up to a NVIDIA Quadro K2000 with our 280W PSU model and upt K4000 with our 450W PSU model 12:33 there are some P300 models that will support the K4000 adapter, most though (due to the power requirements) only support K :34 andytane-1: The comparison charts on this site show Lenovo vs various competitors :34 ustreamer : Can you tell me the bus architecture and it's available slots in the P300 please? 12:34 kevinlarocque: best bet... if you think you're customer is going to need a K4000, get a unit that comes with it pre-installed 12:34 Rob_Herman: Our ThinkStations start with strong quality and reliability - we design for higher quality by ensuring the components are kept cool under extreme conditions. We have third party tests to prove it. 12:35 dawnmooney71: I am very happy with Lenovo as my workstations... I have yet to try one in my server areas yet 2:35 kevinlarocque: Dawn... you will love the ThinkServer line up 12:35 ustreamer : Thank you, Rob 12:36 kevinlarocque: Thank you BC and Rob Herman for your time 12:36 ustreamer : Yes. Thanks! 12:36 Rob_Herman: ThinkServers are great too!

7 12:36 ustreamer : I have good experience with TS430 server 12:36 dawnmooney71: I plan on my next server being one.. very ready to quit dell 12:36 ustreamer : Single reason why p300 is better? 12:36 BusinessCompute: Thanks, Rob. And thank you, chatters. 12:36 ustreamer : Thank you. 12:36 thechannelcompany: we will be archiving the chat and will roll out on the site - chec back in a few days! 12:36 dawnmooney71: thanks 12:39 andytane: %20Sides-%20April% xlsx 12:40 ustreamer : Would you recommend the Yoga 13 for a portable workstation for someone who wants lightweight? 12:40 rob_herman: It depends on the applications used on the system. Generally, for true workstation graphics performance, we recommend a ThinkPad W540 as the mobile workstation to choose for a portable workstation. 12:44 ustreamer : The yoga worked great as a portable workstation for my medical customer