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Outstanding value in a high-performance single-socket tower
server
Please see the Legal Information section for important notices and information.
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Product Guide
March 2010
IBM System x3100 M3
Product Overview
CONTENTS
Product Overview
1
Selling Features
1
Key Features
3
Key Options
5
x3100 M3 Images
6
x3100 M3 Specifications
7
The Bottom Line
9
Server Comparison
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For More Information
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Legal Information
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Outstanding price/performance in a value tower server
Suggested uses: Small and medium businesses looking for technology to help improve
business efficiency.
Often small-to-medium sized businesses have limited IT budget and resources, and rely on
partners or multitalented employees to help manage the company’s network. Business needs for
efficiency improvement and retention of critical data require the use of a server that is easy to get
up and running quickly and is dependable. You need to squeeze as much as possible out of your
IT dollars, while saving cost on features not needed in an SMB environment. The IBM
®
System
x3100 M3 is an ideal first server to meet those business needs. It was built for speed, yet
eliminates costly design features found in general-purpose servers that are unnecessary for
smaller businesses.
The single-socket x3100 M3 supports the latest quad-core Intel
®
Xeon
®
and dual-core
Pentium
®
, Core i3
®
, and Celeron
®
processors, to offer impressive computing power in a
minitower design that can fit under a desk. It offers up to 16GB
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of industry-standard enterprise-
class 1333MHz DDR3 memory with ECC (Error Checking and Correcting) protection—for high
performance and reliability. An integrated high-speed Gigabit Ethernet controller is standard, as
are three high-performance/low-latency PCIe adapter slots, as well as one legacy PCI slot.
All models offer impressive scalability for an entry server, including an internal storage capacity of
up to 4TB
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(via four enterprise-class 3.5-inch 1TB SATA II HDDs). Selected models include the
IBM ServeRAID-BR10il V2 controller, which provides internal SATA RAID-0/1 support. Other
models include RAID-0/1 in firmware. Alternatively, the optional IBM 3Gbps SAS HBA v2
provides hardware-based RAID-0/1 support for internal SATA HDDs, as well as support for
external SAS/SATA HDDs and internal/external tape storage. For data backup, the x3100 M3
supports internal or external tape drives or an RDX Removable Disk Cartridge drive.
Standard in the x3100 M3 is a Baseboard Management Controller (BMC) that enables users to
manage and control the server easily—both locally and, using an optional Virtual Media Key,
remotely. This high level of manageability is designed to keep costs down and the system up—
even when network usage increases. These advanced features help maximize network
availability by increasing uptime, as do temperature-controlled fans with Calibrated Vectored
Cooling
™
and industry-standard IPMI 2.0 support, including highly secure remote power
control.
With the inclusion of these advanced features, and unique IBM service features implemented in
system management tools, the x3100 M3 is designed for superior uptime.
If you need single-socket, quad- or dual-core computing price/performance in a budget tower
package, the x3100 M3 is the ideal system.
Selling Features
Price/Performance
The x3100 M3 offers numerous features to boost performance and reduce product and operating
costs:
• The choice of a low-cost dual-core Core i3, Pentium, or Celeron processor or a robust
server-class quad-core Xeon processor offers a range of performance at ultralow prices. 64-
bit extensions provide the flexibility to run 32-bit and 64-bit applications concurrently.
• Energy-efficient 73W processors draw less power and produce less waste heat than high-
wattage processors, thus helping to reduce your energy costs.
• Ultra-fast server-class 1333MHz PC3-10600 DDR3 ECC memory provides up to 50% higher
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Maximum memory and disk capacity may require the replacement of standard components with the largest supported component
available.
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Model-specific. GB equals 1,000,000,000 bytes when referring to hard disk drive capacity. Accessible capacity may be less.