San Jose, CA (August 1, 2001) - Redefining the meaning of hardware headroom, Super Micro Computer, Inc., Silicon Valley's leading manufacturer of server systems, motherboards and chassis, announced the release of their SC822 line of 2U rackmount chassis, which will support today's Pentium III family of processors and the next generations of Intelâ Xeonâ platforms.

The design vision of Supermicro presents elegant yet robust 2U rackmount solutions for today and provides upgrade capability for tomorrow’s marketplace. CEO Charles Liang proudly stated, "We have spent more time and resources on the 2U rackmount line than on any other project in Supermicro's history. We are bringing to the public a product that is impeccable in design and functionality. Indeed, by making this chassis 'future compatible' we have put real meaning into the word value".

Future compatibility means that the SC822 line of 2U rackmounts will effectively support all Pentium III processors including the newly released "Tualatin" and socket Xeonâ. Additionally, the SC822 line will support the upcoming generations of Xeonâ, a chain of development in processor speed and power unparalleled in the industry.

The SC822 chassis line consists of four models: SC822R-350RC, SC822S-400LP, SC822I-400RC and SC822I-300LP. The first two models are SCSI chassis, with SCA backplanes that provide hot-swap connectivity to 6 hard drive bays, and both come with 3.5" floppy drives. The SC822R comes with a slim CD-ROM drive, features two redundant 350W power supplies, four cooling fans and is Riser Card equipped for two 64-bit I/O slots. The SC822S-400LP comes with a 400W power supply, four cooling fans and affords the use of up to seven low profile I/O expansion cards. On this model the slim CD-ROM drive is an option.

Next in Supermicro's 2U rackmount line is the SC822I-400RC. This chassis is Riser Card equipped, able to host two 64-bit PCI cards. Powered by a 400W power supply, this chassis provides to 6 IDE drives, comes with a floppy drive and four redundant cooling fans. A slim CD-ROM drive is optional. The SC822I-300LP has a 300W power supply, and avails the user of up to seven low profile I/O add-on cards for expansion. This unit is set- up to provide 6 IDE storage devices, floppy disk drive, and is cooled by four 8-cm fans as is the case with entire SC822 chassis line. The slim CD-ROM drive is also optional.

The SC822 2U rackmount line of chassis are built to last, finely tooled and configured to meet the user's changing requirements. Intel's Xeonâ and the subsequent generations will be fully supported by the SC822 line. Throughout the product life of these three generations of processors, the user will be able to continue using the same case and still be able to upgrade his/her system.

This comprehensive line of "future compatible" 2U chassis will be aggressively priced. "We are in the market to bring quality, reliability and cost effectiveness to the consumer. The design vision which results in superior future hardware headroom makes this possible", added Supermicro CEO Charles Liang. This "future compatibility is a first in an industry where backward compatibility has been the previous standard."