I have noticed of late that some of you are looking into new/replacement equipment. Please, don't turn a deft ear to eBay as a source for your hardware procurement. Many of my clients are now working on low to mid-range server equipment for their workstations at prices way below what they would have spent for regular stuff. After coming online today to hunt for a system replacement for a client, I was just amazed at what I was able to procure. And now that Win2000/WinXP (Pro) is becoming more in vogue, it can manage things that you would not have thought a while ago. Multiple processors and massive RAM layouts are at your disposal. Late generation PIII's or new Xeon's, both in dual setups, are within reason and viable. I just bought a dual P4 server motherboard for under $200 and I have a bid in for a dual P3 (capable of handling 1.0ghz processors) board for $99. The P4 board will handle up to 6gig of RAM. The P3, up to 4gig. I'll find a quality server case and set up some SCSI hot swap capacities. Dual network connections and multiple video cards added in along with 100+ gig hard drives and I will probably not have spent $900 for the base hardware of some rather robust systems. Now after adding in those multiple flat screen monitors that I bought the other day. . .well that's another story. But the base understanding is still true. Take a moment out there before you trek down to Best Buy, CompUSA, or call Dell. Be daring, build it yourself! It might be easier than you think.
You don't even have to build it yourself. Just buy the components online and save 1/2 the price. Then have someone build it for you for $65. nitro
I have heard of Trikentic. Somewhere I have a pic of an absolutely ridiculous workstation that these guys offer. Its like a three screen by three screen mounted frame that sits on your desk. Very pricy. Their towers are pretty intense also in terms of the capacity and power they have. If I get a chance, I will try to dig out some links for you.
Trikinetic is now known as: http://www.xviewtechnologies.com/ IMO , overpriced systems that you could get for a fraction of the price anywhere else.
Whatever they call themselves now, they SUCK. Bad service, WAY HIGH PRICES, UNDERPOWERED COMPUTERS, etc... I can't believe they are still in business.
This is true. I just had a friend who knows how I love to tinker, stop by with some parts that he said he wanted to install. He brought the machine in (along with a great Ceasar Salad) and for the next two hours we chatted and laughed. The bottom line, he got his machine upgraded and software optimized for the price of a salad.
For standard uses there's no real difference. Both have certain compatibility issues with other stuff, but that's small.
Looking into a new system and talked to the computer guy at the company where I work . This is what he recommended: Go to spartantech.com and get the X-platinum they feature there and customize it to what you want , they will assemble it for you (burn in). For monitors go to winbook.com and check out their 17 in lcd then buy it from pricewatch.com . because its cheaper $352.00. Make sure you get all intell stuff. Would be interested to here what you guys think , I don't know that much about computers .