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Sunblade 1500 vs my cheap-ass PC

djberg96 on 2003-09-24T18:33:50

Here's a run down:

Sunblade 1500 (just came out)

  • Single 1 GHz UltraSparc IIIi with 1MB L2 Cache
  • 512 MB RAM
  • XVR 100 video card with 32MB RAM
  • 1 80GB 7200 RPM Hard Drive
  • 3 USB 2 Ports
  • 4 USB 1 Ports
  • 2 FireWire Ports
  • SmartCard Reader
  • 16x DVD-ROM
  • Solaris 8*
Total cost: $3000

HP Pavilion a230n

  • Single 2.08 GHz Athlon (2800) with 256K L2 cache
  • 512 MB RAM
  • 1 120 GB 5400 RPM Hard Drive
  • GeForce 4 video card with 64MB RAM
  • 6 USB 2.0 ports
  • 1 Firewire port
  • DVD-RW/CD-RW 4x-40x, depending on operation
  • 48x CD-ROM
  • 6-in-1 reader
  • Windows XP (or whatever I choose)
Total Cost: $830

So, for an extra $2200 I get a larger L2 cache on a slower processor (and yes, it *is* slower), a faster (but smaller) hard drive and no DVD burner. Gee, what a bargain!

Oh, and to add insult to injury, I've just read this thread on comp.unix.solaris that reveals that you can't even install Solaris 9 on this machine!!!

I'd sooner buy a Sunblade 100 before I bought one of these.

bargain?

nicholas on 2003-09-24T20:32:03

* 2 FireWire Ports

But, but, but - you get 2 FireWire ports on the Sun. You didn't say that.

$2200 for that second FireWire ports - is FireWire really that expensive?

Re:bargain?

djberg96 on 2003-09-24T21:15:14

Hehe - here are some vital usage stats, btw:

Number of years I've been using Sun hardware: 7
Number of times I've used (or needed) a serial port: 0
Number of times I've used (or needed) a usb port, excluding keyboard and mouse: 0
Number of times I've used (or needed) a smart card reader: 0
Number of times I've used (or needed) a firewire port: 0
Number of times I've used the floppy drive: maybe 6, max.

:-P

Re:bargain?

Dom2 on 2003-09-25T06:23:54

You haven't done real Solaris stuff until you've wrestled with serial ports. System V sux.

/me barfs

-Dom