[geeks] Opinions on the HP C3x00?

[Jonathan C. Patschke]

On Tue, 28 Mar 2006, Jochen Kunz wrote:

>> but, even with the mouse speed-hack,
> Mouse speed-hack?

The hack that sets a type 5 mouse to 4800bps rather than 1200bps.

>> every serial-console Sun I've ever used felt like it was miles away
>> over the network.  Input is laggy; graphics are laggy.
> You mean the machines with the old, proprietary serial keryboards and
> rodents?

I mean the machines whose keyboards and mice with an 8-pin DIN connector
that typically talk 1200bps or 4800bps serial back to the host.

> "Serial console" is usually somthing different...

And unfortunately, there are very few ways to express a Sun serial
keyboard an mouse in a way that -someone- wouldn't find a way to
nit-pick without providing part numbers.

>> The Blade 1500 was the first Sun I'd used that came even close to
>> approaching the level of snappiness that my 195MHz Octane had nearly
>> a decade ago--
> Well. Sun was never big in the GFX department. So I am not surprised
> that a SGI does better in that area.

My graphics needs are (IMO) very minimal.  I was 24bpp or 32bpp color
and -very- fast 2D.  I don't need 3D.  I don't need overlay planes.  I
don't need video piped into the overlay planes that I don't need.  I
just want a fast framebuffer.

>> Well, the new ones are very expensive.
> Who byes a new MIPS based workstation from SGI?

I'd hope someone buys new equipment from SGI, or they don't really have
much reason to stay in business.

>> A new IBM POWER-based workstation is almost affordable (5000 USD or
>> so).  A new SGI MIPS-based workstation isn't nearly so
>> pocketbook-friendly.
> Depends. When I look at e.g. the IBM 43P-150 I see a PeeCee with
> PPC604e CPU. A Fuel or even an Octane is a much more sophisticated
> piece of technology.

I wasn't aware it was possible to purchase new 43Ps or Octanes.  If
we're going to go down that road, yes, the 43P is very PC-like--so are
the SGI 1100 and 1200 systems were very PC-like, too, but that has about
as much to do with an Octane or Origin as a 43P does with any other
RS/6000 or pSeries system IBM made.

-- 
Jonathan Patschke     )       Apple MacBook Pro
Elgin, TX            (     Now with Intel Core Duo
USA                   )      Beauty is Skin Deep