[geeks] Opinions on the HP C3x00?

[Michael-John Turner]

On Fri, Mar 31, 2006 at 04:23:08PM -0500, nate at portents.com wrote:
> They've always seemed pretty pricey on the used/hobbyist market, at least
> every time I've looked.  That or too big... right now on ebay there's a
> AlphaServer GS-140 with 8 x 525Mhz EV6 CPUs, 8GB RAM, 6 18GB drives, etc.
> going for $151.80 with 10 minutes to go.  That's more machine than I can
> handle.

A friend of mine, who can only be described as a DEC nut, got a lead on a
GS160 that was due to be scrapped. He rescued himself a dual 525 Mhz
(probably EV5/EV56), 12GiB RAM machine (odd that it only had two CPUs?).
A rather impressive machine - it's full rack in size with a voracious
appetite for electricity. 

> The best deals I've gotten have been workstations friends have given me
> (Indy, SS20) or gotten super-cheap at MIT Swapfest, otherwise on ebay the
> best bang for the buck I've found in the reasonable-sized workstations
> have been the Sun U60 and the HP C3650 (assuming the latter works out for
> me).

VFM-wise, HP PA-RISC machines certainly look the best. There always seem to
be a few going on ePay at prices that are pretty low considering their
performance. 

-mj
-- 
Michael-John Turner | http://weblogs.turner.org.za/mj/
mj at turner.org.za    | Open Source in WC ZA - http://www.clug.org.za/