[rescue] Sun Kit Needed for EE Student Here

[Matthew Weigel]

Wesley Will wrote:

> Add in the possibility of running it 24/7 for low-end (personal)
> server duty (web, ftp, ssh, and so forth), the actual proven longevity
> of Sun systems, etc., yes, actually we do seem to be doing just that.

The proven longevity of Sun systems means that he could probably handle 
server tasks on a Sparc5, for $20... and use something more powerful for 
more computationally demanding tasks.

> Do you have comparison throughput for such computational processes to
> offer?

I have a dual-400MHz E250, and a 2.2GHz Athlon (close to two years old 
now); the only tasks for which the E-250 is better suited involve lots 
of I/O across disks and network or PCI.  Any time the CPUs are involved, 
the E-250 is a laggard.  Do I really need to benchmark them to show the 
difference that is so large as to be qualitatively apparent?

I'm sorry, but switching to an E450 or Ultra60 for his engineering work 
isn't going to let him do "real engineering work without all the delays" 
compared to his PC.  It's simply not going to have as much "oomph" for 
heavy math unless his PC is relatively old.
-- 
  Matthew Weigel
  hacker
  unique at idempot.net