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Path: euryale.cc.adfa.oz.au!newshost.carno.net.au!harbinger.cc.monash.edu.au!news.cs.su.oz.au!metro!metro!munnari.OZ.AU!news.ecn.uoknor.edu!feed1.news.erols.com!cpk-news-hub1.bbnplanet.com!news.bbnplanet.com!europa.clark.net!newsfeeds.sol.net!hammer.uoregon.edu!leto.ou.edu!news.ou.edu!REX.RE.uokhsc.edu!not-for-mail From: ben@REX.RE.uokhsc.edu (Benjamin Z. Goldsteen) Newsgroups: comp.unix.sco.misc,comp.unix.bsd.freebsd.misc,comp.unix.bsd.bsdi.misc,comp.sys.sgi.misc Subject: Re: no such thing as a "general user community" Date: 12 Mar 1997 12:15:01 -0600 Organization: University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center Lines: 78 Message-ID: <5g6rr5$jgo@REX.RE.uokhsc.edu> References: <331BB7DD.28EC@net5.net> <5fhkv5$8vj$1@halcyon.com> <5fhugj$4q2@paperboy.ids.net> <331CE677.46F5@net5.net> <331CC20C.4542@fbp-ny.com> <5fj37m$oeb$1@kayrad.ziplink.net> <331E7AFE.54DC@earthlink.net> <5g5bb9$ft$1@kayrad.ziplink.net> Reply-To: benjamin-goldsteen@uokhsc.edu NNTP-Posting-Host: etowah.re.uokhsc.edu X-Newsreader: NN version 6.5.0 CURRENT Xref: euryale.cc.adfa.oz.au comp.unix.sco.misc:36613 comp.unix.bsd.freebsd.misc:37062 comp.unix.bsd.bsdi.misc:6326 comp.sys.sgi.misc:29129 mi@rtfm.ziplink.net (Mikhail Teterin) writes: >Honorable fastbit@earthlink.net > wrote on 06 Mar (in article <331E7AFE.54DC@earthlink.net>): >=Mikhail Teterin wrote: >>> >>> Nope. PentiumPRO-200 with 512 cache, lots of RAM and disks, decent >>> video will cost you 6-8K$ at most. Add $200 dollars for a commercial >>> OpenGL X-server from XInside (no hardware OpenGL acceleretion) and >>> you are in bussiness. You can not even get O2 with R5000 for this >>> kind of money, and they are slower -- you need a much pricier 10000s >>> to match... >>> >>> My claim is based on comparision between the said PPro box runing >>> FreeBSD and old R4400 SGI workstation, which has 5 times more memory >>> (I aproximate the speed of newer O2s to the best of my knowledge). >>> TCL (compiled with ``-O2 -mips2'' flags is 2-2.5 times slower on >>> our scripts). >>> >= >=Oh, yeah ? Instead of "approximating", have you actually tried the O2 >=for a spin ? >Nope, and I clearly indicate this in my previous post. Further, I found >out, the machine we have is, actually even worse -- R4000 (not 4400) and >running on 100Mhz. So, may be 5000 is really a great improvement over >what I have. Based on PowerAnimator times posted by others, an O2 is about 2-3 faster than the CPU your machine has. It isn't a good idea to make broad statements based on guesses (or in this case, incorrect data). >=The O2 with 128MB simply FLIES; there is no comparison with 200Mhz PPro >=boxes, >=not even dual 200Mhz PPro boxes. The speed with which you can do >=texturing and >=VRML stuff is simply amazing for that kind of low-end box. >This is because of a good graphics, somthing SGI has been known for for >a long time. Not the only reason one needs a good machine. How about >compilation times? Of course, different machines are best suited to different taskes. For example, an O2 would make a poor laptop. I wouldn't drop one on a secretary's desk either (overkill at best). If you don't need graphics, an O2 is probably going to be more expensive simply because it includes a lot of graphics hardware. A O200 makes a better CPU server. >= You can get a standard issue O2 with 64Mb mem, 2GB disk for around $6K, >=spend about $800 for 64MB more memory; another $1200 for a fast 4GB >=drive and so for around $8K you have a hell of a machine that will beat >=the s**t out any $15K PPro box. >Well, the PPro I have was about 8K, so calm down. BTW, have you taken >any PPro for a spin? Which ones? What did you try to run on them? >And what about my other reasons against SGI, such as expensive hardware >upgrades? "No-no you need an SGI aproved external CDROM"... Sun, BTW, >wised up and made a PCI motherboard for Sparc (announced today, IMHO). >The MB will fit ATX case... I've given up on hardware upgrades. They hardly ever seem worth it (for the most part, buy what you need and replace when it is no longer is what you need). >And why does OS cost 3,000 dollars (I suppose, it comes installed on the >new machines, but how about upgrades)? The OS is free is you maintain software support. SGI penalizes you pretty hard if you don't. -- Benjamin Z. Goldsteen