Re: non-i386 vs i386 and debian
* Shri Shrikumar <shri@urbyte.com> [19-04-2003 22:20]:
> I have been working with i386 machines for a while now and wanted try
> out some non-i386 hardware.
Why? If it's just for fun, be sure you know what you're getting
into. My experience with a Sparcstation became rather more expensive
than I anticipated in the vein of better spend $250 for good use
than to throw away a $50 initial investment. After playing and
having fun, the Sparc is performing tasks that could have been
performed by a $10 i486 pc.
(I would probably do it again).
> Looking around in ebay, there are some hp-ux, sgi, etc. machines for a
> few hundred pounds. They dont seem to be very powerful though, maybe
> 200MHz or something.
>
> How do their speeds relate to 200MHz i386 machines, if they are about
> the same, how come they are so expensive ?
Simple laws of economics apply, I guess.
This becomes apparent when you need to upgrade. The initial cost of
the system was rather low, but I needed more stuff: second and third
network card, monitor cable adapter, serial cable, hard disk enclosures,
scsi drives, scsi cables, mouse mat.
I was able to buy some of this equipment, some of it is still on my
shopping list. In the mean time I have bought a used Dell for $80
and used some old, lying around parts to get a faster machine that
is easier to upgrade should the need arise.
> Is there any good site with introduction to non-i386 hardware. I tried
> googling but came up with nothing.
There is quite a bit of information available for Sparc. I have
these bookmarked, but there are many more:
http://www.ultralinux.org/
http://sunsparc.org/
To sum up, buying old "Unix" hardware can be a lot of fun, but I
doubt it's a wise investment to get things done.
Bob
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