[rescue] replacing an Ultra2

[Steve Sandau]

>>> Basically I'd like a faster main workstation that is not PeeCee  
>>> crap. I
>>> have to deal with Dells and such all too often.\
>> The Sun U20 is a fairly bog standard Opteron PC, so if you don't  
>> like the
>> Dells, you might not like the U20 either.
> 
> I object. I have had a snoop around a Java Workstation 20 (the U20's  
> predecessor) and the build quality alone is a light year ahead of  
> Dell's. It's nothing short of what you would expect from Sun. I think  
> Steve's point was not that he is avoiding x86/x64 hardware, just that  
> he wants to avoid poor quality, shoddily built and overpriced crap  
> (see Dell Precision 490/690).

Yes, that was my point. I suppose I can live with x86/64 limitations, 
but not sub-standard parts. I also want to avoid Pentium 4s. I have 
worked with a bunch, have one as a desktop at work and am not impressed 
at all. (They are Dells.) Using dd to copy a CD means that you can't do 
anything else until it's done.

One of the best machines I have had in terms of good components was a 
Gateway 2000 486 from the late 80s. The internals were generally better 
than they needed to be and handled upgrades quite well. For example, it 
had PS/2 mouse and keyboard connectors--not unheard of, but certainly 
not low-end.

> 
>> Try to go see one if you can.
> 
> I can't disagree there, I always try before I buy on anything.
> 

I wish I had a local Sun store to head down to. ;-)

Thanks again for all the advice. For now I have decided to buy more 
memory for the machines I have. I also have an offer to buy a Sun Blade 
2000 with 2G, 2x900MHz and 2x72G HDD for a little over $400.

Steve