[rescue] replacing an Ultra2

[Charles Shannon Hendrix]

Tue, 17 Apr 2007 @ 00:09 +0100, Mark said:

> 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. 

The majority of their market is the standard desktop junk, so that's
what they make the most of. IBM, HP, and everyone else does the same
thing.

The U20 is a nice machine. I'd rate its build quality as good, and I
like the airflow and the little SATA backplane.

I almost got one in December when my older machine needed to be
replaced.

However, I was disappointed with the CPU offered, the power supply, and
the motherboard I/O.

I decided to upgrade my frankenmachine instead and put off a new desktop
for another year or two.

Besides, the money I saved went into my Mac/Sun fund.

> > options difficult.  The latter is an issue in a lot of new PC cases
> > that use that kind of airflow system, not unique to Sun.
> 
> I think the lack of drive bays compared to generic workstations from  
> Dell et al. is a fallacy. What the sam hill do you need 3x 5.25" bays  
> and 2x 3.5" bays for these days? For most Workstations a DVD-RW and 2  
> hard drives is all you need. 

Along with 640K of RAM, right?

I look at it this way: The U20 is capable of things like audio and video
processing, and 2 drives is not enough for that.

Even home users frequently run 3-4 drives.

I don't know... it just seems silly on a large case like that with
plenty of room inside.

> > I don't know what would happen to your warranty if you upgrade
> > CPUs, but a lot of people have done it.
> 
> I'm pretty sure you'd void it. You automatically void Apple  
> warranties if you use a non-Apple supplied CPU, I'd imagine Sun are  
> similar. 

I don't doubt they void it, but I wonder if their decision hold up if
you filed a grievance under the Magnuson-Moss Act? 

Years ago the MMA lawsuits forced the industry to accept memory
upgrades, and I don't see why it couldn't happen with CPUs.

Several Apple users report that threatening them with MMA has caused
Apple to back off on warranty issues with upgrades.

I think I'd at least try if I needed to upgrade a fairly new Apple or
Sun. The first step is just filing a grievance: you don't have to go to
court.

> It's mostly about the manufacturer's ability to warrant that  all
> major components are of their own high standards and installed
> according to their own guidelines. 

Most of the time I'm upgrading to put better components in the system.

I'm usually not happy with what vendors use, which is why I mostly build
my own. 

> Installing RAM ins one thing,  swapping CPUs has the potential to end
> in disaster even if, I would  imagine, every soul on this particular
> list is capable of doing it to  close to the same standard as a
> certified engineer. 

Close? 

I'd be embarrased to talk to any of you if I thought vendor FEs were
better than you... :)

Although, I can kind of see some of you guys sitting on the carpet, Sun
workstation guts in front of you, CPU in one hand, flashlight in the
other... :) :) :)

> You have to  account for over-eager 'users' in the equation ;o)

Oh, I know its hell to support end users. 

At the same time, most vendors suck at providing upgrades, so users are
often forced to do it on their own.


-- 
shannon / Well, I have entered the metallic years. Silver in my hair, gold in
-------'  my teeth, lead in my ass...  -- Sheldon Hall