[rescue] Mainframe on eBay

[Patrick Finnegan]

Skeezics Boondoggle declared on Friday 16 September 2005 06:44 pm:
> On Fri, 16 Sep 2005, Sridhar Ayengar wrote:
> > $579,000.  Wish I could afford it.  MMMmmmMMMmmmMMM z900 goodness.
>
> $579K?  Ouch.  I mean, that's a heckofa machine, but why not pick up
> something far more affordable?  Why, those cute little Sun SMPs...
> what are they called?  "E10K" or something like that?

Because they're nowhere near the same thing.  IBM's boxes are good 
hardware that doesn't break anywhere near as much as E10ks do.  We've 
got E10k's and F6800s at work, and as someone else noted, they seem to 
consume CPUs/CPU boards as well.  Anyways, the point of a mainframe is 
fast memory and fast I/O, which are two things you don't get 
(comparitively) with an E10k.  

> They're going fully-configured for under $10K; heck, someone in .au
> just bought one down there with 30 CPUs and 28GB for under $1600 USD.
>
> Sure, a 64-way, 64GB US-II box with a BIN price of $9995 isn't going
> to give you that same $579K z900 goodness, but I'm sure most folks
> here would find a way to cope with the disappointment.

I think it makes more sense to go after a cheaper mainframe box, like an 
S/390 G6 or something. :)

Pat
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