Alright, my company is purchasing a bunch of computers for its office in the coming week, and I'm supposed to tell them what to purchase. My question is, should I look at "Desktop" type computers or should I look at "workstations?" Really, what is the difference?

We've got a LAN with about 5-10 machines on it, plus servers. Thx in advance

5/10/2007 4:27:54 PM

Workstation is a term usually interchangeable with computers for businesses. Typically they only have the pro versions of windows on them and if you're working in a active directory or novell environment you can't use "home" versions. At least not easily.

I would focus on making sure the correct OS is there. But it couldn't help for some opinions on WHICH dells/gateways/etc to purchase.

I'm not in the business of supporting them.

[Edited on May 10, 2007 at 4:49 PM. Reason : stupid s]

5/10/2007 4:49:37 PM

Workstations are generally more powerful machines. Base configurations contain more powerful procs then what you'd see in a Desktop line and can usually also be configured with server level procs. These are more for processing intensive work whereas Desktops are more for general office stuff.

[Edited on May 10, 2007 at 5:36 PM. Reason : Either way look at both and pick the one thats best suited to your needs.]

5/10/2007 5:35:46 PM

They can pay me to tell them what to purchase.

5/10/2007 5:59:20 PM

Since you are asking, you are pretty much assured you just need desktops.

5/10/2007 6:03:52 PM

destop?

5/10/2007 6:18:19 PM

Workstations are generally more powerful machines. Base configurations contain more powerful procs then what you'd see in a Desktop line and can usually also be configured with server level procs. These are more for processing intensive work whereas Desktops are more for general office stuff.

5/10/2007 8:36:49 PM

workstations cost roughtly 3 to 10 times more than desktops
and if you dont need them dont buy them.

5/10/2007 9:02:32 PM

1st tell us what your planning on doing with your work computer. CAD, 3D rendering, content creation, office programs, etc... What kind of budget will you be working with or a range that would be "acceptable" with your company? That will dictate what you would need.

5/10/2007 9:51:53 PM

Quote :

"workstations cost roughtly 3 to 10 times more than desktops"

There's so much overlap in price for various manufacturer's "desktop" and "workstation" lines that that's not an entirely accurate statement. While workstations will usually start higher than bottom priced desktops, that's not always the case. Some "desktop" lines start well over 1200 bucks themselves.

[Edited on May 10, 2007 at 10:15 PM. Reason : ]

5/10/2007 9:54:28 PM

workstations used to be specialized custom machines with custom-made components and easily cost thousands for just the base model. Now days, because of computing power is much cheaper and a much bigger market, it's easier and cheaper to get one, not only that, but you can build a fairly powerful workstation with off-the-shelf parts for cheap.

They still do have specialized components which still have their premiums, but you can honestly get away with retail stuff (such as Quadro vs a high-end 8 series card) thanks to a large boom with gamers and the almost never ending battle between nvidia vs. ati and intel vs amd. Competition leads to better products for the consumer.

5/10/2007 11:44:19 PM

^There is a HUGE difference between Quadro/FireGL cards and the consumer line cards for real workstation usage. Granted the prices have become much more in line with one another, but they are definitely not interchangeable.

5/11/2007 1:16:32 AM

I'm just saying that for most people, a high end gaming card will work in place of a Quadro. Even if your doing solid works or what not, they'll still render parts. Besides, the real difference is in the precision, accuracy and speed of their real-time rendering. Once you actually do a full render, it's almost hard to notice a difference, but then you're processing the data through the cpu with a certain setting.

[Edited on May 11, 2007 at 1:25 AM. Reason : ]

5/11/2007 1:25:05 AM

^^ Recognizing the fact that you can soft or hard mod at least one SKU from most of either ATI or AMD's last few graphics core revisions into a Quadro/FireGL respectively, it follows that you are an idiot.

5/11/2007 5:46:55 AM

^goodbye our n00bian friend, we wont miss you now that you have sinned against tech talk

5/11/2007 6:28:53 AM

^^^I used to think the same thing. A few days working in Alias/Rhino/3DSMax will show you a new world with a workstation card, it's crazy different.

^^I was waiting for one of the m0dd3r comments like that. You can softmod until your heart is content, it's not the same. Been there, done that on several cards over the years, and it still doesn't work. The softmod makes the card show up as a Quadro/GL, it may even enable the extra precision, but the end result is definitely different than an authentic card.

5/11/2007 7:59:30 AM