The Xserve is better priced as well vs the competition. I priced out a Dell 1U rackserve with dual P3 1.4GHz Xeons and matched everything else as close as possible. The only major difference was 3x60GB ATA HD's in the Xserve vs 3x18GB SCSI's in the Dell. The Dell ended up being $100 cheaper with Red Hat 8, but that doesn't include firewire.
" It's easy to get ram from any number of manufacturers."
Apple uses industry standard RAM. PC66, PC100, PC133, DDR, etc. They've been doing this for at least a decade.
"You have a million video card choices."
Apple sticks with the top two video card manufacturers, ATI and nVidia. By the way, those cards are true plug and play. Plug them in, turn the machine on, it works. None of this "hey, I found some new hardware! Now all I need is some drivers. Please insert the CD-ROM or tell me where I can find them" crap.
"Upgrading a processor is as easy as pulling a lever."
Can you upgrade from an Intel CPU to an AMD CPU? Can you upgrade from a P3 600MHz to a P3 1.4GHz? Can you upgrade from a P4 1.4GHz to a P4 2.8GHz? How about from a Celeron class to a Pentium class? I know, I know, there's a new book out that can answer most of these questions for most motherboards, but there are some exceptions, and there's no guarantees, etc. By the way, I just upgraded my G3 to a G4 last week by pulling a lever, popping out the G3 ZIF, and dropping in the G4 ZIF.
"Changing modems (if you like that sorta thing) is simple, as are NICs and sound cards"
Unlike on an Apple, where that stuff has been built-in for like a decade! And if you need to upgrade, thankfully they have industry standard PCI slots.
"granted, I've never been inside of a mac,"
Do yourself a huge favor, and go check out a G4 tower. You won't believe how easy it is to access the insides. You'll be embarrassed that the wintel industry still ships cases the way they are.
"but from what I know it's all propriety apple stuff. Well, the video card may be an exception, but I'm not positive."
Apple is as proprietary as Intel. In fact, Apple uses Open Firmware. You know, as in "open source" BIOS?
"umm... the moral of the story, if there is one, is that it doesn't matter WHAT your system looks like. It's the ease of use, and the power that matter."
Ease of use, Apple wins hands down. Power (processing), IBM beats all challengers. Power (electricity consumed), Intel melts the competition.
Slashdot Mirror
Games this boring don't get ported. Sort of like a gamespam filter!
The Xserve is better priced as well vs the competition. I priced out a Dell 1U rackserve with dual P3 1.4GHz Xeons and matched everything else as close as possible. The only major difference was 3x60GB ATA HD's in the Xserve vs 3x18GB SCSI's in the Dell. The Dell ended up being $100 cheaper with Red Hat 8, but that doesn't include firewire.
" It's easy to get ram from any number of manufacturers." Apple uses industry standard RAM. PC66, PC100, PC133, DDR, etc. They've been doing this for at least a decade. "You have a million video card choices." Apple sticks with the top two video card manufacturers, ATI and nVidia. By the way, those cards are true plug and play. Plug them in, turn the machine on, it works. None of this "hey, I found some new hardware! Now all I need is some drivers. Please insert the CD-ROM or tell me where I can find them" crap. "Upgrading a processor is as easy as pulling a lever." Can you upgrade from an Intel CPU to an AMD CPU? Can you upgrade from a P3 600MHz to a P3 1.4GHz? Can you upgrade from a P4 1.4GHz to a P4 2.8GHz? How about from a Celeron class to a Pentium class? I know, I know, there's a new book out that can answer most of these questions for most motherboards, but there are some exceptions, and there's no guarantees, etc. By the way, I just upgraded my G3 to a G4 last week by pulling a lever, popping out the G3 ZIF, and dropping in the G4 ZIF. "Changing modems (if you like that sorta thing) is simple, as are NICs and sound cards" Unlike on an Apple, where that stuff has been built-in for like a decade! And if you need to upgrade, thankfully they have industry standard PCI slots. "granted, I've never been inside of a mac," Do yourself a huge favor, and go check out a G4 tower. You won't believe how easy it is to access the insides. You'll be embarrassed that the wintel industry still ships cases the way they are. "but from what I know it's all propriety apple stuff. Well, the video card may be an exception, but I'm not positive." Apple is as proprietary as Intel. In fact, Apple uses Open Firmware. You know, as in "open source" BIOS? "umm... the moral of the story, if there is one, is that it doesn't matter WHAT your system looks like. It's the ease of use, and the power that matter." Ease of use, Apple wins hands down. Power (processing), IBM beats all challengers. Power (electricity consumed), Intel melts the competition.