Author: Russell Reagan
Date: 12:40:51 06/03/02
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On June 03, 2002 at 15:30:25, J. C. Boco wrote: >On www.hotdealsclub.com I learned that there is a server for sale for $2000. >No, I'm not interested in buying it, but it has resurfaced a question I have had >for some time now. > >Just what makes a computer built for a server different from a regular computer? > Is there a reason why server-computers seem to cost less then regular ones (my >observation based mostly on cursory comparisons between processor speeds and >RAM)? Why do computer manufacturers go out of their way to maintain a server >line of computers? Usually servers cost more than a regular desktop PC. Generally speaking a server is just a computer that listens on a particlar port, and it handles requests. In other words, it "serves" (hince the name server). Typically a server has a lot more expansion, more potential for adding stuff, can support multiple processors, lots and lots of ram, and so on. At school we have a server for my Unix class. It is a quad processor machine, with each processor running at 450 MHz. It has like 4GB of RAM I think. When my professor told us about the machine, I was expecting something that looked like my desktop at home, but the box is actually pretty big. Basically I just think servers have a little more server specific capabilities. For example, a server that serves many users would be better off using a multiple processor setup than a single processor running at an equivalent speed. The Xeon chips also have bigger on chip caches, which helps server type applications. But as far as exact differences, there isn't any real one. Both are simply computers. Servers just have some different features that a desktop probably doesn't have (or would need). Russell
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