On Mon, 23 Apr 2001 05:39:01 PDT, Sean Donelan <sean@donelan.com> said:
I'm not very interested in who really has the coolest, most efficient computers. I am interested in getting accurate information for planning purposes. If this leads to computer vendors publishing more accurate information, great. I'm afraid instead, the pendulum will swing the other direction and vendors will begin understating their true power requirements.
I don't have numbers handy for the IBM boxes, but note that the p680 can go 6 to 24 CPU, and from 4G to 96G of RAM. Hardly a case where one number will fit all. IBM at least *used* to provide power info on a per-component basis, but you had to get the 'Site Planning and Preparation' manual for the system in question. I also know that SGI has information on amperage considerations for their O2K, Onyx and Onyx2 rack-mount servers, where you *can* get into the situation where you have open slots, but be unable to put a high-draw card in because the power supply for the cage isn't rated for it. The only way to get "more accurate" info is to line-item each component and add up the numbers for *your* configuration. -- Valdis Kletnieks Operating Systems Analyst Virginia Tech