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Story: Low-power computing: a tech guide
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Charles-
Excellent article. You are doing a great service to people who can’t run these tests on their own. I work for NComputing and would like to add a few comments based on what we have seen in selling over half a million seats of our virtual desktops, many to developing countries where electricity is often limited and expensive.
1. Performance: The review says that performance of the X300 (and L230) varies inversely to the number of users. This isn’t true in practicality. A typical X300 system running 7 users almost never hits 100% CPU utilization. That means that every user gets performance as if they had a dedicated 2.8 GHz CPU. On the rare occasion that the CPU hits 100% momentarily (e.g., every user turns on a graphics intensive application at the exact second), then it might feel like a 2 GHz CPU.
2. Power: The electricity savings of an X300-based system can pay for itself in about a year. Low-power laptops can’t claim that because the batteries are expensive and have to be replaced every few years.
3. Obsolescence: Laptops and desktops have to be replaced every three to five years. With an X300 system you replace 1 PC for every 7 users, so the cost is a fraction of what it is when each person gets their own CPU. It is worse with laptops, which requires throwing away the screen and keyboard elements – and laptops last 2-3 years at best. This also generates more e-waste.
4. Maintenance: Laptops are notoriously unreliable. Our X300 access devices are very durable and practically maintenance-free, so the cost of repairs and maintenance is proportional again to the much lower number of shared PCs. With one CPU per person, these costs skyrocket.
5. User experience. Have you tried those low-end laptops? Our systems look, act, and feel just like “real” PCs. Each user has a big screen, normal keyboards, and regular mice. In short, no compromises.
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