The Lab Guys look back at the past year
For each of us, having the opportunity to review the newest, fastest, and coolest products is what makes being a Lab Guy the best job ever. In comparing this year's Labsolutely favorites to last year's winners, we were struck by the ways our industry has grown and changed during the past year. Multiprocessor systems became truly affordable, which dramatically improved the price-to-performance ratio of Intel-based systems. Disk storage prices also dropped during 1998, helping to eliminate the constant need to delete files to recover much-needed disk space. Finally, products that deliver digital video to the Web continued to impress us. Fueled by faster Internet access speeds, Web-based realtime video and video clips are now common on many popular Web sites.
The dark side of technology continued to grow as well. We can't remember a time when system flaws that posed potential security risks made the news with such frequency. To reflect this trend, we've included a system security scanner among the ranks of our Labsolutely Awards this year.
No doubt you have your own favorite products, and many other products
deserve recognition. Nevertheless, these products are Labsolutely our favorites for 1998, and we hope you enjoy them.
FAVORITE INTEL WORKSTATION
Picking my favorite Intel-based workstation from the stable of
dual-processor, multiple hard disk megamachines that I tested in 1998 wasn't easy. Every dual-processor workstation I had in the Windows NT Magazine Lab held at least one benchmark record over the past year. Knowing the system under your fingertips is as good as it gets, even if only for a couple of days or weeks, can make it endearing. As a result, deciding which Intel-based workstation I would want to take home from a field that includes an HP Kayak XW, a Compaq WS 6000, an Intergraph TDZ 2000, an IBM IntelliStation, a Dell Precision WorkStation 410, and a Dell Precision WorkStation 610 was difficult. But if you twisted my arm, I'd have to choose the Dell Precision WorkStation 610. Aside from the tool-less case design, I picked this machine because it's the only Xeon system (two 400MHz processors with 512KB Level 2 cache) I've had. Choosing this workstation is similar to buying a car and having the salesperson
ask you, "Would you like this sleek little convertible with a monster engine and great performance, or would you like this sleek little convertible with a supercharged monster engine and better performance?" Tempt me please.
—Brian Gallagher
REVIEWED: Lab Reports, December 1998, page 90
CONTACT: Dell Computer * 512-728-5882 or 888-560-8324
WEB: http://www.dell.com
PRICE: $9813
FAVORITE ALPHA WORKSTATION
Deciding which Alpha-based workstation was my A-1 favorite, out of about
seven systems I tested, was a daunting task. The performance of the workstations and the range of peripherals (i.e., everything from Zip disks to LS-120 SuperDisks) that came with these systems varied widely. But after working with so many Alphas for so many months, I decided to base my choice on each vendor's support and technical expertise. After all, these factors make or break your experience. For this reason, I chose the MaxVision Symbion AXP164SX.
The MaxVision Symbion wasn't the fastest Alpha-based workstation I tested (not by a long shot). However, the MaxVision engineers were always quick to respond to any problems I had with this system, even to the point of writing new graphics drivers to fix one particular problem. A vendor this knowledgeable and easy to work with is priceless, and my experience with MaxVision is what sold me on this system. One final endearing note about the MaxVision Symbion is that it came with a great pair of Yamaha speakers--a shameless, wonderful way to get to the hearts and ears of lab rats the world round.
—Brian Gallagher
REVIEWED: Lab Reports, April 1998, page 79
CONTACT: MaxVision * 805-533-5800
WEB: http://www.maxvision.com
PRICE: $4905