[seul-edu] Slowest Computers Useful For

[Les Richardson <richl@mail.tfsd.sk.ca>]

Hi All,

What is the slowest computer that can be used for particular tasks?

1) X Terminal - I would suggest a 486-66 is the lowest end machine that
should be used for this. A 486-33 just doesn't seem to make the pixels
move fast enough, although some may find this useful.

2) Firewall Routing - I'm using 386-40's for dialup routing and firewalls.
For a faster connection like 384K and up DSL I would suggest something in
the Pentium/486 100 range. I've had no success with 486-66's doing DSL
routing, but YMMV. My firewall at home is a 486-100 managing a 128K/1.5Mb
DSL link.

3) Server usage - We are using a 486-66 for a school division mail server
(and have for 4 years) doing only POP/SMTP. Other servers for file/print
service are Pentium 200's with 128MB of RAM but good SCSI drives ( 2 x
18GB Seagate UW Barracuda 7200's).

4) Terminal Server Use - Dual Processor P3/Athlon, Maxed out Ram, Good
Scsi subsystem. Typically here we would look at a dual P3 setup,
Systemworks Chipset, and 4GB of RAM. A dual 10K SCSI drive system using
LSI or Adaptec Controller. Apparently a single P4 board will work fine
also since it clocks at about the same as a Dual P3 setup, although this
is still open to debate...

Les Richardson