Subject: Ultra 1 Performance
To: None <port-sparc@netbsd.org>
From: Jeff Wyman <wysoft@hotmail.com>
List: port-sparc
Date: 12/15/2001 06:04:03
Though this doesn't necessarily pertain directly to NetBSD, I figured I'd 
ask here since I can't recieve Suns@Home posts at the moment (short story, 
AT&T cable sucks).

I enjoy using Sun machines as workstations, and I have recently considered 
buying an Ultra machine to replace my aging SS5/110 with S24. I've poked 
around in benchmarks on the Web, but I'd like to have recommendations from 
people who know much more about Sun hardware than I do :)

My question is: is an Ultra 1 a realistic buy for a small workstation 
machine? I'd like to run Solaris (or NetBSD/sparc64 once it becomes 
X-capable) with Opera, StarOffice, Sylpheed, play MP3s, and do some basic 
C/C++ development - I don't care about OpenWindows or CDE, I usually just 
use xdm and Xfce with Solaris. I would also like to tinker with 
NetBSD/sparc64 and maybe try to do a little hacking on it if I get to that 
point.

Is an Ultra 1/170 with, say, 128MB memory good enough to do these things 
smoothly? I had an Ultra 10/333 on loan from a friend for a short time, and 
I was very happy with it's performance. How does an Ultra 1, or a basic 
Ultra 5 stand in comparison?

Thanks for any buying tips you may provide,

Jeff

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