Xserve or Dual G5

[Anonymous]

I am looking to buy a new server for a 30 seat graphic arts lab. The server is used mostly for administration of clients, apple remote desktop, file storage and print serving. I will be upgrading to 10.3 server and clients. Should I buy an Xserve or a new Dual G5 with dual hard drives, stripped with raid?

[Camelot]

For simple file storage and administration, both machines are going to have plenty of horsepower, so the many other variables are going to be as/more important.

Do you need/have racks for the XServe?
If space is an issue, the rack-optimized nature of the XServe wins.

How much storage do you need?
The 4 internal bays on the XServe give you more storage than the two internal bays on the G5, but RAID options can affect this.

Where is the server going to sit?
If it’s close to users, the quiet nature of the G5 wins over the XServe. If in a separate server room this doesn’t matter.

What about A/C?
The XServes run hot. make sure there’s adequate ventilation around the XServe.

As you can see, there is no one right answer to your question.

[Author]

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