How old/recent are you talking about? Current models?
I've had a little experience with the more consumer-grade desktops (2-3 years ago) and the experience was bad. Two systems had hard drive failures, corrupting the Windows installation. The factory-partitioned recovery drive didn't even try to work (so make sure you get a Windows disk if you get something like this--the ones I'm discussing didn't have a Windows disk because of this recover drive nonsense).
HP's undergone some recent changes, and workstations aren't exactly the same as consumer desktops. So that's the only experience I've got.
HP claims that most of workstations are less than a year old. I have heard that the business group (which handles workstations) is different than the consumer group and the service and products are better. But workstations also have a recovery disk rather than a windows disk, so I still have doubts.
That probably means they treat their hard drives the same way they do with the consumer division--junk.
You could bypass that noise by getting your own SATA drives. Get two. Install Windows on each drive (so you have your own "recovery" drive in case Windows gets hosed), register/verify Windows on each (or you'll be locked out of your installation in 30 days), and use the second drive for your data files, the first drive as your installations drive. This is what I do and it avoids major havoc in case the system drive toasts. Each night, files in directories are backed up to the other drive, so I won't ever lose more than a day's worth of work unless both drives simultaneously toast, in which case I'll revert to back-up DVDs.
Anyway, HP may have their act together in the other areas, but their recovery disk is a true joke. I wonder if they even tried to make it work or if it's a sick gimmick?
Personally, I use Xi Computer for my stuff and run AMD chips, since they're (or were) faster per dollar for what I'm doing (64-bit, dual-core).
Just make sure you buy a warranty if they offer one. They're refurbished for many reasons and you could end up with someone elses problem. A coworker bought a refurbished HP PC and had nothing but problems. My mother-in-law bought a HP/Compac PC from Best Buys....what a joke they have this software that holds the user hostage.
Is this a HP UNIX workstation or a HP PC Workstation? PCs are so much more cost effective these days why would anyone consider running unix.
Best Regards,
Heckler
Sr. Mechanical Engineer
SW2005 SP 5.0 & Pro/E 2001
Dell Precision 370
P4 3.6 GHz, 1GB RAM
XP Pro SP2.0
NVIDIA Quadro FX 1400
o
_`\(,_
(_)/ (_)
Never argue with an idiot. They'll bring you down to their level and beat you with experience every time.
When you do decide to get refurbished pc's, check the mainboard for ballooned/leaking capacitors, a pretty common cause for random lockups & problems. Personally seen it in about 1 on 10 'old' PCs.
Stefan Hamminga
EngIT Solutions
CSWP/Mechanical designer/AI student
"You could bypass that noise by getting your own SATA drives. Get two."
Good idea, probably cheaper than a stand-alone back-up drive too.
"Is this a HP UNIX workstation or a HP PC Workstation?"
It is an AMD Opteron Windox XP pc. No need for Unix in my application.
Update - I tried contacting HP using their 800 tel number and it took several days to be able to get a sales rep. HP says there is no history/return info available on the machines. They claim most are unused overstocks, but many are config-to-order so that leaves some doubt.
