AT&T 6300: the Wrong Choice (power)

[Dave Levenson]

In article <574 at whizz.uucp>, bbh at whizz.uucp (Bud Hovell) writes:
> The long-term effects of poor power *can* generate exactly the kinds of
> symptoms you have described, and standard commercial power is rarely very
> stable.

We support about 50 desktop computers at six customer locations. 
About 30 of these are AT&T 63xx family machines (6300's, 6300PLUS's,
6310's, 6312's -- no 6386's yet).  The rest are IBM XT's, AT's, and
IBM-compatible clones.  Some are networked (AT&T Starlan).  The
network servers and a few of the workstations are powered by UPS
systems.

The power supply failure rate for UPS-protected and non-protected
AT&T machines is the same.  A typical AT&T desktop system
experiences a power supply failure every 2 years.  Of the twenty IBM
and compatibles, only one has experienced a power supply failure. 
They are generally twice the age of the AT&T equipment.

A refurbished AT&T power supply, with the defective one in exchange,
costs us ~ $150 or so from AT&T NPSC.  A brand new IBM-compatible
power supply costs us about $40 from the local importer.

-- 
Dave Levenson
Westmark, Inc.		The Man in the Mooney
Warren, NJ USA
{rutgers | att}!westmark!dave