Building an Engineering Workstation > Page 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6
Graphics Card
Oxygen VX1, $191 from Page Computer
The main requirement for the graphics card is that it be capable of some simple CAD work and other analyses. I quickly narrowed my search down to 32 MB cards in the $200 range.
At that price, I could get a high-end gaming card or a low-end professional card. As far as capabilities, the gaming cards provide video in/out and MPEG decoders (for DVD). The low-end professional cards have better OpenGL drivers.
For engineering applications, the OpenGL drivers are the most important, so that pushed me towards a low-end professional card. My two choices were the ELSA Synergy II and the Oxygen VX1. I have an ELSA card in my office machine, but the Oxygen card was highly rated by CADENCE and CADALYST magazines. The Oxygen card also uses the Pentium III SIMD extensions, so that's what I settled on. (A dual CPU will significantly increase the performance of this card--I'm still wondering if I should have found a dual CPU motherboard.)
Even though the VX1 was my top choice, I almost went with a Matrox G400. This is a high-end gaming card. I didn't care about the video and MPEG capabilities, but it has one nice feature: it supports two monitors from one card.
I almost went with the Matrox for that reason alone. However, I kept reading about how poor the Matrox OpenGL drivers are. After a bit of checking, I also found out that Windows 2000 will support two monitors with two cards. Since I have an old ATI Mach32 card and plenty of PCI slots, I decided to use that approach for dual monitors.
Monitor
Viewsonic PS790 19 inch short depth, $399 from Buy.com
Originally, I had planned to just use my old 17 inch monitor. For CAD work and analysis, though, I really like something larger. Plus, I now knew I could run dual monitors.
The reviews weren't very useful. The top choices of some reviews were the bottom choices in others. Viewsonic seems to have a good overall reputation. Once I settled on a brand, I started looking for features. The PS790 has a 0.25 mm pitch, supports 1600x1200 at 88 Hz, has a short depth (takes up less space), and has BNC connections in addition to the standard 15 pin cable.
Modem
Diamond SupraExpress 56K V.90 ISA, $63 from Buy.com
In my area, my connection choices are standard phone line or microwave. Since the latter is $250 per month, I'm stuck with an ordinary modem for the foreseeable future.
I went with 56K, for the rare times when I can actually connect about 28.8, plus fax and voice capabilities. Since I had an open ISA slot, I decided to fill it with the modem and save a PCI slot.
Sound Card
Sound Blaster 16 PCI, $37 from Buy.com
Operating systems, office applications, and even engineering programs can all benefit from some sound. I didn't need anything fancy, so I just went with a simple Sound Blaster. For speakers, I'll just use the stereo speakers from my old desktop machine.
Mouse
Logitech Cordless Wheel Mouse, $40 from Buy.com
If you've never used a cordless mouse, go out and buy one right now. It's amazing how much drag the cable adds. I went with this version, rather than the Pro, because it's ambidextrous. I mouse with my left hand; my wife uses her right. Without the cable, it's a simple matter to switch it from one side of the desk to the other.
I did consider an optical mouse, but I prefer the cordless convenience. I also considered a USB mouse, but why waste the built-in PS/2 port?
Keyboard
Logitech Cordless I-Touch, $45 from Buy.com
I went with a cordless keyboard for the same reasons as the cordless mouse. This is the standard keyboard layout. There's also an ergonomic verions (which I prefer), but it only comes as a bundle with the Pro mouse (which I don't like). Plus, it was out of stock.
The I-Touch has some extra buttons for instant Web access and multimedia functions. The multimedia keys control the CD player (or music software), providing stop, play, skip, and other functions. It's a lot more convenient than an on-screen program.
The four Internet keys are supposed to be set for your home page, your e-mail client, a meny of search engines, and something else I can never remember. The keys are fully programmable, though, so you can have them start up any program. I use the fourth key to start my text editor, which is probably the application I use the most.
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