Os x server displays on the local monitor, if that's what you are asking. Just because it has server in it's name doesn't mean you can't use it as a desktop os.
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Xserve VS Mac Pro
- Thread starter Pika
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We looked at both Xserve and using a Mac Pro running OSX Server. We went with the Mac Pro running OSX Server and are happy with the decision.
Xserve is very loud and belongs in a racked data room. So if you have a locked data room and will need to expand your storage, get the Xserve. If, however, you need a standalone server in a small office environment, Mac Pro will do great. Just connect a monitor, mouse and keyboard to the Mac Pro and it's easy to run your own server.
Xserve is very loud and belongs in a racked data room. So if you have a locked data room and will need to expand your storage, get the Xserve. If, however, you need a standalone server in a small office environment, Mac Pro will do great. Just connect a monitor, mouse and keyboard to the Mac Pro and it's easy to run your own server.
If you're using one at your desk you're insane.
Ridiculously loud, fewer drive bays, fewer ports, and you can't fit a double height graphics card in them (so basically only low end GPUs). Oh, and the case is incredibly awkward. And forget adding any PCI Express cards later.
I don't know why any normal user in their right mind would consider one. You'll be upgrading long before you max out the RAM in that thing.
Ridiculously loud, fewer drive bays, fewer ports, and you can't fit a double height graphics card in them (so basically only low end GPUs). Oh, and the case is incredibly awkward. And forget adding any PCI Express cards later.
I don't know why any normal user in their right mind would consider one. You'll be upgrading long before you max out the RAM in that thing.
Yes. Rack housing comes in many different form factors from mini 4u enclosures for a few hundred dollars on up - and most (all?) of them cut the noise and increase the efficiency of the air flow or other cooling dynamics. It's also easy to build your own from scratch.
And a blade is a computer. YOU decide what it will be used for - which of course includes "plugged into displays - and to play games". No problem!
The main feature of a blade is NOT heavy lifting or particular mission computing... It's total system expandability and configurability. Where "the system" is considered to be the rack(s) and not the individual blades so much. Think of it as a much larger scale erector set.
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Most racks I work with don't cut sound very much, for one thing racks tend to be grilled on front and back (so you can close them, lock them, and not have your expensive high density computing overheat). Racks full of machines tend to sound like airplanes taking off - all the time.
BTW many 1u servers are aimed at heavy lifting, and have a main selling advantage of density in a rack.
Also, a 1u machine (like the xserve) is *not* a blade. Blades are even smaller, fit into chassis that have management functions, networking, etc, built in. They are *entirely* aimed at high density, heavy lifting. Apple does not make a blade solution.
And oh yeah, I *really* wouldnt recommend an xserve for desktop use, it's *loud*.
LOL, reading this in 2023. My 3 Mac Pros are at half RAM capacity with 128GB each. Still, I was wondering if the Xserve can take more than 256GB since it has 12 slots. It would be fun to play with one, but with only 2 PCI slots, probably not usable for much more than a server.