[comp.sys.hp] HP 700/RX terminals

mbeardsl@unlinfo.unl.edu (mary beardslee) (06/12/91)

Hi,

I'm in the market for an X-windows terminal.  I'm seriously considering
one of Hewlett-Packard's RISC-based X-window terminals, specifically,
an HP 700/RX model 19Mi.

What have been user's experiences with these?

This particular model comes with 2 MB of memory.  Will this be enough?
I was thinking about adding an xtra 4-8 MB of memory.  I'm not going to
be running any big applications on it, though.  Mostly, I'm going to
be telneting to the various systems that I manage so that I can see what
is going on with them all at once.

Does this X-terminal need to be on the same subnet as the X-server? I've
heard of this with "other" brands. 

Also, I have questions about resolution.  How does 1280x1024 look on a
19-inch monitor?  Especially compared with DEC's x-terminals or even
a Sun SLC?  I don't have the opportunity to see them all compared side
by side.

Thanks.

Sincerely,

peter@hpcvlx.cv.hp.com. (Peter Robinson) (06/22/91)

> What have been user's experiences with these?

How many ways can you say fast! I've had an RX for a few months and 
thoroughly enjoy it. 


> This particular model comes with 2 MB of memory.  Will this be enough?

The RX comes with 2Mb on the motherboard and has 2 SIMM sockets that will
hold 1, 2, 4, or 8Mb SIMMs. If you occupy both sockets, the SIMMS must be
the same size. I would recommend at least 4Mb of memory, more if you can
afford it. You might consider filling one SIMM socket with a 4Mb SIMM and
then buying another one later.


> Does this X-terminal need to be on the same subnet as the X-server? I've
> heard of this with "other" brands. 

The X-server runs in the X-terminal. Clients can be anywhere on the net.


> Also, I have questions about resolution.  How does 1280x1024 look on a
> 19-inch monitor?

I personally like the bigger monitor since text is larger without sacrificing
screen real estate...


Peter Robinson
HP ITO

chris@hppad.waterloo.hp.com (Chris Trojanowski) (06/25/91)

> I'm in the market for an X-windows terminal.  I'm seriously considering
> one of Hewlett-Packard's RISC-based X-window terminals, specifically,
> an HP 700/RX model 19Mi.

Good choice, Mary !

> What have been user's experiences with these?

Probably, you would prefer an opinion of a real user. In my "unbiased"
opinion Model 19Mi have the following advantages :

- the best price/performance on the market,
- a set of comprehensive configuration screens with a 3D appearance,
- a high quality monitor,
- ease of setup and configuration; the configuration screens are embedded 
  into the product and available even if X server s/w is not loaded.

> This particular model comes with 2 MB of memory.  Will this be enough?
> I was thinking about adding an xtra 4-8 MB of memory.  I'm not going to
> be running any big applications on it, though.  Mostly, I'm going to
> be telneting to the various systems that I manage so that I can see what
> is going on with them all at once.

A standard memory of 2 Mbytes probably will be sufficient for what you 
intend to do, especially if you disable backing store. To be absolutely
sure configure your X terminal with 3 Mbytes of DRAM. 

> Does this X-terminal need to be on the same subnet as the X-server? I've
> heard of this with "other" brands. 

No, unless you intend to use bootp. If you configure networking parameters
manually using the configuration screens, then you can download the X server 
code from the X host thru a gateway. Telnet thru a gateway works as well.

If you use bootp to configure the networking parameters of your X terminal,
then you need a bootp server to be present locally on your subnet. However,
the X host doesn't have to be local as long as bootp reply specifies properly
gateway parameters, X server parameters, and the file name.

> Also, I have questions about resolution.  How does 1280x1024 look on a
> 19-inch monitor?  Especially compared with DEC's x-terminals or even
> a Sun SLC?  I don't have the opportunity to see them all compared side
> by side.

Sun SLC           - resolution 1152x900,  17inch mono, refresh rate 66Hz, 
DEC VT1200        - resolution 1280x1024, 19inch mono, refresh rate 72Hz,
HP700/RX Model Mi - resolution 1280x1024, 19inch mono, refresh rate 72Hz.

They all look good ! However, the HP700/RX Model Mi is less expensive and 
faster then the Sun SLC (configured as X server) and much faster then 
the VT1200.

Disclaimer : The opinions presented above are my own and not an official 
statement of the Hewlett-Packard Company.

Chris Trojanowski
Panacom Automation Division
chris@hppadn.waterloo.hp.com