We have upgraded Superhawk from Core 2 to Core i5 (LGA 1156 pin) based recently.  Some of you have asked if the same applies to Workgroup Server. The answer is surprisingly negative for 3 major reasons. 

(a) The Next Gen WGS platform does not take desktop CPU and memory as the current platform does.  This appears to be a commercial agenda because technically our current platform has performed well and proved to be reliable.  The newly imposed limitation means that the Next Gen platform will be more expensive. 

(b) The supply of Xeon for Next Gen WGS is very limited at present. 

(c) Supermicro has delayed its release of NG WGS motherboards for whatever reasons.

Accordingly, we have decided to keep the existing WGS model for October and November and will decide the best timing for transitioning to the new platform.  We will report again soon.  

We have been a distributor for IP Megapixel cameras for a while and we have sold cameras to customers outside of our channel only so far.  We have sold to customers as far away as Nelson who know about IP cameras but not to any of our close channel members.  A close channel member advised us that our camera prices are too high. I passed on the input to the factory and the answer was an offer of an All-in-One DVR suite.  

The price of this suite is similar to one high end IP camera.  The suite consists of 4 cameras with Infra Red, 352 x 240 resolutions, sheath for semi-outdoor deployment, a Digital Video Recorder, a 250GB SATA HDD, a mouse, a 7” LCD screen, connector to large TV monitor as an option, and 4 sets of 15 meters of cables.  We have received stock and TSD has tested and passed the product.

Reseller price is $1400 + GST for the whole lot.  Storage can be based on motion detection.  Upgrade to 500GB HDD for a longer period of archive as an option.  Footage can be copied to USB thumb drive. 

Contrary to our previous discussion on the intention of staying with Superhawk P45 for a few more months to allow time for the new Core i5 based platforms to stabilize, we have experienced a sudden death of supply of Superhawk motherboard in New Zealand and Australia.  We are holding the last motherboard as our warranty buffer right now.  We either evolve to Core i5 immediately or adopt a different P45 model during the transition period. 

A different P45 motherboard would be less than ideal for our channel, create inconsistency, and face another sudden death of supply threat.  The choice is therefore obvious that we evolve to Core i5 which is LGA1156 pin Intel CPU with immediate effect. 

Intel has released one high end Quad Core i5 CPU called 720 (2.66MHz, 8MB L3).  It is less powerful than Core i7 with triple channel memory transfer and more powerful than Core2 Quad with 6MB L3.  The price of Superhawk 1156 has increased by the amount of the base CPU price difference only and it is not bad at all.  We suggest upgrading Diamond to Quad Core and mid tower if necessary to fill the gap.  Contact our team if you need any advice.              

We unveiled at the last CPD Seminar the economy and innovativeness of a product that will create a market for itself.  The product consists of 4 Platinum DXT systems (Dual Socket Xeon) each having its own HDD and they share a 2U chassis and Redundant PSU.  The 4 systems are totally independent and hot swappable.  They come with IPMI for KVM and Media over IP.  The base price is about 3.2 times of a 1U server.  We can use the 4th system for non-critical applications and as a cold stand-by for the other 3 systems. 

This arrangement can be seen as a mini Blade Server and it is suitable for customers who do not need as many as 10 blades. This system rates very well on performance per wattage, U space and price.

Pricing and configuration are available on our channel web area now (restricted access).  For public information, there is a “Penguin egg plant” congregation on the front page of www.compucon.co.nz and a link to some introduction information.