Dell slips out OptiPlex 980 desktop, FX100 Zero Client
By Donald Melanson 
posted March 3rd 2010 3:34PM
posted March 3rd 2010 3:34PM
Dell may be branching out with exciting new products like the Mini 5, but it still has to keep its base of business users well stocked with nondescript desktops, and it now has a new pair for them in the form of the OptiPlex 980 and FX100 Zero Client. The latter of those is a barebones remote desktop that was previously only offered when bought with Dell's Precision R5400 rack workstation, but it's now available on its own and boasts some added support for VMware View 4.0 with PCoIP for a bit more flexibility. The OptiPlex 980, on the other hand, is a traditional desktop, and is available with Core i5 or i7 processors, optional SSD drives, an optional Dell EcoKit that promises to cut noise by 50%, and your choice of three different chassis options (minitower, desktop or small form factor). Look for it to be available in the "coming weeks," with prices starting at $807.
More like F-Zero X100 client.
@Leindurstit whats so great about it? i dont recal reading anything.
would not buy. :(
@br0adcast
For the most part Optiplex is used in the business. I know I've seen them at Comcast, H&R Block and even at my job we use various models of Optiplex. They're pretty reliable PC's for the most part and whenever the time comes that a part goes down you can easily swap it out on the fly.
I guess I'll be looking forward to one of these in about a year when we upgrade our systems...
@PlatinumSkeet Yep. I've got a GX270 and that thing's still upgradable to today. Sure, it might not be an i7 but instead a 2.8 GHz single-core Pentium 4, and sure it might not be 16 GB of DDR3 but instead 4 GB of DDR2, and sure it's AGP, but it's still reliable.
It's my current virtual machine server - runs great even without VT.
So the OptiPlex 980 starts at $807? What about the FX100 Zero? Frankly who cares about the OptiPlex?
@jfine
I do. They are friggin stylish :D
@Arkv2 Touché. ;-) In that case show us pics Engadget!
For people that do not have the inclination to use imacs (I'm looking at my bosses!), this can be a good deal. They have enough horsepower to do whatever and the footprint is not too big. Not bad in my book.
My company relies on desktop computers in the OptiPlex series for most employees. In my department, most employees are issued laptops (like the Latitude D/E series, with some ThinkPads sprinkled around), but everyone else uses an OptiPlex.
If you're wondering who cares about these announcements, it's volume IT buyers. And, indirectly, the people at the large companies that get assigned these machines.
I'm surprised at the $807 price -- I would have assumed that these machines were much cheaper. Perhaps they are, on a volume basis; maybe $807 is the price that an individual would pay, in order to have the same computer at home that they use at work.
@saifrc
I'd say this is pretty common when a new line first comes out. In a few months these guys will start at $590 - $790.
I like the business'ey look although...starting at almost 1000 dollars i can really use a workstation instead of my thinkpad for CAD and stuff...
C'mon Dell.. slip out the E6410/E6510/M4500 already
A fully virtualized desktop environment could be really, really neat. Imagine logging off in one place, logging on in another, and having the same VMWare image? Also, the desktops would be insanely fast due to resource pooling.
We've been testing out one of the FX100 boxes. It is a rebranded DevonIT box. Basically, a VMware view client without an operating system.
So, you take this box and plug two monitors, keyboard, mouse, network cable, speakers, USB devices into it and it connects all of that to your virtual PC running on a beast of a server back in the data center.
That box is specifically for virtual environments, and it does what it does very well. PCoIP is worlds better than anything RDP-based, and once a few kinks get worked out it will be king of the virtual client marketplace.
And, one of the previous posters is right - having a fully virtualized desktop environment is incredible, not only for what it gives the users, but just that the technology exists at all.