From obxwindsurf@yahoo.com Mon Oct 13 06:54:34 2003
Subject:Dedicated Clone vs. PC/B4

Hello,

I have been told that there are potentially a lot of opinions on the
question I'm asking here.

I'm trying to decide if I should put together a dedicated clone rig
(dedicated hardware), or a PC/B4 setup.

If I go the PC/B4 route, I can build a rig for about $640, including
the B4 software - that being the case, the system is based on AMD
Duron 1.6Ghz/128Mb/20Gb HD/3D Stereo Sound with DirectSound 3D/XP
Home/2USB/1 Serial

The alternative would be a dedicated rig, probably used from E-Bay
like the Voce V3 or V5 or even a Micro B or Blue Chip OX7

Obviously the latter is a much more portable alternative, and more
dynamic to operate while playing (working the drawbars, changing
presents, etc.), but the former can be tailored as new software
updates are made available.

Also, does the system I'm mentioning above have enough guts to do the
job? Is the B4 CPU intensive, memory intensive, I/O intensive or
some combination of all three - that is, what, if anything needs to
be upped from the base system above to do the job.

Any opinions are welcome especially those from hard-won experience!

Best regards,
Kevin