Selection Guide

Choose the right product for your needs

We offer two product lines

The L-series and the X-series. It is fairly easy to choose the right product for your organization's specific needs and priorities.

Quick decision guide

  • If you don't want to open PCs to install PCI cards, choose the L-series.
  • If your users can't be in the same room as your shared PCs, choose the L-series.
  • If you want the best multimedia performance, choose the X-series.
  • If you want the absolute lowest cost per seat, choose the X-series.

image

Distance

The main difference between the two series is how long the cables can be between the shared PC and your users. The L-series gives you the freedom of distance. Your users can be just about as far away from the shared PC as you like. They can be in different rooms, different buildings, or the farthest reaches of your network. The X-series is better for workgroup clusters, where the users are within 10 meters (about 30 feet) of the shared PC.

Performance

Both series deliver a very pleasing PC experience. Most people see no difference in the performance of a dedicated PC, an X-series, or an L-series when they run standard office productivity tasks. But for demanding multimedia, go for the X-series. Even when running videos and Flash, people say they can't tell the difference between a dedicated PC and an X-series virtual desktop.

Ease of installation and maintenance

It doesn't get much easier to install and maintain a product than with the L-series. The L-series access devices plug into standard Ethernet networks, so it is, quite literally, a snap to install, move, or replace them. The X-series takes a little longer and requires basic PC skills because you have to open up the PC and install a PCI card. The X-series does have one convenience advantage over the L-series: because the power for the X-series access devices comes through the data cable, there's no power adapter, so you don't need an extra outlet at each workstation.

Number of users

You can generally get more users onto one shared PC with the L-series than with the X-series. Each X-series kit includes three or five access devices. Two kits can go into a single PC. That way with the X300 you get up to seven users sharing one computer (three on each kit, plus one on the PC itself). In the same way, with two X550 kits you get up to eleven users sharing one computer.

Because the L-series connects through Ethernet, there are no card or slot imitations. Technically, a single PC can support up to 31 users (one on the PC and the other 30 on L-series virtual desktops). Realistically, it all depends on your applications and expectations. As a rule of thumb for office applications, 10 users can run comfortably on an entry-level PC (about US$400), and 30 on an entry-level server (about US$1000).

Which specific model

If the X-series is right for you, you will need to choose between the X300 and X550. The X300 is the lowest cost kit and delivers good multimedia performance to screen resolutions up to 1024x768. The X300 is also the only option for installing in low-profile PCs. If you need the best multimedia and video performance and need to support larger or widescreen monitors, choose the X550. Also, with the X550 you can get eleven users on one PC versus the seven user maximum for the X300.

If the L-series is right for you, you will need to choose the L230 or the L130.

The L230 has three features that the L130 does not have:

  • USB flash drive support
  • 24-bit color depth
  • Microphone port

The L130 is less expensive than the L230. The L130 displays fewer colors than the L230 (16-bit vs. 24-bit), but the L130 is actually more secure than the L230 (because it doesn't have a USB flash memory port that can be used to download confidential data). The L130 also doesn't have a microphone port, so it wouldn't be suitable for VoIP applications (like in call centers), so we recommend it for the ultimate in economy and security.