PC requirements/suggestions

C

Thread Starter

Chris

This pc will house an A/B 1784pktx card, Siemens CP1613 card, running Windows NT4.0 workstation, Wonderware Intouch 7.1 with the A/B ktx I/O server, Siemens H1CP1413 I/O server, and Omniserve. I intend to pick up information from 4 A/B SLC5-04 and 2 Panelview 550's on the DH+ side. From 2 scales with RS-232 out I'll pick the information up using Descartes Omniserver program. Wonderware will pull the data into tags to serve up to an Industrial SQL server as well as then write the data through the CP1613 to a Siemens S5 PLC. I also desire in the future to add two more serial ports to grab info from a couple of metallurgical testers that are RS-232.
For display, I need to use an LCD panel, as the pc will be in an area that has extreme EMF.

The reason I ask is that in the past, I've seen that the AB 1784pktx card came with a warning to not use in machines with a processor over 500 mHz. I also see that the current offerings from Dell in the Optiplex line features half pci slots and they seem to be phasing out the DB9 com ports.

Any recommendations would be appreciated.
Chris
 
> ...AB 1784pktx card came with a warning to not use in machines with a processor over 500 mHz.

I think you got the warning incorrect; the 1784-PKTX is a PCI-slot card that can run on any computer that has PCI slots. I have
successfully run it in everything from a 1.4 GHz Athlon-based server motherboard to a Dell Optiplex GXa desktop.

The older 1784-KTX cards are standard ISA cards, which *may* have some trouble with motherboards that use front-side-bus speeds faster than
133 MHz. This is where the "not faster than 500 MHz CPU" warning may have come from. If you have motherboard options that can hard-set the
ISA bus speed at 8.33 MHz then all ISA-type cards should work fine. But many new motherboards are "jumperless" and take that
configurability out of your hands.

Your application sounds like a classic case for an "industrialized PC"; long availability, multiple serial ports, full-size chassis, high
EMF and vibration protection from heavy steel cases.
 
J

James Ingraham

I don't think it's the PKTX that has the problem with > 500MHz processors. I think it's the plain old KTX, which is an ISA card (the "p" in PKTX stands for PCI). So you should be okay.

I would not use a Dell or Compaq or anything similar. Order a system from an industrial-PC company like Advantech. It should have a nice
industrial enclosure. Ordering from Advantech also has the advantage of being able to get some of the older stuff like DB-9 serial ports and ISA slots.

-James
Sage Automation, Inc.
 
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