Archive for May, 2011

Earlier this year, EVGA released a new VMware-Certified Zero Client dubbed the PD02. It uses the same chipset as the products it competes with, notably the Wyse P20, Dell FX100, and others; this means it is functionally the exact same.

The form factor is different as it comes in a small cube as opposed to the traditional blocky design. However, the biggest difference is the pricing: $299. The other units are at least 25% more expensive with the Wyse P20 listing on CDW for as much as $419.99. When purchasing hundreds of these units, that amount can really add up. For a 600 seat deployment, that’s a whopping $72,000 saved.

The unit has an aluminum casing on the sides which acts as a heat sink. While this may do a great job at accomplishing its goal of cooling the unit, it also does a great job at making it uncomfortable to touch. A non-scientific heat gun reading listed the unit as around 110 degrees (F). It’s not unbearable, but it is certainly unpleasant to hold after it has been on for awhile.

The unit can be managed via the Teradici PCoIP Management Console just as all other units that use the Teradici chipset. It can also use the firmware directly from Teradici like the others. It does not come with a keyboard or mouse similarly to the FX100; it is worth noting the Wyse P20 comes with PS/2 versions of both.

It will be interesting to see how other manufacturers respond to this unit, but hopefully this will drive down the pricing for zero clients. I am a huge proponent of zero clients over thin clients or re-purposed desktops as the experience among the three is night-and-day with the zero client coming out far ahead of the others. Lowering the cost of these units will increase their deployment numbers and be better for View-based VDI deployments.