Quote Originally Posted by userfriendly View Post
mr_incredible,

Just saw newspaper ads selling servers. Was wondering why they cost so much more than desktops.
I see. The high costs of servers is not just because of the hardware, but also the software (server editions of OS are typically used for this), as well as the support provided by the manufacturers.

Quote Originally Posted by Mguy View Post
So, if you need a reliable PC, buy a server. If you plan only to use Word/Excel/Powerpoint and surf the web, buy a desktop workstation.
You still can have a desktop that's reliable enough to run almost 24/7 without purchasing a server, if your needs are those mentioned by Mguy above. You just need to add a few peripherals (eg, a surge suppressor, UPS, another hard drive for a RAID configuration, etc.) as well as critical and hardware monitoring software to make sure you are alerted if your PC is nearing the failure point.

However, for critical applications like those mentioned by Mguy, you really need to use a server.