First Look: Upgrades to Getac’s X500 Ultra-Rugged Notebook

Last November I was lucky enough to get a first look at Getac’s EX80 fully rugged tablet. I have to admit that I was impressed as you can see from this report on it. Just recently Getac called my attention to some upgrades they’re making to their Flagship X500 Ultra Rugged Notebook computer and the X500 Rugged Mobile Server. I have to confess: I may be way behind the times, but I’d never heard of a Rugged Mobile Server before.

I’ll get to the information about the X500 Ultra Rugged Notebook in a minute. I had to educate myself about the X500 Rugged Mobile Server first. I talked to a couple of industry experts to find out that there was such a thing; that there was a need; that it was becoming more and more common. Not that I doubted the folks at Getac at all, but I like to get my law enforcement applicable education from folks in law enforcement (call me “old school”). Then I took a look at the X500 Rugged Mobile Server itself and a few of the characteristics / descriptive items caught my eye.  In fact, they made my eyes open wide in surprise. Things like…

…”adds the OS, increased storage capacity, stability and advanced features of a full server platform.

…features including Intel’s Xeon® Processor E3-1505M v6 with 8MB intel® Smart Cache… and CPU performance with reduced power consumption. (Any time we reduce power consumption on a mobile platform it’s a good thing.)

…Standard NVIDIA GeForce GTX 950M discrete graphics… (I wouldn’t have known how important graphics are if my sons hadn’t gotten me into PC-based video games.)

…powered by Microsoft Windows Server 2016

…Optional Error Correcting Code memory…

…two gigabit Ethernet ports…

And the big one that made me open my eyes: …supports a maximum of 6TB (that’s TERAbytes = 1,024 Gigabytes each) of storage with 5TB available for Redundant Array of Independent Disks.

Now, while some folks read that information and think, “Okay… it’s a great server,” they are dismissing the part of it that said “rugged mobile.” It’s relatively easy to make a server that has all those features and is safely ensconced in a rack or office in an environmentally controlled space. It’s entirely different to make a server that has those features, functions reliably and is both rugged and mobile.  Think about it.

The X500 Ultra-Rugged Notebook goes hand in hand with the server. Touted as having “a host of best in class features” like…

…a 7^th generation Intel Core vPro Quad Core HQ Processor…

…up to 64GB DDR4 memory… (I clearly remember when my computer had 64Kb of RAM, not 64GB. My current desktop has 16GB to put that in perspective. We’re talking about a notebook with 64GB.)

…Intel® HD Graphics 630 with available NVIDIA GeForce GTX 950M discrete graphics (see comment about graphics above).

… 15.6” full HD (1920x1080) sunlight readable display.

…two gigabit Ethernet ports, two RS232 serial ports, four USB 3.0 ports, one HDMI, External VGA, Microphone.

In other words, this notebook does more faster than my desktop (that I’m using to type this) AND it’s both ultra-rugged and mobile. As much as I drink (and spill) coffee, I’d be far better off using the ultra-rugged notebook computer.

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For more information on the new Getac X500 ultra-rugged notebook and X500 Server, visit Getac.com.

About Getac

Getac is a key subsidiary of MiTAC-Synnex Business Group (2017 annual revenue $34.07 billion USD). Getac was established in 1989 as a joint venture with GE Aerospace to supply defense electronic products. Today, Getac’s business includes rugged notebooks, rugged tablets and rugged handheld and mobile video system devices for military, police, fire, utility, insurance and field-service customers. Getac 2017 consolidated revenue is $729 million USD. For more information, visit Getac.com.