I would like to get a new computer (AMD 3000 or similar) and attach 2 people to it (so , 2 keyboards, 2 monitors). What is the cheapest way to do that? I suppose the computer will act as server and workstation for one user, but, for the second one, what have I to buy (theoretically, a computer with very minimum requirements, but which ones?) thanks thanks santiago

If you are intending to to connect two computers together in a network then almost any computer will do. All you need to ensure that it an Ethernet port. After the price is going to be your deciding factor. In a Peer to Peer Network which is what we are talking about here, the concept of client/server doesn't really exist. On a PtoP network every computer is a server to every other computer on the network and every computer is a client to every other computer. This applies if the network consists of just two computers or twenty computers connected through a switch. so the second computer will need pretty much the same facilities as the other as far as memory and disk space is concerned. All you need to connect the two computers together is a Cat 5 crossover cable. You can run the network setup wizard withing Windows XP, answer the questions and it will set up the network for you. Stuart

If the two users will be close together in the same room, you could use a KVM switch to connect two monitors and keyboards. There used to be hardware available to add a second user connection using a serial port. But I haven't seen that in quite a while.

well, thanks, that KVM switch, would allow the 2 users to work at once, or one at a time? I am interested in concurrent usage of the computer thanks thanks santiago

A KVM switch is more commonly used to allow two computers to be accessed from one monitor and keyboard. Your best bet to allow two people computer access at the same time, is to bite the bullet and buy two computers. You can set them up as peer-to-peer in a couple of ways. The first is to use a crossover cable as mentioned before. But if you plan to share an internet connection, the best way would be to get a router and connect both computers to it, which would just require standard Cat-5 ethernet cables. One computer could be the workhorse, with more memory, faster video, and storage space. The other computer could be relatively cheap, if all you want to do on it is office activities like word processing, spreadsheets, e-mail, and Web browsing. Both computers could be set up to share files and one printer.

thanks, i think I am doomed to get 2 computers, and forget the idea of just one CPU accessed like a traditional unix or mainframe box. My question now is if the "second" computer will use its own graphic card and CPU and RAM to process things, or it will use the "master's". The use of the computer will be playing games (kids), so I need to know if this second computer is OK with a AMD 3000 and a std graphic adapter, or I have to go to a AMD64 and NVIDIA 6600 PCIE, thanks thanks santiago

The second computer will use its own CPU, RAM, graphics cards etc. With the old mainframe computers, the "computers" that users worked on where just dumb terminal with no processing powers of there own. The only way to emulate that kind of system is with a client/server network and that means server software like Windows 2003 Server which is expensive to set up. In desktop systems like has been described above it a called a peer to peer network. Every computer is a server to every other computer on the network and every computer is a client to every other computer. With a peer to peer network there is no such thing as a master computer. One computer might be designated as the master, but in networking terms, it is no different than any other computer on a peer to peer network. Stuart