Dell on Tuesday introduced a rack workstation that the vendor claims is a better buy than blade workstations.

In unveiling the Precision R5400, Dell also introduced a PC-over-IP remote access device called the FX100, which the company said offers hardware-based encryption and compression that doesn't compromise system performance.

The Precision R5400 lets customers place data and applications in a secure central location or data center. In addition, the remote system removes the heat and noise desktop systems add to workspaces, such as financial trading floors, according to Dell.

Compared with similar blade systems, the rack product offers greater flexibility in system configuration, the vendor said.

"By not putting the solution on a blade, we were able to add more functionality and high-performance OpenGL graphics cards, to achieve the caliber of performance workstation customers want," Antonio Julio, director of Dell's product group, said in a statement. OpenGL is a standard specification for an application programming interface for writing software that produces 2-D and 3-D computer graphics.

Features of the R5400 include the option of dual- or quad-core Intel processors and support for up to two PCIe x16 OpenGL graphics cards with dual 150-watt slots on the motherboard. The system supports standard systems management tools.

The FX100 is a combination host card and remote portal device that connects the R5400 to a remote user and peripherals, including displays, keyboard, mouse, audio, and USB devices, such as printers.

The Precision R5400 starts at $1,869, and the FX100 is $800.