My boss on the slot machine project wanted the developer's boxes to be close in power to the slot computer. That way when they were running locally they would get a better feel for the performance of the product. I speced new computers for everybody and it was rejected by corporate. It seems we had a "standard" build for all engineers. instead of a $2000 system we were forced to buy a $5500 system. So much for trying to save some money. 