Chromatography Forum

hi all,
I am looking to interface a used DAQ board to a HP5890 Series II GC and have the choice of either purchasing a SRI Peaksimple A/D board or a Dionex AI-450 + ACI-1 system. The SRI board is a bit costlier (300 $) more than the Dionex system. Can anyone please tell me which would better work with the HP5890 GC (TCD, FID) ?
Thanks

Either of the two options you cite would do the basic job, but both have issues.

I haven't evaluated PeakSimple, but from looking at the SRI web site, it looks like a fairly basic package that may not support all the GC data processing, data reporting, and data management capabilities you may need.

The AI-450 software has been discontinued for about a decade, so you won't be seeing any new releases of that -- if someone's trying to sell you a used package for $2K, I suggest that you shop elsewhere! (By way of full disclosure, I was the product manager for it.)

Your posting cites only two options. Most CDS vendors offer 5890 control. I'd suggest that you also consider Chromeleon (the modern Dionex CDS), and ChemStation and EZChrom from Agilent -- these seem to be the most popular ones used with Agilent GCs these days.

It's always a good idea to test-drive the products before buying, if possible. Ultimately, what's best for you will depend on your needs and your budget.

If budget is a concern you may want to take a look at EZChrom SI (=Single Instrument) from Agilent. It has control built in (hence no need to buy an A/D) and is limited to 1 instrument. But if that is all you need, it may be an option to consider.

Jan Willem Mol
Applied Instruments

jschibler and Jan Willem Mol,
Thanks a lot for your replies.
@jschibler:
My budget is limited (~1000 $) . I was quoted somewhere around 750 for the dionex package and ~1000 for the peaksimple package. I worked with Chemstation before and I think I dont need all the reporting features on it. I just need something that can acquire data and get me peak areas. (We have a computer running PE Totalchrome in a different lab that I have access to, so I can do the fancy stuff on that m/c.) Do you think that the Dionex package has more value for money than the Peaksimple?

Could you please tell me if there are any other budget versions of DAQ software for the 5890?

@Jan Willem Mol,
Does the EZChrom SI come for a comparable price tag as the Peaksimple?

No, more like $3500 inlcuding the GC control for Agilent GC's.

JW

You can consider our Clarity software - package for a single instrument with A/D board or GC control with digital data acquisition (in case you GC has HPIB/RS232 communication board) will be over your 1000, but less then the 3500. see details on www.dataapex.com

Ivan Vins