Hello Hugh, Thanks for your message. Please see my comments inline below. Steve ----- Original Message ----- From: "D. Hugh Redelmeier" <hugh@mimosa.com> To: "Steve Petrie, P.Eng." <apetrie@aspetrie.net>; "GTALUG Talk" <talk@gtalug.org> Sent: Friday, July 29, 2016 7:52 PM Subject: Re: [GTALUG] Advice -- Building Debian 8 PC To Replace Win XP PC;
| From: "Steve Petrie, P.Eng. via talk" <talk@gtalug.org>
| 1. Contrary to my earlier assertion, NCIX in fact has included an item for: | Microsoft Windows 7 Professional Edition 64Bit DVD SP1 OEM | Price C$187.99 [Reg. C$214.98]
If you buy Win 7 pro, in a bundle, from a big manufacturer, you can save most of that money.
What I won't get from a big manufacturer of white boxes, is a PC with over-specified components, for extreme longevity and cool-running reliability. The CPU cooler, power supply and other components on a white box will be sized for some statistical model of intermittent use, and I want a PC that, even after future expansion, can run flat-out 24/7 cruising not struggling.
| 2. And the the (now corrected) NCIX total price for hardware components alone, seems reasonable: | NCIX: $1593.13 PCPartPicker: $1517.98 | Caution: NCIX has made some hardware substitutions, so the total prices are only generically comparable.
This price seemed quite high to me, at least compared with an off-the-rack computer.
Perhaps the price seems high, because my desire for longevity, cool-running reliability and expandability has motivated specification of: [1] powerful air-cooled CPU cooler with sealed convection heat pipes; [2] power supply will still operate well below maximum output capacity, with additional components in the PC; [3] case with plenty of free expansion slots, fan mounts and generous air flow clearances; [4] motherboard with plenty of slots for expandability and M.2 PCIe 4x lanes support for SDD; Speed is important. but never at the cost of reliability. Although I am price conscious, my focus is on value for money, given the requirements for speed, longevity, cool-running reliability and expandability.
Here are some you could consider.
<snip>
Here's a similar page from Canada Computers, another Canadian chain. They have in-house service too (not warranty service for branded computers). <http://www.canadacomputers.com/search_result.php?checkVal0=1&checkVal1=1&checkVal2=0&subcat20=1&subcat21=2&checkVal3=1&checkVal4=1&checkVal5=1&checkVal6=1&checkVal7=1&checkVal8=1&checkVal9=0&subcat93=4&pagePos=0&keywords=&manu=0&search=1&ccid=1203&cPath=7_1203> (I hope that link works.)
I'll keep them in mind. <snip>