Thanks to GTALUG Members,
for the last series of emails I fetched on this
thread.
Many useful ideas and much interesting info.
Copious snippets have been carefully collected into a text file.
* * *
* * *
I have reviewed the quotation I received from NCIX,
and can report:
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]
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.
I compared the sum of component prices, NCIX versus
PCPartPicker, and NCIX is acceptably close to PCPartPicker.
Here is a summary of the component price comparison
(all prices $C):
----------------- NCIX* PC
PartPicker**
----------------- --------
-------------
CPU
$269.99 $249.25
CPU
Cooler
$92.98
$79.95
Motherboard
$289.99
$228.98
Memory
$44.99
$75.98
-----------------
Case
$144.99 $129.99
Power
Supply $214.98
$159.99
-----------------
Solid State Drive $135.70 $156.99
Hard
Drive
$67.99 $81.95
Optical
Drive $92.98
$86.98
-----------------
Video Monitor $167.98
$167.92
Keyboard
$15.98
$40.00
Mouse
(incl.)
$10.00
-----------------
Dialup Modem
$54.58
$50.00
-----------------
-----------------
TOTAL1:
$1593.13
$1517.98
-----------------
-----------------
MS Windows
7 $187.99
Assemble &
Test $49.98
Environ.
Fees
$16.65
-----------------
-----------------
TOTAL2:
$1897.73
-----------------
-----------------
Not an inexpensive PC. And not a souped-up gamer's
PC. But one that I believe will run plenty fast and stay cool under 24/7
duty. With lots of expansion capacity for additional hardware, that
will not stress the power supply or the cooling apparatus.
My plan now is to revise the Linux PC
specification, taking into account the avalanche of advice I have received from
GTALUG members. (e.g. increase RAM to 16 GB from 8, drop the dial-up modem
and source later, change HDD to Western Digital Black, etc.)
Then I will ask NCIX for a revised quotation,
confirm with NCIX a number of picky details (e.g. is the WIndows 7 DVD SP1 OEM
at the latest SP level?, etc.) and get NCIX agreement on technical
details of HDD partitioning (GPT) and boot setup (multi-boot, with Windows 7
installed; ready for a Linux (debian 8) drop-in installation.
* * *
* * *
I'm probably not going to be able respond to many
more individual posts to this thread, but I will read any that follow with
interest.
Will report back, upon conclusion of my
negotiations with NCIX. The self-build option for the new Linux PC remains open,
should NCIX be unable to satisfy the requirements.
Many thanks again to GTALUG
!!
Best Regards,
Steve
* * *
Steve Petrie, P.Eng.