Re: [tlug] recommendations for a good pc shop in tokyo

[Jonathan Q <jq@example.com>]

Welcome to Tokyo, Vince.

On Wed, Aug 21, 2002 at 08:46:44AM -0700, Vince Berg wrote:

>Can anyone recommend a shop in the Tokyo area that I can trust to sell me 
>such a PC?

The best way to get the best PC is to build it yourself.  I really
can't particularly recommend any off-the-rack machine unless I
know exactly what's inside of it.  You don't save up-front
money by building it yourself, but you might down the line because
if you use quality, standard parts it will last a long time, and
will be easy to upgrade piecemeal when the time comes.

If you're going to build a new box, some things to pay attention to
are:

Get a good case.  Easy access to everything, lots of drive bays up
front, a power switch that's good and solid, and hard to hit by
accident.

Fill up those bays ane make a nice fat RAID 5, and maybe use
a couple for a RAID 1 to boot from :-)

Quality motherboard.  I've had good luck with MSI, GigaByte, and
Asus.  Lately, I've really liked MSI.

If you're not a gamer, go for a Matrox G450 or G550 (and
if you were really a gamer, you'd probably be running
'doze).  They don't measure up to the competition on 3-D,
but Matrox does the best 2-D and clearest, sharpest text
around.  My old 8 meg G200 card looks better than my
GeForce2 MX or my TNT 2.  G400/450/550 is better still.

If you want SCSI, go Adaptec.

Or, if you're in the market for used gear I will be leaving
Japan around the end of September and will probably have at least
a couple of reasonable used machines for sale.  Your choice
of any distro I have CDs for, or you can install one yourself
if you prefer.  They will be very reasonably priced and you can 
see them work before you take them home.  If you need something
right now, I could have something available for you before the
end of August if necessary.

All machines certified MS-free :-)

Cheers,

Jonathan
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