On Mon, 04 Oct 1999, you wrote:
> OK, I see many many posts trying to get things working. Perhaps it is
<BIG snip, but worth saving to a file.>
>
> I am sure there are lots of additions to be made. Anyone? Also, if
> I have treated anything unfairly, please let me know. I am trying to
> put together an "avoid buying this if you plan to use linux, because you
> will be working on the system instead of working with it." As a service
> person for computers, of course, I should love all these combos and
> their lucrative results, but as a person with a lot of experience and a
> conscience, I don't very much like any of them.
>
> Civileme
I applaud your effort so far, it already qualifies as a
draft version for a FAQ. I'm a little harder on the 'ready mades'.
You mention Gatesway and Packard Hell, but the truth is, all of 'em
including Dell, use OEM _Only_ parts (that they spec, because of
the quantities they buy). An OEM Only Intel motherboard is garbage
(ie., lot's of 'corner cutting') compared to the retail/OEM Mboards
Intel sells to the public and computer shops. Intel also sorts their
cpu production, and the ready mades never get the better S-specs,
they get Intel's OEM Only (~marginal) proccessors. IMO, figuring
users will blame their subsequent problems on applications/operating
systems. Not the best power supplies either, and these are the
most crucial components.
I'd say with just a little investigating, anyone who's at all
handy, can build their own computer, selecting the best (not always
the most $$'s) components. For those that can't/don't want to..
the next best thing is to develope a relationship with your local
computer shop or user group (that was my route, www.hal-pc.org ,
Houston Area League of PC Users) and work with them to put together
decent/compatible hardware. The absolute worst place to buy a
computer is Best Buy, Circuit City, ... any of the 'super stores'
including the Office Marts.
Getting back to investigating, my advice is to make use
of all the information on the Net. A good place to start is
alt.comp.hardware.overclocking If you _just_hate_ the idea of
running hardware over it's intended specs, you still will find out
what works best with what, what can take a beating an' keep on
ticking (like stay clear of Maxtor, Seagate, Fujitsu HDD's), and
what gives the best bang for the buck. All this changes constantly,
so it's important to stay current.
To qualify my above admittedly biased remarks, I've never owned
a ready made, but I have tried to upgrade/salvage other people's.
... and I'm a long time, diehard o/c'r ;->
It's not always the hardware that's the culprit either.
Over the years I've found I'm best served if I approach problems
in this order:
1. My favorite expression: the interface between the
keyboard, mouse, and chair (me, you, user caused, etc.)
2. The application that seems to be causing the problem(s)
3. Hardware (move this up to 1b. if overclocking ;-)
4. The operating system. (yep!, even Windows :)
...and it's also been my experience that those who seem to have
the most problems, approach them in exactly the reverse order :)
--
well I'm done pontificating, sorry for all the hot air
.. Tom Brinkman [EMAIL PROTECTED] .
