[TriLUG] Linux-friendly Computer Stores (was Re: ___ at mindspring.com____)

[Christian J Hedemark]

Roy says:
> Guys and gals, don't forget our buds at Stay Online too. They give us good
> hardware and prices.
>
> I've bought from both, so I'm familiar with both.

Yes but they have two different product lines.

Intrex has all the stuff for a do-it-yourselfer to build their own PC.  They
are pretty good about keeping 98% of their stuff Linux compatible.  I've had
mixed feelings about the technical know-how of the people who work there.
Do your homework before you go in, unless you know for sure one of the
salesmen in there knows his stuff.  Their prices are usually pretty high on
most stuff.  CPU prices seem to match what was competetive a few months ago.
I have had very bad luck with Athlon rackmount systems that they put
together for us, which I think are probably attributable to the cheapo power
supplies that they used.  But if you need to buy individual components, you
know like a network card or a DAT drive or something, check them out.  Just
do your homework before you buy.

Stay Online seems to be catered more towards professionals instead of
hackers.  You can't buy system components there anymore but they do have an
integration department that will build one for you.  I had some really crazy
requirements for a system with like 18 PCI slots, dual processors, etc.
Their integration dept flubbed it the first time, due to a bug with the
system board they were using.  But they were VERY accomidating about it.
Came back and picked it up, put in a new system board, tested it.  When they
brought it back they waited for me to load Win2K and Red Hat 7.1 on the
system (these were requirements that both OS's would work).  I *know* they
had to lose money on that deal but they put the customer satisfaction first,
knowing I would want to buy more stuff from them in the future (and probably
also taking into account all of the stuff I had bought from them in the
past).  If you want to buy a big honkin UPS, go to Stay Online.  If you need
some weird-ass cable for a Cisco router, they've got it.  Need a 19" rack
for your 1U servers?  Check 'em out.  They've got almost every kind of blank
tape media you would need.  Their prices are high, even with the LUG
discount, but if you need something RIGHT NOW they are very convenient to
have around.  Also if you buy something heavy or awkward like a UPS or a
cabinet there, you are picking it up yourself but you won't pay the
outrageous shipping costs that usually go with these items.