Re: Buying hard drives

["J. R. Fox" jr_fox@xxxxxxxxxx]

Norman Bauman wrote:

> Somebody on this list recommended a reliable place that sells hard drives
> at reasonable prices.
>
> I thought I filed the information away where where I could find it again,
> but I can't.
>
> Can that somebody -- or anyone -- give me the name again?

Twasn't me -- at least, not on _this_ List, I think -- but here goes, anyway.

I bought my last two hard drives from

 http://www.computers4sure.com/mfgministore.asp?MfgID=162&affid=3341020

a subsidiary of Office Depot. They had certain models of IBM Ultrastar SCSI
hard drives (5 year mfr. warranty) that I was having trouble finding _in stock_
most other places, and had them at very competitive prices. Can't speak to
other examples, but they seemed to have a big selection. Worth a look, in any
case.

I also bought one (and some other computer gear) from

 http://www.hypermicro.com/store/header.htm

which turned out well price & otherwise. They had been recommended to me by
someone on another list.

> Somebody also recommended a similar place to buy memory. As long as I'm
> asking, I might as well ask for that place too. I was going to a couple of
> PNY 128MB PC133 SDRAM 16x14 168-pin DIMMs from TigerDirect.com for $10
> (after the rebate), but maybe somebody has a better idea.

I gotta tell you, I'm not that much of a price shopper . . . at least
regarding certain things. There are several key areas, some of them involving
critical computer components, where I just do not believe in cutting corners.
Reliability is just much more important to me than saving a few bucks. I seek
to avoid the aggravation of having to deal with failures. Take that in stride,
regarding these recommendations:

 http://www.crucial.com/store/listmfgr.asp?cat=RAM

They sell Micron memory chips (one of the very best you can get) at something
of a discount. Note that the price of RAM has fluctuated considerably at
different times over the last several years. I don't know exactly where it
stands at the moment. Certain types (like DDR or PC 2100) have carried a
considerable price premium, but if you happen to have one of the motherboards
that require it, you're stuck.

For more specialized memory chips (e.g. -- printer memory upgrades, where you
have to fit proprietary slots, and would otherwise end up paying through the
nose), I've found significant savings at

 http://www.polarismemory.com/asp/memory-type.asp

> I've decided it's easier to buy from a reliable store at a fair, reasonable
> price than to play games with CompUSA and have to send out a fistful of
> rebate forms

Makes sense to me, Norman. Plus, they'll probably sell your name and email
addr. to various commercial mailing lists, off of those coupons.

Jordan