Purchasing Hardware
Whether or not you can afford to hire a nerd like me to build your systems for you, I highly recommend utilizing the skills and services of your vendors as much as possible. This is one more way to avoid wasting precious research hours.One of the best ways to simplify your life is by using an EXPERIENCED local clone-builder instead of buying your computers from one of the big mail order houses, or from a furniture and appliance store. I use a local clone builder called Computer Gallery (http://www.cgallery.com). By buying from a (preferably small) local shop that does everything on-site, you avoid the inevitable lengthy down times caused by having your computer shipped to a repair center in Idaho or Virginia, where it may sit for weeks waiting for parts or service. Instead, when your disk dies or you get spiked by a thunderstorm, you can drop the machine off on the way home from work, and in many cases pick it up in a day or two.
You'll also, in most cases, get a higher quality machine, which is built entirely from industry-standard parts and is therefore more upgradable. Name-brand computers like Dell, Compaq, etc. often use custom cases that won't take a standard power supply or motherboard, so you'll be forced to buy replacements and upgrades (at a premium, of course) from them. A computer built from industry-standard components should be upgradable for many years. If a salesman or technician tells you that your 3-year-old computer should just be replaced, you've probably made a bad purchase.
Many smaller local shops will also be happy to install FreeBSD for you, for little or no extra cost. Ask a mail order discount dealer for this kind of service, and the most likely response will be "what's FreeBSD?". Once you establish a good business relationship with your local shop, the service will only get better. They'll begin to understand your particular needs, and be better able to guide you through all the available options.
The small amount of money you'll save up-front by ordering online or shopping at an electronics super-store will be quickly lost on maintenance issues that inevitably arise later. Shopping around and piecing systems together from a variety of vendors also means you'll have to keep detailed records of where every component of every machine came from, in case it needs to be returned for repair or replacement. Life for a researcher is complicated enough without having to search through a file cabinet full of receipts every time you have a computer issue. ( And you will have many. )
The PC market is saturated with false economy: Don't get burned by it.
If you're not yet familiar with FreeBSD, you can start here: Building a FreeBSD Workstation. Then continue on and learn more about MRI related software for FreeBSD.
