[ILUG] Recommendations on custom(?) system builders (for South of France)?

[Brian Foster]

Hi!

 Apparently due to a massive power surge caused by a nearby
 lightening strike some weeks ago, my c.10yo home computer
 is kaput.  CPU is inert.  No beeps, even if no memory.

 It's actually less-than-clear what the cause was or problem
 is, since it took the system a few weeks to totally die
 (excepting some bits which obviously fried immediately).
 Whilst it's possible the problem is just the PSU, after
 considering the matter (and knowing that the main ATA HD
 (my biggest concern) is Ok), I've decided the best course
 of action is to purchase a new system.

 What I wondering is who (individuals or companies/sites)
 that people recommend.  Broadly speaking, what I want is
 (this is an approximate (suggestive) list for discussion,
 not a finalised list):

  ● Will ship/deliver to the South of France.
     ○ Speaks English (my Français isn't up to the task).
     ○ Prefer paying in euro (€).
  ● Will build a (semi?-)custom system (probably tower?):
     ○ Preferably, NO Windows Tax.
     ○ Will be 100% *ix (Linux (probably Kbuntu)).  I can
       self-install (and probably will!), so installation
       isn't required per se.  (If installed, the install
       DVD must be supplied.)
     ○ No screen (my flatscreen is Ok), but I do need a
       video controller (with good non–proprietary driver
       (so not nVidia)).
     ○ Solution for accessing my ATA (not SATA) drive(s).
       This is not the main drive(s).  I presume the main
       drives(s?) would be SATA (_minimum_ total size of
       the main drive(s) is c.500GB; and maybe RAID ?).
     ○ Ethernet, USB, ...
     ○ Feckgobs of memory (multiple GiB).
     ○ Probably 64-bit core (considering multi-core).
     ○ Blu-Ray?? (and Is there such a thing as a re-writer?)
     ○( I don't know if my current DVD re-writer survived
       or not.... )
     ○ High-quality PSU (*mandatory!*).
     ○ Low-noise (whilst needn't be “bedroom quiet”, that
       is nonetheless a good goal to shoot for).
  ● A reasonable warranty policy.  (My old system, which
    is long out-of-warranty, required me to return the
    system to Ireland, where I had purchased it.)
  ● Whatever I've overlooked.....  ;-)

 Anyways, any suggestions?

 WARNING:  Since my system's down, I cannot easily
          access my e-mail.  If you want to contact
          me off-list, then drop a short note (in
          reply) _to_ the list.  (Sorry for any
          noise on the list this may cause!)

cheers!
	-blf-

-- 
“How many surrealists does it take to    |  Brian Foster
 change a lightbulb?  Three.  One calms  |  somewhere in south of France
 the warthog, and two fill the bathtub   |     Stop E$$o (ExxonMobil)!
 with brightly-coloured machine tools.”  |       http://www.stopesso.com