stationchief

Does anyone remember the old BF hotline we had years (many years) ago? Somethin' like an 800 number Brad set up where folks could call and get advice on what to get and the best deals out there. If I can find the old thread about it I'll post it here for reference. Just got me thinkin', with all the new first time BF shoppin' members and all the new questions out there, maybe we should consider bringin' it back. Don't remember the exact specifics behind it, but I do remember callin' it one time and havin' a nice conversation with Brad for a good half hour. Whaddaya think? Discuss ...

Done? All I've done so far i s dream about what I want. For some reason the savin' part always comes last.

A new decent specs laptop for college. Possibly an HDTV if the price is right.

Exactly 98 days, 11 hours, and 50 minutes until the first BF doors open! (5am on BF)

Ya could easily find 3"-4" digital photo frames for about $25. A photo frame loaded with family pics is a great idea. Digital photo keychains would only run about $10 each. And when all else fails, gift cards are always the right color and the perfect size.

I looked all thru last year's site, but I couldn't seem to find the BF 2009 Comparison Charts. Oh, wait ... that's right ...

Do people really need a new laptop or HDTV that badly? They must not have a job. Or a life.

100 days and counting! Woo hoo! So when do we get a BF countdown timer?

Hopin' for a decent spec laptop for college this year. Might even have a chance to camp out in front of BB or WM for one. That'll be fun.

Been thinkin' about it here. Gonna finally be in the market for a new laptop.

One thing since I've noticed the update, Brad, is that our pics that we upload to GD and attach in our threads don't show up as thumbnails anymore. While we can post and view thumbnails from our Photobucket accounts and such, the pics we upload to GD only show up as a link. Also, I noticed all our pics' names all are messed up. While that may be beneficial for those viewin' the arachnophobia thread ('What kinda spider is this?' ) I kinda miss that functionality. Is there a new way to do this for those of us without a Photobucket account?

Hmm, we got some new smileys. I assume the update went well. :)

Just give us a heads up when the time comes. I know a few folks on here will freak if they don't get their hourly dose of GottaDeal. G'luck with the update to a better GottaDeal!

Welcome to all the newest members! Y'all love it here!

Actually, that's one of the better non-BF laptops I've seen for the $400 price. Compaqs are among the best (I didn't say THE best ). Nothing crossing the fancy line, just the necessary bells and whistles. 2 GB memory, 160 GB hard drive, graphics aren't bad (not great but not bad for being integrated), ready for wireless internet ... looks like you're good to go. The only serious problem I see is that it's not available online and it'll be tough to find it still in the stores. You gotta jump at the chance the moment you get it otherwise you lose out. Why would it be bad? 160 GB is more than enough for music, movies, and misc. If not, just invest in a cheap external drive.

So, did anybody get a desktop?

You're in the right place to chat about the laptop/laptops you got. You can also chat about what'cha got/didn't get in the Official One-and-Only "What I Got" / "My BF Experience" Thread. But we talk about nothing but laptops here.

Yup. Three slots at 1 GB each. I'd think most typical consumers should be happy with that. But you still made the right choice with the HP dv4-1114nr. Just FYI: yours supports 8 GB if you ever were to decide to upgrade to 64-bit version of Vista Premium. Otherwise, thanks to your included 32-bit Vista OS and the way it handles memory, you're stuck with about 3 GB, too. Didn't anybody look at my charts before they headed out? I know I still gotta update it with all the tech info on some of the BF exclusive models.

No prob. And even if you could flash the bios or do something to get the board to support 2 GB chips in each slot instead of 1 GB, the 32-bit OS wouldn't support more than about 3 GB anyways. Not worth the hassle, believe me. Yes, 3 GB should be plenty for most folks not doing professional level work.

There's still Cyber Monday and many other chances to get a good deal. Just stay tuned.

dv41114nr got the Dv4-1114nr? Never saw that one coming ... Seriously, sometimes 'ya get lucky and are able to snag a great online deal. Kudos 2 u! You could try, but seeing as they never made such a claim in their ad it might not help. Other copanies like BB had fine print that said "minimum of 10 per store" and all that, but Walmart only claimed it was "while supplies last". Could be a legal safet net for 'em in case folks who froze their keesters off in line for nothing got mad. You could try and see what happens.

It's either PC2-5300 or PC2-6400. If you have the laptop you'll be able to check. But keep in mind the memory in that one is already maxed out so if you're lookin' to upgrade to something higher than 3 GB, don't bother.

I thought those t-shirts looked somewhat 'official' Guess if people think you work for a major company they don't mess with 'ya. Wonder what would happen if I show up to a Neil Diamond concert with my GD BF t-shirt.

The simple answer to that question is ... yes. I've used high-speed internet and downloaded tons of media before from my trustworthy workhorse laptop (a Dell Latitude w/P3 850 MHz processor and a whopping 512 MB of RAM ). Accessing internet/email, watching media, and simple gaming should be fine.

The processor on the one from CC is a Q6600 running on an Asus IPIBL-LB motherboard. Both processors seem similar, however nearly all benchmarks between the two show that Core2Quads can out-perform the Phenom 9000 series any day of the week. Dunno if you get into overclocking or if your gaming needs require it, or just how easy it may be on an HP machine, but the the Q6600 processors are deemed fairly easy to do that. The CC PC would be the better deal since it's the better processor and the rest of the components are pretty similar + it comes with a monitor and printer. Folks, I cannot emphasize this enough: When looking for a gaming PC, never EEEEEE-ever look at the integrated graphics chip. Look for PCs with an open PCI-express x16 slot. Both of those have one, so have someone install a GeForce GTX graphics card or something. Overhaul the PC's internal cooling system if necessary. Then, my grasshoppah, you shall only begin to dwell into the realm of gaming.