len_mullen

Here, in fact, is a good deal on an 8600gt from newegg.

I have 8600gt cards in my gaming PCs right now. I paid $85 ea for these a year ago and that's still a pretty good deal. Video cards change very quickly and their prices plummet whenever something new comes out. Games lag video cards because game makers want to sell to the masses not just the thousand people with the latest, greatest card. When my kids want a game that does not do well on the 8600, I'll upgrade their cards and trickle these cards down to my other systems. The 9400gt is not quite as good at the 8600gt, but it's very good compared to the cards people looking to buy a new PC on this thread are currently running. I was looking for something that was good but cheap and this fits the bill. I was also looking at something that could be added to the Fry's cart. The 9400gt keeps the system price under $400 while providing a great gaming experience. We can shop for better video cards if you are willing to leave frys and maybe suffer additional shipping. I do like Thermaltake PSUs and 500w or 600w is plenty.

After crapping all over my hp refurbs, I suppose I should not be posting this, but I like the HPs just the same and it looks like they solved the heat problem the same way I plan to -- by adding an exhaust fan at the bottom of the case. - Price $299.99 - Operating System: Microsoft Windows Vista Home Premium - CPU: Athlon 64 X2 (W) 5600+ 2.8 GHz (89W) - Memory: 3 GB PC2-6400 MB/sec - Hard Drive: 500 GB SATA 3G (3.0 Gb/sec), 7200 rpm - Optical Drive: 16X DVD(+/-)R/RW 12X RAM (+/-)R DL LightScribe - Network: 56K modem, 10/100 ethernet - Warranty: 90 Days - Expansion slots * PCI One (None available) * PCI Express x16 One (One available) * PCI Express x1 Two (Two available) Link to manual for the curious I'd still get the 9400gt video card and the thermaltake PSU. This is a terrific gaming PC for $400.

Marcaster we talked about GPS deals last year and I grabbed a Navigon with traffic from Staples. I'm very happy with it and have purchased a second unit. IMHO, this was *the* steak if the season. We pulled a camper from New Hampshire to Pennsylvania through Ohio to Niagara Falls then home via Upstate New York without benefit of maps. Thanks for your help last year. Here's to hoping everyone else gets a GPS this year!

What printer are you looking for? Staples is running good deals on AIOs and if you trade in an old printer towards a new HP, you get $30 in rewards.

My three Vista Desktops are two HP refurbs and an emachine. One of each has upgraded video and all have upgraded power supplies. I've had to remove the heat sink from the cpu on BOTH HPs to apply thermal grease due to overheating (especially when encoding video, which I do a lot). The emachine achieves the same benchmarks while running a more efficient cpu and does not get hot at all. All three came in terrific cases that are easy to open and work on. The HP case opens without tools. The biggest difference between the two machines is that on the HP, expansion cards sit between the psu and the cpu. On the emachine, the expansion cards sit at the bottom of the case. I believe this is the reason the emachine runs cooler. No doubt I would pick the emachine (T5254) over the hp (a6112n). It is more efficient, produces less heat, and dissipates the heat better due to its superior design. One more point. If you get to look inside the computer before buying, besides making sure it is a 'standard' configuration, notice how the cpu is cooled. Heat sinks don't fail, so the bigger the sink the less likely a failed fan will shut you down. I'd favor configurations where the path from the cpu to the psu is vertical and unobstructed (heat rises and good PSUs suck hot air out of your case).

I had to look up toontown's requirements. They aren't that steep. It is a 'massively multiplayer online game' so your internet connection may be responsible for the lag you are experience. Look at the known issues, too. Make sure you have the latest updates for your OS (directx esp) and your video card installed. This guy solved a lag problem by switching browsers. You may want to check to see what programs and processes you have running when you play. good luck!

I like Gateways too. As well as eMachines. That ad is confusing to me. Is that refurbished? Expect less warranty in that case. The integrated video is not good enough for a serious gamer. Expect to spend another hundred to address that shortcoming. Otherwise, very nice.

Gotcha. This one... Sharp 46" Widescreen 1080p LCD HDTV $899.99 Might want to check the amazon.com reviews if you are a game player... The reason why i gave this a 2 star rating is because I'm into video games and I play my xbox 360 on this tv a lot and there's a very annoying "blink out" whenever playing a game above 480p. Seems like a good price, though. Best sale price was $999.99 in July. I was hoping to see 46" TVs at $700 -- call me an optimist Not sure I'd pay for 1080p at 46" but I'd have to see the set close up. As with all LCDs, if you like sports, see what fast motion looks like before pulling the trigger. Current Sears deal that you might want to check out... Samsung 40 in. (Diagonal) Class LCD Full HD (1080p) Television $799.99 I'm not saying this is not a good deal -- just nothing I'd stand in line for hours to get.

I thought all the TVs were pretty expensive -- for BF. Despite the funky model number (PN50A400), that 50" 720p samsung looks like the same tv Best Buy has had on special lately. For $40 more I got a htib and free shipping without waiting in line.

Ace is the one given to him. It doesn't look scanned -- looks like it was downloaded from a web page. Also, the Sears ad is the exact same scan as on another BF site and that site does not have an Ace scan. Do I get a t-shirt for that, Brad?

select the Discover tab then Sony Outlet -- the offer will be on the right.

How much would you perform this service for? Anyone that could afford to pay me doesn't need door busters.

$1100 for a 46" lcd seems expensive to me. The reviews on Amazon are good and their sale price is $1400, so, if that's what you want, it sounds like a good deal. Make sure you see it in person before buying.

I'm disappointed by the TV prices. Hope the other merchants can do better.

You're welcome. Hit the B&Ms in advance of BF to touch all of these. I'm sure you'll agree that 8.9 inches is just too small (for a computer screen, anyway).

that would be a terrible choice. it is suitable to checking email and surfing the web, but underpowered for anything more. the small screen and keyboard would make homework more painful than tradition requires. you should be able to get a standard laptop for $300 come BF. hang tight and watch these forums for recommendations. also, consider a desktop. generally, i favor a desktop over a laptop at the same price point when mobility is not an issue.

No misses. The hit was the Navigon 2100 with lifetime traffic for $100 from staples. Love this and bought a second unit later in the year.

I don't think anyone said that. I think we all agree that investing more in your existing system is not a good idea. I think most would agree that getting a Vista platform is the right solution. I think we all agree that such a platform will be available on BF but acknowledge that BF-like deals are available right now. Whether or not you should build a gaming PC right now seems to be the only thing there are different ideas about. Personally, I would need to save $50 or more to stand in line on BF -- leaning towards the or more. I think you can shop without passion and get at least as good a deal right now.

I don't know what a six year old plays -- let alone what he will be playing in five years, but adding that video card and power supply brings the WEI up from ~3 to ~5 -- and that is a dramatic improvement no matter what you use the machine for. It would be foolish not to spend the $110 if one was capable of doing the simple installation. It's a really great video card. That said, adding a video card later is not a bad strategy if it is not immediately necessary. My Vista machine that is not up to the specs I listed is running integrated video and I use it as my everyday machine. It's just not a good gaming machine.

I also have some older machines that would work for you, but the cost of the agp cards i bought for them (assuming you have an agp slot) has crept up as the cost of a vista machine has fallen, so it's tough for me to urge you to spend money on a card and psu for your machine. If you want to look into that, post the complete specs of your machine -- especially system board (at least what slots are available) and power supply (especially wattage).

No. It's a PC running a modern operating system with good security. It is powerful enough to run that OS well, and, by upgrading the video card, can run current games -- most at the top settings. My specs for a Vista PC (I think everyone should be running Vista; I have three Vista machines myself -- two are very close to this one) are... goal: WEI ~5 cpu: >= 2g ram: >= 2g video: >= 8600gt a machine that meets the hardware specs will achieve the goal of WEI=5 and that machine will do a lot of things well. the machine I spec'd will be cpu bound, so the next upgrade would be cpu + gpu. we'll do that when the kids have trouble playing whatever game is on the horizon. what i spec'd for you will be a good platform for ten years assuming you can pop in a new cpu and gpu as their prices come down.

At one point, I speculated this would be the featured BF item, but I'm not so sure anymore. I don't see many on the shelves and the buzz has quieted a bit. Until yesterday, every display unit I saw was broken. The one I saw yesterday was misconfigured. After configuring the unit, I was extremely disappointed in performance. If they're free...

The cost of an inexpensive game machine will be ~$400 if you can salvage your display. That's $300 for a Vista Home Premium computer with a 2+g cpu, 2+g of ram, a 300+g disk, and a pci-e slot plus $40 for a suitable power supply and $60 for a suitable video card. You will find these machines on BF or you can just shop the bargain sites. In fact, just buy what you need right now... 1) Computer ($250+shipping) 2) Video Card 9400gt ($60 after $10 rebate, free shipping) 3) Power Supply ($50 after $20 rebate) This PC is fine, but the disk is only 160g (big enough except for video editing, imho) and the OS is Vista Basic. You need to decide if you want Premium features. Merry Christmas. Get a big lcd on BF. Edited to get all parts from Frys for ease of purchase. Shipping was $15 for me, so $390 OTD minus $30 in rebates = $360. Benchmarks for the 9400 are here.

I shop alone, but I meet up with the same people year after year, so...