I need to spend some money.

Posted by: jbauer

I need to spend some money. - 19/07/2005 20:50

If you've been following my saga, I bought a new PC from Dell, and they've screwed up several things. In compensation, I've got at least $225.00 to spend on the Dell site. I started by trying to pick an external drive, but that plan keeps getting shot down with every solution I choose. None seem so great.

So what would y'all buy if you had a minimum of 225.00 to spend?

Some more info: I don't have an optical mouse, I don't have 5.1 speakers (where can I find good reviews on those?).

I bought this new PC mainly because 1) I want to play first person shooter games like HL2 (thanks Loren!) and 2) I want to use stuff like Google Earth and 3) My 5 year old 1 Ghz wasn't cutting it any more.

- Thanx in advance!
- Jon
Posted by: Dignan

Re: I need to spend some money. - 19/07/2005 21:10

Well, the Dell site seems to be having issues right now, so I can't give a link, but I'd recommend the 2405FPW 24" widescreen monitor. It's a beautiful, giant screen with a full set of inputs, USB hub, and multi-card reader. Granted, it's much more than $225, but compared to any other monitor of similar size, it's a bargain.

I can't talk about speakers that much, as I've had mine for five years, but maybe that's endorsement enough for Klipsch products. I own a set of their very first PC speakers, and I love them. Currently Amazon's selling a recent model for relatively cheap.
Posted by: jbauer

Re: I need to spend some money. - 19/07/2005 21:14

Quote:
Well, the Dell site seems to be having issues right now, so I can't give a link, but I'd recommend the 2405FPW 24" widescreen monitor. It's a beautiful, giant screen with a full set of inputs, USB hub, and multi-card reader. Granted, it's much more than $225, but compared to any other monitor of similar size, it's a bargain.

I can't talk about speakers that much, as I've had mine for five years, but maybe that's endorsement enough for Klipsch products. I own a set of their very first PC speakers, and I love them. Currently Amazon's selling a recent model for relatively cheap.


I got the 24" monitor for 500!!! with my pc purchase. Can't wait to see it.

I am looking at the KLIPSCH - Promedia Ultra 5.1 Speaker System - looks pretty kick ass. Anyone have it?

- Jon
Posted by: Dignan

Re: I need to spend some money. - 19/07/2005 21:20

Excellent! That's fantastic! You won't regret it. I haven't gamed much on the thing yet, but I played Max Payne 2 for a couple hours on the highest settings (including the native widescreen resolution), and it was gorgeous!
Posted by: jbauer

Re: I need to spend some money. - 20/07/2005 03:38

Question: What do you gamers use for a mouse and keyboard? I'd like to go wireless. Optical is preferred, right? Is Logitech's Cordless Desktop LX 700 or another "the standard"? I am into first person shooters, mostly...

- Thanx
- Jon
Posted by: larry818

Re: I need to spend some money. - 20/07/2005 03:58

I've got the similar Promedia 2.1 system. It kicks ass.

I liked it well enough that I now have three sets (me, wife, office). The first one I got a couple of years before the other two. The first one I had to resolder the speaker connections and it seemed to run very hot, so I spaced the aluminum panel on the back off with spacers. The later two don't seem to run as hot.

Dell does have the best price I found on it.
Posted by: drakino

Re: I need to spend some money. - 20/07/2005 04:09

Quote:
I'd like to go wireless. I am into first person shooters, mostly...


I doubt that you will notice much of any issues with wirelessmice and keyboards. The FPS fanitics who go to places like the CPL to play in tournaments claim to notice a difference between wired and wireless, but for a casual home gamer, wireless is fine.

These days, lots of people seem to be raving about the Logitech MX1000 mouse. I haven't used it personaly, so maybe someone else could chime in with a review.

I tote around a DiNovo keyboard and the included MX 900 mouse for gaming, and have nad no problems with them. I know you have had experience with this one when you did a review of it for TechTV, so if you liked the laptop style keys, it still seems to be the best out there. Prices have fallen to $150 for the bluetooth version, or $110 for the RF one.
Posted by: jbauer

Re: I need to spend some money. - 20/07/2005 04:21

Quote:
Quote:
I'd like to go wireless. I am into first person shooters, mostly...


These days, lots of people seem to be raving about the Logitech MX1000 mouse. I haven't used it personaly, so maybe someone else could chime in with a review.

I tote around a DiNovo keyboard and the included MX 900 mouse for gaming, and have nad no problems with them. I know you have had experience with this one when you did a review of it for TechTV, so if you liked the laptop style keys, it still seems to be the best out there. Prices have fallen to $150 for the bluetooth version, or $110 for the RF one.


Yeah, I'm trying to decide between the MX 3100 (which includes the MX1000 mouse) vs. the diNovo vs. the Microsoft ones...

Man, I'm a terrible shopper. I can't decide! Nothing like having money to spend and not knowing how to spend it!!! Argh!

- Jon
Posted by: Dignan

Re: I need to spend some money. - 20/07/2005 15:06

Quote:
These days, lots of people seem to be raving about the Logitech MX1000 mouse. I haven't used it personaly, so maybe someone else could chime in with a review.

Really? I thought gamers hated it, because it has a slight delay after you pick it up and lay it down again. I think I've subconsciously gotten used to this, and might re-adjust my physical mouse location by moving the cursor all the way to a particular side in order to readjust instead of lifting the mouse (in the OS, of course. that wouldn't exactly work in-game). Sorry if I'm not explaining well

I like the thing myself, aside from the thumb buttons being on the top and not at the bottom (I've complained about this before). It seems pretty accurate to me, and has a nice array of buttons.
Posted by: FireFox31

Re: I need to spend some money. - 20/07/2005 15:25

Quote:
notice a difference between wired and wireless

The hardcore gamers are right. Wired mice make your pwnz'ing faster.

But seriously, I would buy the fastest hard drive you can get. 10k RPM 72 gig SATA drive? 10k RPM hundreds-of-gig ATA drive? Hard drive access is always the limiting factor in my experience.
Posted by: jbauer

Re: I need to spend some money. - 20/07/2005 16:02

For the record, after spending my entire evening trying to figure out how to spend the 225, I ended up buying the following:

1) Logitech MX3100 CORDLESS DT-RCHG LASER MOUSE AND KYBD
2) Logitech X-530 5.1 Speaker System
3) Netgear FS108 8-Port 10 100 Mbps Fast Ethernet Switch

I spent 246.80 in total.

Hope I like that keyboard and mouse... I usually like to try those kinds of things first hand before buying...

Thanks for all the tips and ideas folks!

- Jon
Posted by: Dignan

Re: I need to spend some money. - 20/07/2005 17:35

Logitech actually makes a very decent set of speakers. For a while, there was one model that I suggested to everyone I built a computer for. It was a 5.1 system that sold on Newegg for around $65. Heck, before they stopped carrying it it was down to $45. And it sounded really good.

I think you made wise purchases
Posted by: jbauer

Re: I need to spend some money. - 20/07/2005 18:43

Quote:
Logitech actually makes a very decent set of speakers. For a while, there was one model that I suggested to everyone I built a computer for. It was a 5.1 system that sold on Newegg for around $65. Heck, before they stopped carrying it it was down to $45. And it sounded really good.

I think you made wise purchases


Cool. Thanks.

- Jon
Posted by: RobotCaleb

Re: I need to spend some money. - 20/07/2005 19:35

Quote:
The hardcore gamers are right. Wired mice make your pwnz'ing faster.


It is really just personal preference. I hate wireless mice because of the weight. I own one Logitech MX500 and one Logitech MX510 and have removed the internal weight from both. I also removed the stop clicker on the scroll wheel. I might consider myself a hardcore gamer.
Posted by: Dviant

Re: I need to spend some money. - 23/07/2005 09:06

Well I can tell you the Laser mouse is a pretty good mouse. The only issue I have with it is that the battery is internal (lithium) so I have to keep a back up if the mouse goes out and I'm in the middle of something I dont want to put down yet. The battery's charge holds pretty well though. Just wish I had the ablitiy to swap batteries instead of waiting for it to charge for 3 hours (or so).

And I dont notice any appreciable lag when playing FPS games, unlike some of the MS wireless mice I have used in the past.