Ah, thank you. This VAT tax sounds awful. Any way around it ? (legally)
Sure, if you're a diplomat - then you can reclaim the tax on a good, or at times have that tax waived at source.
Regarding 'obsoletion of hardware' - I don't feel it as much these days. Perhaps I'm not playing the most demanding games, but I bought 580 SLI when it came out with an overclocked 2600K and I feel no need to upgrade at all, playing at 2560x1440.
I'm waiting for some kind of paradigm shift in hardware - a real leap - that would motivate me to do a serious watercooling build too.
On 'prices' - people buy designer handbags for more than a high end gaming PC - those with vices often have different ones. I'm not sure that there is an attributable value to one over the other (i.e., spending 5000 Euros on a gaming pc versus two pieces from Bottega Veneta), so why there should be any clashes over how one chooses to spend his/her money is a bit strange to me. Also, it's an enthusiast forum. From my perspective, Adam is not 'showing off' - and in fact, I value his gaming perspective given the recent debates over microstutter and his having owned and used 7970 trifire and never voicing a complaint that I have seen.