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In hindsight, what was the best purchase you made?

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Originally posted by: Arcanedeath
I'd have to say my Geforce 4 Ti 4400 back in the day, I bought it the day it was relased on a killer deal for $235 and lasted like 2.5 years and though 3 system upgrades before I finaly replaed it w/ my 9800Pro
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I did get a killer deal on my ti4200 ($89) on a Black Friday deal at Best Buy almost 2 years ago. BFG replaced the card when the fan went kaput, and the second time the fan crapped out they sent me a ti4600 which I'm using today! Their fans may be crappy but their customer service is pretty awesome! My current plan is to keep this card for a while, but put a Zalman ZM80 heatpipe on it (no fan).
 
Most recently anyways I would have to say my Nostromo N52. I use it for all of my gaming now, it's awsome (though not for everybody). MX500 mouse ranks up there, and my leadtek 2000xp tv card gets daily use.
 
aeron chair...

sweeeet.

i broke the cable that adjusts the tension to one of the tilt functions....i've owned the chair for 7 years...i called the company that sold me the chair...

they sent someone out to the house that day to pick it up and fix it.

apparently the repair is FREE because the chair comes with a 12 year warranty..

gad zooks!!

a bargain at any price!!


 
Originally posted by: Anubis08
I know mine had to be a Sata harddrive. It could just be my system total, but I notice a huge differenve in time over it and my previous system as far as loading and saving even on relatively small things.
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My Sony GDM-FW900. Nothing like gaming on this monitor, and even though it's almost 3 yrs old, it's still one of the best CRT you can get (and pretty sure the largest still).
 
Originally posted by: heartsurgeon
aeron chair...
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Yeah i would say the Aeron chair was a great purchase as well for me. It's also over 3 years old, and it still looks like the day i bought it.
 
My College education (although I am still paying for it). Without it I'd probably still be a Bartender, living with my Mom : )
 
Athlon 1800+ (lasted 2.5+ years) followed by my Ti4600 which I got for a sweet deal (at a retailer I worked for at the time)..

Those are the oldies but goodies.

My Sony LCD is phenominal, I can NEVER go back to CRT ... followed very closely by my 6800GT/A64.. what a sweet combination. I've never experienced the upgrade feeling as nice as this with any other upgrade. I'm playing ALL my old games again w/ my native resolution w/ full details. So nice.

 
Celeron 300A & Abit BH6 .... right after All the news about the overclocking results came out ...

It was a hell of a lot faster then the pII 400 a good friend of mine purchased ... and my CPU costed about $100 where his was $800
 
Originally posted by: Broadkipa
Has to be my first 3D card Voodoo 2, best money I ever spent. What an amazing differance , will never see that jump in video perfomance again.
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Originally posted by: Hardcore
Originally posted by: heartsurgeon
aeron chair...
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Yeah i would say the Aeron chair was a great purchase as well for me. It's also over 3 years old, and it still looks like the day i bought it.
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Ah, that's Herman Miller, eh? I stayed at a hotel over the weekend and had my first encounter with a Herman Miller chair. Man, that was a honey of a chair and I turned it over and jotted down all the specs. The Aeron is probably better than what they had at the hotel, which was pretty basic. What impressed me right off the bat is the sense that it would last a long time, that it wouldn't start to look as crumby as most office chairs inevitably do, showing wear and usage, deformed fabric, discoloration, sagging, etc. I could use another office chair and will definitely consider the Herman Miller chairs. Did you guys buy them online or out of a store?

Edit: Ah, HM has a dealer locator. There's one near me.

Edit2: Hmm. Not everyone likes this chair. Dozens of personal testimonials, plus and minus!
 
My Dell 4600 w/ 3.4ghz, 9800pro, 512mb, xp etc for under $800 that I bought in April.

Maxtor 160gb hd for $30(no rebates) was also a great find.




Tom
 
I've got some good deals, but the Mitsu monitor I bought from Dug a couple years ago has been great. The dual inputs was something I hadn't even considered, and now I find I have 2 PC's hooked to it most of the time. Thanks again Dug! My Johnson J-Station $99 on clearance was an outstanding buy that I couldn't live without now.

Other contenders: z560 speakers for $114 from Dell, MyHD tuner used for $250 (couple Superbowls, playoffs, Olympics ect. in HD glory) even the $405 for my AIW 9700pro was a great buy considering the use I've gotten out of it, $73 35watt Mobile Barton @ 2.3GHz, $60 refurbed ti4200, $50 refurbed 8500 and more.
 
For best bang for the buck, my AXP 2500+ OC'ed to 3200+

For overall technology trend, I'd say LCD technology and my Dell 2001FP LCD. Went from a 17" Samsung Dynaflat CRT (still have it), to a 15" Envision LCD to a 17" Samsung 171V to a 19" Dell 1901FP and lastly to a 20.1" Dell 2001FP. Makes it so I can stare at my computer for hours on end.

For technology that I use or carry with me everyday, my Samsung S200 cell phone. Small, light, reliable color flip phone without all the bling that clutters up other phones.
 
Originally posted by: virtualgames0
Altec Lansing ADA880 speakers... got these from the first time I built my PC, still sounding awesome. Only thing I still have from my very first purchase.
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Speakers were the best upgrade for me also. Monsoon mh 505 (on for less than half price as bankrupcy). That and the audigy 2 upgrade from onboard sound. And the small fortune on quiet parts.
 
In order:
#1: XP1700 B T-Bred that I got for $50. It has run at XP2400+ (at 40c no less) for over a year with no issues...That's a ~600Mhz o/c !!!!

#2: Lian Li Pc-60 Case...will be with me forever. No better case to work with and it's PERTY too.

#3: LeadTek GF4 Ti4400. Running at 300/600 and solid as a rock.
 
I would have to say an LCD is my best purchase; heres the progression over about four years: MAG 15" to a Mits 18" to a hp 19" to 2 hp 19". Dual LCD is by far the best...well that and a Sound Blaster 16 on me old 386sx. 🙂
 
lots and lots of Xlint purchases (i HAUNT hot deals)
:roll:

letsee . . . last one was a ATI Radeon 9800XT for $223 from NewEgg (of course i had to flash the BIOS and spend $15 for a better cooling solution that also exhausts hot air out of my case).

And to think it saved me $250 . . . i ALMOST got an expensive new card that wouldn't make much practical difference since i game at 10x7 (or 11x8).

i really like my entire system (see system rig in sig) that i got at rock-bottom prices.

HOWEVER, my FAVOURITE HW purchase was a Sony MiniDisc Walkman for $90 at CC. INCREDIBLE piece of HW, rugged and beautiful and gets 50 hours on a single (rechargeable) battery . . . after using ATRAC, you can have your MP3s. 😛

:roll:
 
I would say my Radeon 64MB DDR VIVO. I bought in Christmas 2000, and I'm just now finding games I play it can't handle. $200 for 4 years of gaming goodness.
 
R9700Pro used for $200 shipped. I don't even remember when I bought it, it's been so long. It continues to serve me well, both professionally as an X1 and in newer games like Doom 3. :beer:
 
Best
#1 logitech z-640
#2 OCZ 3500 2x512
#3 turtle beach snata cruz sound card

Worst
#1 Buying NF7-s, barton 2500+, kingston 3200 512, maxtor 120gb OFF EBAY (broken soundstorm, poor overclock, just plain didn't work, very noisy and clicks, respectively)
#2 $50 ebay raidmax case and PS
#3 crappy cheap noisy overpriced case fans
#4 9800 non-pro offbrand to save $25 off a Pro
 
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