Saturday, July 11, 2009

What I've been Doing -- Thing One


One of the things that has kept me busy is my recent acquisition of a new computer. I used to buy a new computer every 5 years to semi-keep up with the gaming curve. I'd usually spend a couple of thousand dollars on it, and it would be very good but not the best.

A couple of months ago at work, one of my excellent co-workers mentioned he bought an amazing gaming laptop from Best Buy (pictured at left) for $800. I checked it out, and was immediately jealous. After thinking about it for a while, I decided I couldn't really afford a new computer.

Step forward another month, and my dad decided to take the plunge and purchase a computer to use for work and for gaming at home. I did a lot of research on price points, and ended up recommending a Gateway 7805u from Best Buy. Dual Core, 1066MHz FSB with 4 Gigs DDR3, and a Tier One video card for $1200. That is crazy good. Only negative was the screen, which was 1440x900 -- but what a price. Of course, he had to go through the University so couldn't get that laptop, but that's a different story ...

So I was researching the laptop for him, and told him -- it will be around for a while if you change your mind. The next day, I visited a Best Buy and learned the model had just been discontinued. A few weeks later I was at a store that had one left, and it was deeply discounted. I finally gave in to temptation -- and was especially pleased to learn it was one of the early 7805 which had a full 1900x1200 screen. It's taken me a couple of weeks to set it up and get used to Vista, but it is finally performing well -- incredibly well. I still can't believe the price I paid for this thing.

BTW, my dad ordered a roughly equivalent laptop, and only paid 350% what I paid. Them are the rules ...

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