After countless delays and much disappointment, all of my new toys have finally congregated in one place. All prices are assuming 1 USD = 50 INR and any rebates will be indicated as well.
1. Asus EAH4850 TOP
P.S.2: I despise heat-molded plastic packaging!
1. Asus EAH4850 TOP
Rs. 8000 / Rs. 6500 after MIR
Was actually looking around for a Palit Sonic version of the 4850, but the prices in the states are almost the same as they are back at home and was well out of my budget. Was planning to pick up the stock Sapphire 4850 for around the same price until I found out it was confirmed by multiple sources that the cooling solution is rather noisy. Fortunately for me, this factory overclocked (680MHz/2100MHz) Asus, which was perennially out of stock during the thanksgiving weekend, popped back in for a couple of minutes when I shamelessly grabbed one for myself.
Let me state that Asus has entirely oversized packaging for their products. It is a beautiful and understated box though, once you get it past the prurient outer layer
2. Western Digital Elements 1TB External HDD Was actually looking around for a Palit Sonic version of the 4850, but the prices in the states are almost the same as they are back at home and was well out of my budget. Was planning to pick up the stock Sapphire 4850 for around the same price until I found out it was confirmed by multiple sources that the cooling solution is rather noisy. Fortunately for me, this factory overclocked (680MHz/2100MHz) Asus, which was perennially out of stock during the thanksgiving weekend, popped back in for a couple of minutes when I shamelessly grabbed one for myself.
Let me state that Asus has entirely oversized packaging for their products. It is a beautiful and understated box though, once you get it past the prurient outer layer
Rs. 6000
This one was for my brother. Until he gets it, however, it holds a backup of my external 320gb and laptop's 120gb drives. Even though Ive had it for only a week, I already wonder how I managed with a paltry 440gb till now.
3. Sandisk Sansa Fuze 8Gb (with additional 8Gb MicroSD card)This one was for my brother. Until he gets it, however, it holds a backup of my external 320gb and laptop's 120gb drives. Even though Ive had it for only a week, I already wonder how I managed with a paltry 440gb till now.
Rs. 3750 (+ Rs. 833 for the card)
Another one for my brother. I was skeptical at first, but once I held it in my hands, an effectively 16gb mp3 player of its build quality for around 4.6k is a steal. Im more of a HDD based pmp guy myself since I couldnt bother myself to constantly switch out playlists. But as a gym-centric throw-around toy, it does its job.
What little I used of it, filling up the onboard 8gb takes around 45 minutes. The screen is gorgeous with a decent user interface (though I suspect that it will be loaded up with Rockbox rather soon). I was quite tickled to see it had an FM recorder along side its voice recorder.
My only niggles with it are :
4. G.SKILL PI Black 2 x 2GB (DDR2 800)Another one for my brother. I was skeptical at first, but once I held it in my hands, an effectively 16gb mp3 player of its build quality for around 4.6k is a steal. Im more of a HDD based pmp guy myself since I couldnt bother myself to constantly switch out playlists. But as a gym-centric throw-around toy, it does its job.
What little I used of it, filling up the onboard 8gb takes around 45 minutes. The screen is gorgeous with a decent user interface (though I suspect that it will be loaded up with Rockbox rather soon). I was quite tickled to see it had an FM recorder along side its voice recorder.
My only niggles with it are :
(A) It doesnt seem to handle large (500x500 px) album art files very well and it sometimes only loads the image partially in the Now Playing screen. It also seems to be random, so its kind of hard to find out whats causing it.
(B) The bundled buds are pretty lousy, even for stock mp3 player headphones. Im not sure if its the mids or the highs, but theyre definitely muddy (which is a first for me, as I only complain about muddy bass). Fooling around with the equalizer settings only made things worse. Its nothing wrong with the equalizer as it is much appreciated when connected to my car's system.
(B) The bundled buds are pretty lousy, even for stock mp3 player headphones. Im not sure if its the mids or the highs, but theyre definitely muddy (which is a first for me, as I only complain about muddy bass). Fooling around with the equalizer settings only made things worse. Its nothing wrong with the equalizer as it is much appreciated when connected to my car's system.
Rs. 2500
I doubt this needs any introduction.
5. Sunbeam Core Contact FreezerI doubt this needs any introduction.
Rs. 2000 / Rs. 1500 after MIR
Again, a favorite on TE. Chose this over the Xigmatek S1283 for the included mounting ring, fan controller and high quality thermal compound. Although the bracket isnt quite the same as a backing\rear plate as I was hoping for, it definitely beats out the pushpin-only setup of the S1283. My only concern now is if this will fit in my cabinet. If not, expect a new arrival to the market section soon! If it does fit, ill need some advice on thermal paste application.
6. Xbox 360 wireless controller (with gaming receiver for Windows) a.k.a. Greasy-slaps-himself-silly-edition.Again, a favorite on TE. Chose this over the Xigmatek S1283 for the included mounting ring, fan controller and high quality thermal compound. Although the bracket isnt quite the same as a backing\rear plate as I was hoping for, it definitely beats out the pushpin-only setup of the S1283. My only concern now is if this will fit in my cabinet. If not, expect a new arrival to the market section soon! If it does fit, ill need some advice on thermal paste application.
Rs. 2000 (+ Rs. 850 for the receiver)
Ok, this was the only purchase I actually regretted merely because of the sheer stupidity in the decision to buy it. From what I saw on the newegg site, there was only only a $5 difference in the price between the wireless and wired controllers. The black wireless controller, however, had free shipping, which voided the price difference. Picked her up without a second thought. When she arrived, I couldnt find a usb wireless dongle anywhere in the package. Microsoft had its grubby little paws lodged firmly in my well endowed south indian posterior. I soon realized that the wireless reciever was an 'accessory' which cost 17 bucks more. Some may say its the price for the convenience of wireless. Less clutter? Nope...the receiver has an ample length cable to let entropy run its course on your desk. And better still, no force feedback. And the worst bit is that it's so obvious! How would a controller powered by 2 AA batteries have force feedback? Why would a controller designed for the Xbox come with a wireless receiver when the console already has one? Hindsight 20/20, eh?
All that said, I love the controller This is my first half-decent gamepad. The analog sticks on my previous gamepad were dead zone nightmares, while this one doesnt even seem to have one. It can be a problem in Live for Speed since the sticks dont center themselves perfectly when released, and the game doesnt seem to have an obvious option for a software emulated deadzone like GTR2. It can be solved, however, with a game controller manager like “Pinnacle Game Profilerâ€.
Honorable Mention (yet to arrive):Ok, this was the only purchase I actually regretted merely because of the sheer stupidity in the decision to buy it. From what I saw on the newegg site, there was only only a $5 difference in the price between the wireless and wired controllers. The black wireless controller, however, had free shipping, which voided the price difference. Picked her up without a second thought. When she arrived, I couldnt find a usb wireless dongle anywhere in the package. Microsoft had its grubby little paws lodged firmly in my well endowed south indian posterior. I soon realized that the wireless reciever was an 'accessory' which cost 17 bucks more. Some may say its the price for the convenience of wireless. Less clutter? Nope...the receiver has an ample length cable to let entropy run its course on your desk. And better still, no force feedback. And the worst bit is that it's so obvious! How would a controller powered by 2 AA batteries have force feedback? Why would a controller designed for the Xbox come with a wireless receiver when the console already has one? Hindsight 20/20, eh?
All that said, I love the controller
This is my first half-decent gamepad. The analog sticks on my previous gamepad were dead zone nightmares, while this one doesnt even seem to have one. It can be a problem in Live for Speed since the sticks dont center themselves perfectly when released, and the game doesnt seem to have an obvious option for a software emulated deadzone like GTR2. It can be solved, however, with a game controller manager like “Pinnacle Game Profilerâ€.
3 x Yate Loon D12SM-12 (120mm 70.5CFM @ 33dBa):
The sheer value these buggers offer at 4 bucks a pop convinced me to pick these up instead of the Scythe-Flexes.
P.S.1: I would like to thank gunman, stalker and everyone whose advice helped me through this wallet emptying experience. Damn you all The sheer value these buggers offer at 4 bucks a pop convinced me to pick these up instead of the Scythe-Flexes.
P.S.2: I despise heat-molded plastic packaging!
