Check out what i just got!

[Dunkurtin]

Picked up a new gadget that you want to share with everyone but don't feel it warrants it's own thread? Post what you got here with some details, whether it's a new phone, mp3 player or monitor, as long as it's tech related go for gold!

I finally got my Cowon s9 yesterday. =]
32GB model, loving it so much.
http://www.cowonamerica.com/images/products/s9/overvw_001.jpg
http://www.cowonamerica.com/products/cowon/s9/

[nkbswe5]

That is officially the sexiest MP3 player I've ever seen, good choice!

I'd say 'Check out what I just got' about my new iPhone 3GS, but since every second person has one I won't bother...

[Thraxas]

That is a gorgeous MP3 player. Makes mine look like a brick :(

[fishfishmonkeyhat]

Jaybird bluetooth headphones (http://www.jaybirdgear.com/bluetooth-stereo-headphones-features.php) just turned up today.

They're pretty awesome, but they'll be better once Apple update the iphone firmware so I can actually use the previous/next buttons.

[Watchers]

How much, dunk? Great thread idea, btw.

[Dunkurtin]

That is officially the sexiest MP3 player I've ever seen, good choice!

I'd say 'Check out what I just got' about my new iPhone 3GS, but since every second person has one I won't bother...

That is a gorgeous MP3 player. Makes mine look like a brick :(
Not only does it look sexy but it has excellent sound and video quality too! The interface isn't the greatest but it's certainly passable and gets better as you use it more. I had a few worries because I'd read that the touchscreen wasn't as responsive as the iPod Touch but I'm finding mine fine so far. Though it is possible that they just improved it between the launch of the 16GB and 32GB models.
How much, dunk? Great thread idea, btw.

Cost me $439 + $12 postage from Minidisc (http://www.minidisc.com.au/cowon-iaudio-s9-32gb-mp3-player-titanium-p-1693.html).

Also, i just wanted somewhere to brag without it getting lost in the sea of positivity posts. >_<

[Watchers]

Probably a bit out of my price range. I am semi-looking for a new mp3 player. Currently got an 8GB Meizu player, which has served me well, but I think the battery is dying, and 8GB isn't enough for me these days.

Looks very sexy though.

[Dunkurtin]

8GB and 16GB are $299 and $339 respectively. Not exactly cheap, but quite a bit lower than an iPod Touch with superior sound and video quality.

[adam_91vn]

I sure some peoples have one but me brother-in-law bought me one of these this week

http://www.likecool.com/Gear/MediaPlayer/Western%20Digital%20TV%20HD%20Media%20Player/Western-Digital-TV-HD-Media-Player.jpg

[SOX]

Picked up a new gadget that you want to share with everyone but don't feel it warrants it's own thread? Post what you got here with some details, whether it's a new phone, mp3 player or monitor, as long as it's tech related go for gold!

I finally got my Cowon s9 yesterday. =]
32GB model, loving it so much.
http://www.cowonamerica.com/images/products/s9/overvw_001.jpg
http://www.cowonamerica.com/products/cowon/s9/

Looks like an iPhone minus a few curves :p

[Fenrir]

Have replaced my mobile phone - a friend was kind enough to give me his old one of these:

http://www.schmik.com.au/images/public/img_imateJASJAM_large.gif

Running Windows Mobile 6 Professional, which I'm quite liking. The phone's a bit sluggish at times, and has a habit of turning itself completely off after X hours of inactivity, but for the price (free), I'm not complaining. :D
I'm still looking for better phones, but this will certainly tide me over.

When I get myself onto a decent data plan, I'll probably tether my laptop to it. Doubt I'll browse the web extensively on it, but I'll give messenger a workout, and I'm in the process of collating phone and messenger contacts.

I might start a Windows Mobile thread soon, within which to request programs, etc.

I sure some peoples have one but me brother-in-law bought me one of these this week

http://www.likecool.com/Gear/MediaPlayer/Western%20Digital%20TV%20HD%20Media%20Player/Western-Digital-TV-HD-Media-Player.jpg
Explain this device to me.

[adam_91vn]

Explain this device to me.

Sorry thought these things were common knowledge.

Western Digital Media Player. Mainly retail for $196. Mine was $175.

Full HD video playback and navigation
Photos
Music
2 USB ports

Basically just plug it into the tv via hdmi and plug a hard drive into it. Pretty cool. Previously the wife copied something onto a flash drive then puts into a dvd player. With this just I just copied a bunch of stuff onto a large flash drive and plug it in and leave it.

HD menus etc.

http://www.wdc.com/en/products/products.asp?DriveID=572

[Vicious]

Solid move for a MP3 player Dunkurtin. Makes me wish Cowon still made HDD MP3 players . . . till we see 80GB+ flash players I'm sticking with my 120GB Zune.

In other news I got Magnepan speakers (strictly for music listening during day):

http://lh3.ggpht.com/_qQq7IsRuilM/SmC5eaHhPeI/AAAAAAAAATc/U-icB1UpWHA/s640/P1020977.JPG

Not only are they tall, but very thin:

http://lh4.ggpht.com/_qQq7IsRuilM/SleWsBysFPI/AAAAAAAAALQ/qKKMyCTBmto/s640/P1020962.JPG

Yay for dipole speakers! Amazing SQ and soundstage ^_^

Oh, and I got this a while back but never talked about it really:

http://lh4.ggpht.com/_qQq7IsRuilM/Sjt0zAvMXpI/AAAAAAAAACE/2MNcfBul2aE/s640/SU-DH1%20Surround%20Headphone.JPG

Victor JVC SU-DH1. It's a Dolby Headphone processor that works crazy well. It simulates 5.0 (.1 is hard :p) perfectly, though works well with stereo sources too simulating speakers scary well.

It creates a perfect soundstage having three options for intensity (DH1 is reference, DH2 is normal listening room, and DH3 is concert hall but too much IMO). I've combined this with a Buttkicker Gamer tactile "transducer" (not an actual transducer by nature) to create THE silent home theater that still kicks ass.

With good quality headphones I'd put it up against any $8K USD speaker system easily. :cool:

[/backslash]

Sorry thought these things were common knowledge.

Western Digital Media Player. Mainly retail for $196. Mine was $175.

Full HD video playback and navigation
Photos
Music
2 USB ports

Basically just plug it into the tv via hdmi and plug a hard drive into it. Pretty cool. Previously the wife copied something onto a flash drive then puts into a dvd player. With this just I just copied a bunch of stuff onto a large flash drive and plug it in and leave it.

HD menus etc.

http://www.wdc.com/en/products/products.asp?DriveID=572
That's actually....pretty awesome :D I'm constantly streaming stuff to my PS3 via wireless connection which probably increases the electricity bill 10x fold. Can it play weird audio codecs & mkvs with subtitles?

edit: read some reviews that its not compatible with any external HDs unless its WD, I'm out

[adam_91vn]

That's actually....pretty awesome :D I'm constantly streaming stuff to my PS3 via wireless connection which probably increases the electricity bill 10x fold. Can it play weird audio codecs & mkvs with subtitles?

edit: read some reviews that its not compatible with any external HDs unless its WD, I'm out

Yeah it can play a number of different audio codecs & mkvs & also subtitles.

File Formats Supported
Music - MP3, WMA, OGG, WAV/PCM/LPCM, AAC, FLAC, Dolby Digital, AIF/AIFF, MKA
Photo - JPEG, GIF, TIF/TIFF, BMP, PNG
Video -MPEG1/2/4, WMV9, AVI (MPEG4, Xvid, AVC), H.264, MKV, MOV (MPEG4, H.264),
MTS, TP, TS
Playlist - PLS, M3U, WPL
Subtitle -SRT (UTF-8), SMI, SUB, ASS, SSA


Not compatible with other drives is bullshit.

I have plugged in numerous flash drives.
A 80gig buffalo drive is currently plugged into it.
3 different types of Lacies.
And also my mums seagate.

No issues what so ever.

[Gemerald]

Beautiful MP3 player there Dunk and yeah echoing the thought on a great thread too. I still have my trusty 1st Gen Nano which is still going strong. Rather than say replace the MP3 player I'm considering the "battery swap" method. Anyone done it before?

[incompatible with life]

Well, not exactly something I *just* got but my employer/the government effectively paid for it ^_^
http://www.techshout.com/images/htc-tytn-ii.jpg

Still going strong after a year and no plan in the near future to get another phone (for the record, got it over an iPhone due to the physical keyboard). I probably get most of its use as an MP3 player (using bluetooth headphones).

Beautiful MP3 player there Dunk and yeah echoing the thought on a great thread too. I still have my trusty 1st Gen Nano which is still going strong. Rather than say replace the MP3 player I'm considering the "battery swap" method. Anyone done it before?

Did it but with a mini. Overall not a particularly difficult experience but I did end up scratching the hell out of the end plates (which was foreseen anyway since I opted not to buy the scratch free removal tools).

Sadly my mini's battery life has probably diminished back to about 2-3 hours at best. I use it more as an alarm clock nowadays with my mobile being my MP3 player.

[Fenrir]

Sorry thought these things were common knowledge.

Western Digital Media Player. Mainly retail for $196. Mine was $175.

Full HD video playback and navigation
Photos
Music
2 USB ports

Basically just plug it into the tv via hdmi and plug a hard drive into it. Pretty cool. Previously the wife copied something onto a flash drive then puts into a dvd player. With this just I just copied a bunch of stuff onto a large flash drive and plug it in and leave it.

HD menus etc.

http://www.wdc.com/en/products/products.asp?DriveID=572
Ah, I see.

I was hoping for a DVR, or, even better, a Home Theatre PC (with HDTV tuner(s) in either case). I take it the internals aren't really suited to a HTPC operating system?

On that note, am still gathering info on HTPC setups. Main sticking points are:

finding a case that doesn't suck; and
getting a system which allows me to route all video sources (such as games consoles) through it elegantly, such that I can use the HTPC to select a video source and record from any one of them.

[StorminNorman]

After leaving my old headphones somewhere accidentally, I ended up buying a new set of Sennheiser HD228s. I was gonna get the 238, but nobody around here had it in stock and I was really, really desperate (seriously, iPod headphones suck).

A check of various <s>audiophile wankery</s> headphone websites suggests that they're pretty decent for the price, too, which is good news. Really comfortable to wear, as well.

[Gemerald]

Did it but with a mini. Overall not a particularly difficult experience but I did end up scratching the hell out of the end plates (which was foreseen anyway since I opted not to buy the scratch free removal tools).

Sadly my mini's battery life has probably diminished back to about 2-3 hours at best. I use it more as an alarm clock nowadays with my mobile being my MP3 player.

Thanks for the response. I'm keen to give it a go but going to make sure I totally max out the life out of this one first (it's still got a tiny bit). Truth be told I do love my nano.

[incompatible with life]

Thanks for the response. I'm keen to give it a go but going to make sure I totally max out the life out of this one first (it's still got a tiny bit). Truth be told I do love my nano.

Yeah, I have been keeping on to my mini partially because it was a 21st b'day gift.

Otherwise if you don't mind carrying a few other bits an pieces around you could always carry some spare external batteries. I got a solar powered one from Zazz a few months ago that I use to top up my mobile when I'm out for the day and listening to music.

[Gemerald]

Yeah, I have been keeping on to my mini partially because it was a 21st b'day gift.

Otherwise if you don't mind carrying a few other bits an pieces around you could always carry some spare external batteries. I got a solar powered one from Zazz a few months ago that I use to top up my mobile when I'm out for the day and listening to music.

****ing ZAZZ, the day I don't bother to check awesome shit goes on sale. ****.

[Halt, Hammerzeit]

Sorry thought these things were common knowledge.

Western Digital Media Player. Mainly retail for $196. Mine was $175.

Full HD video playback and navigation
Photos
Music
2 USB ports

Basically just plug it into the tv via hdmi and plug a hard drive into it. Pretty cool. Previously the wife copied something onto a flash drive then puts into a dvd player. With this just I just copied a bunch of stuff onto a large flash drive and plug it in and leave it.

HD menus etc.

http://www.wdc.com/en/products/products.asp?DriveID=572

Is that all? I used my old laptop on a network to achieve the same result and if I don't have a codec I download. It's old technology, but it works just fine.

[adam_91vn]

Is that all? I used my old laptop on a network to achieve the same result and if I don't have a codec I download. It's old technology, but it works just fine.


Yeah thats it. Someone bought it for me.

They sell alot I think mainly to people that dont have the expertise of setting up a HTPC. For me its just for the wife something simple.

Also I like the mobility. Can unplug it a put it on any tv in a couple of minutes. When we go away we can take it with us.

It come in handy already because I have watched things that I have been sitting around for a while just because they were there.

Popcorn hour which can be networked or wireless cost $400.

[Cobla]

Yeah I like the look of that media player Adam, nice and simple. Me personally, I bought one of these with some of my Ruddbucks a few months back:
http://www.gooddvdstuff.com/news/files.php?file=netgear_readynas_duo_714742660.jpg
The ReadyNAS Duo, in which I've got 2 x 1TB drives in a RAID 1 configuration. Hooked up to my router I can read and write to it at about 30 MB/sec (8MB/sec over Wi-Fi). Not only does it make for a killer media server, but it has other cool functions too, like I'm running a print server and a web server off it too. :D

Anyway my newest tech purchase is actually a new phone, a Nokia E71. Pic:

http://www.phones-online.org/wp-content/uploads/2009/01/newnokiablackversionpicture.jpg

Despite everyone (my dad especially) telling me I should get an iPhone, I went and bought what is basically an upgrade on my previous phone (an HP iPaq 6900). Getting away from Windows Mobile is a definite highlight. :p

[adam_91vn]

The ReadyNAS Duo, in which I've got 2 x 1TB drives in a RAID 1 configuration. Hooked up to my router I can read and write to it at about 30 MB/sec (8MB/sec over Wi-Fi). Not only does it make for a killer media server, but it has other cool functions too, like I'm running a print server and a web server off it too. :D



Maybe I should get one of these. Currently I DL and watch something then copy it to two different drives. Basically all mirrored

[incompatible with life]

****ing ZAZZ, the day I don't bother to check awesome shit goes on sale. ****.
Ah which reminds me, new item for the day should be up

...

Not too shabby, but I've already got a whole heap of chargers, including a set of two usb powered camera battery chargers that I still haven't quite figured out how to use (doesn't help that they literally came with no instructions whatsoever...)

Otherwise, Deal Xtreme tends to stock these random things

Wrist Band Portable Battery (http://www.dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.26420)
500mAh Solar/AC/Car Recharged USB Battery Power Pack with Cell Phone Adapters (http://www.dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.25260)
1000mAh Solar/AC/Car Recharged 4.5V~9V USB Battery Power Pack with Cell Phone Adapters (http://www.dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.25261)

Granted quite a lot of the stuff just screams out caveat emptor

[Gemerald]

Ah which reminds me, new item for the day should be up

...

Not too shabby, but I've already got a whole heap of chargers, including a set of two usb powered camera battery chargers that I still haven't quite figured out how to use (doesn't help that they literally came with no instructions whatsoever...)

Otherwise, Deal Xtreme tends to stock these random things

Wrist Band Portable Battery (http://www.dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.26420)
500mAh Solar/AC/Car Recharged USB Battery Power Pack with Cell Phone Adapters (http://www.dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.25260)
1000mAh Solar/AC/Car Recharged 4.5V~9V USB Battery Power Pack with Cell Phone Adapters (http://www.dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.25261)

Granted quite a lot of the stuff just screams out caveat emptor

Fair point about buyer beware. I've never used DX before but was thinking about buying a few things from it earlier. I've never been quick enough to snap up a ZAZZ goodie yet. The good shit they had seemed like the cotd baitathon (round 1) if anyone remember that.

[Halt, Hammerzeit]

Yeah thats it. Someone bought it for me.

They sell alot I think mainly to people that dont have the expertise of setting up a HTPC. For me its just for the wife something simple.

Also I like the mobility. Can unplug it a put it on any tv in a couple of minutes. When we go away we can take it with us.

It come in handy already because I have watched things that I have been sitting around for a while just because they were there.

Popcorn hour which can be networked or wireless cost $400.

That's the thing with the laptop. Your TV needs to have a VGA port for you to be able to hook it up. Pretty much all LCD and Plasma TVs have them these days, but not everybody has one of those yet.

[Dunkurtin]

You can get converters, VGA to AV inputs.

[Fenrir]

That's the thing with the laptop. Your TV needs to have a VGA port for you to be able to hook it up.
I've got HDMI on mine. :cool:

[Halt, Hammerzeit]

You can get converters, VGA to AV inputs.

I remember a friend had on of those when I was away once, but it didn't work when I plugged it straight into the TV (it was a cord with VGA on one end and RCA on the other). I remember doing some research and apparently you need a converter box of some description with that particular cable.

[Hyperblau]

Just got a 15" Macbook Pro 2.66ghz

Pretty schmick, not a big fan of mac but got it free through work as i need it in my job. Anyone got any recommendations on software, besides parallels+windows :p

[Slasher]

Benq G2412HD Monitor, 24 inches of awesome:

http://www.bdigitalcomputers.net/catalog/images/g2412hd.bmp

[incompatible with life]

Just got a 15" Macbook Pro 2.66ghz

Pretty schmick, not a big fan of mac but got it free through work as i need it in my job. Anyone got any recommendations on software, besides parallels+windows :p

Open office so you don't go forking out cash for Microsoft Office.
GIMP if you need something for graphics?

[Manny M]

I sure some peoples have one but me brother-in-law bought me one of these this week

http://www.likecool.com/Gear/MediaPlayer/Western%20Digital%20TV%20HD%20Media%20Player/Western-Digital-TV-HD-Media-Player.jpg

A WDTV! I saw this in Officeworks the other day and am very curious... especially since it can play .mkv

I know it can play x.264 and output 1080p, but have you had any experience in it running a 1080p BluRay Rip .mkv? 1080p x.264 movies take a huge processing load and i'd really be surprised if something as simple as this device could do the job.

[Manny M]

Just got a 15" Macbook Pro 2.66ghz

Pretty schmick, not a big fan of mac but got it free through work as i need it in my job. Anyone got any recommendations on software, besides parallels+windows :p

iLife suite
Adium (msn/facebook etc chat client)
Toast - burning
Vuze - Good torrent app.
Candybar - Change your icons etc
VLC
iWork suite
Office 2008


I'd be surprised if you don't become a big fan of mac. The OS is just a dream once you (very quickly) get used to it and compare to Windows.

[Vicious]

. . . Vuze - Good torrent app . . .


NO.

Transmission is what you want. Vuze is bloated garbage on any platform.

[Silverwolf]

iLife suite
Adium (msn/facebook etc chat client)
Toast - burning
Vuze - Good torrent app.
Candybar - Change your icons etc
VLC
iWork suite
Office 2008


I'd be surprised if you don't become a big fan of mac. The OS is just a dream once you (very quickly) get used to it and compare to Windows.

It's only a dream on it because theres no third party stuff to cause problems =P

Macs are nice machines, just expensive as hell. (and no GAEMS)

[/backslash]

Vuze - Good torrent app.
I used Vuze till I realised how annoying & crap it really was :p uTorrent imo

[Fenrir]

I'd be surprised if you don't become a big fan of mac. The OS is just a dream once you (very quickly) get used to it and compare to Windows.
I think I just threw up in my mouth a little.

NO.

Transmission is what you want. Vuze is bloated garbage on any platform.
++

[Vicious]

I used Vuze till I realised how annoying & crap it really was :p uTorrent imo

They have a Mac version now?

Good, go with that then :)

[/backslash]

They have a Mac version now?
Yep, still in Beta form I think but I doubt it'd be that buggy


µTorrent beta (0.9.1.2)
For Mac (1.21 MB)
English (US) - May 7, 2009

[Manny M]

I think I just threw up in my mouth a little.

Spit, don't swallow.

[adam_91vn]

A WDTV! I saw this in Officeworks the other day and am very curious... especially since it can play .mkv

I know it can play x.264 and output 1080p, but have you had any experience in it running a 1080p BluRay Rip .mkv? 1080p x.264 movies take a huge processing load and i'd really be surprised if something as simple as this device could do the job.

Your in luck, kind of. . .

Watched Body of lies, fast a furious and twilight this week they were 720p mkv BluRay rips though. No problems at all. Pretty amazing actually.

I have not had it long. I will see how much quota I have left and try a 1080p one but I can't imagine there would be any problems. I friend has one as well and I think he watches 1080p stuff without any probs.

I think it depends on a few things.
The quality of the rip
What hardrive you have plugged in. Atm I have a 80gb buffalo drive plugged in which appears to load faster than a larger drive but with viewing makes no difference (obviously needs to be NTFS for the large files)
The Hdmi cable and also the tv.

[Lazlow]

Might have to check this thing out. Wouldn't mind watching some of my MMA vids on the big screen.

[adam_91vn]

I love it. It basically plays any file. I am watching things that I have sitting on the hard drive for a couple of years becuase I could not be bothered burning them (Planet Earth).

Without it I would not be able to play the blurays. The only negatives that people see is that there is not ethernet port, but I would not use it anyway. If you want something swisher get a mediagate or popcorn hour.

It is really simple for anyone to use the wife uses it and my dad is gunna buy one also.

I think somewhere sells them for 150. Some dude on whirlpool posted a scanned receipt or something a while ago.

[Hyperblau]

Cheers for the software suggestions, i will check them out for sure.

It's only a dream on it because theres no third party stuff to cause problems =P

Macs are nice machines, just expensive as hell. (and no GAEMS)

I agree except the expensive part. Compared to the other stuff out there, for what they put inside Macbook Pro's they are the best priced laptops. Some of the Dell Laptops coming into my work at the moment cost around the same as mine and are absolute pieces of garbage. Most other machines (HP, Asus, etc.) cost a few hundred more for the same hardware inside.

Oh and the battery in this is pretty outstanding. Not quite the 7 hours they claim, but get a good 4-5 with a heavy workload.

[Vicious]

I agree except the expensive part. Compared to the other stuff out there, for what they put inside Macbook Pro's they are the best priced laptops. Some of the Dell Laptops coming into my work at the moment cost around the same as mine and are absolute pieces of garbage. Most other machines (HP, Asus, etc.) cost a few hundred more for the same hardware inside.

Are you sure the GPUs are identical too? Especially when looking at Asus you really need to compare the graphics chipset. From what I understand talking with an Australian network admin at another forum the Apple tax is significantly higher over the pond making other laptops a better deal :confused:

Over here you can get the equivalent of a MBP for half the cost . . .

[Shorty]

The MBP is more equivalent higher-end Lenovos or "workstation" class laptops than the lower-end loss leader Dell models, which usually work out to be about the same price anyway. They also come with a considerable amount of bundled software, like the iLife suite.

Apple don't make expensive laptops, they just don't make very cheap ones. It's a minor but fairly important distinction.

Also, uTorrent 4 lyf. :p

[Vicious]

The MBP is more equivalent higher-end Lenovos or "workstation" class laptops than the lower-end loss leader Dell models, which usually work out to be about the same price anyway.

Really? How does the Dell work out to the same price? Got some links you can provide for me by chance?

Apple don't make expensive laptops, they just don't make very cheap ones. It's a minor but fairly important distinction.

Over here the higher priced bracket (save boutique) is around 1200USD for a 17" with equivalent specs to a 2500USD MBP.

That is expensive when considering the market average of comparable hardware. How it compares in the Australian market I do not know . . .

[Hyperblau]

Does anyone know of any decent games for Mac, i know there isn't much, but is there anything worthwhile?

[SOX]

Does anyone know of any decent games for Mac, i know there isn't much, but is there anything worthwhile?

Blizzard and id support the Mac the best so any of their games you should be able to find.

Aspyr ports a lot of Windows games to Mac so you could try them also.

But if you mean Mac exclusive games umm the only one I remember being awesome was Escape Velocity Nova but it probably looks a little dated now.

EDIT:
Oh how could I forget Marathon - where Bungie got famous before Halo /slaps head
It's free to download now. Get files from here (http://trilogyrelease.bungie.org/)
And there is a Mac OS X launcher here at Aleph One. (http://source.bungie.org/) It adds higher resolutions and other tid bits.

[Shorty]

EA's been working on bringing out Mac versions of games. The Sims 3 and Spore both have Mac versions.

Really? How does the Dell work out to the same price? Got some links you can provide for me by chance?

This article (http://www.itworld.com/hardware/69085/reassessing-apple-tax) prices the 13" MBP and the Dell XPS M1330 to just $95 in the Dell's favour and the Dell Adamo ended up several hundred dollars more than the MacBook Air.

Over here the higher priced bracket (save boutique) is around 1200USD for a 17" with equivalent specs to a 2500USD MBP.

That is expensive when considering the market average of comparable hardware. How it compares in the Australian market I do not know . . .

It depends on the brand. The Dell Studio 17 was more aggressively priced (with a $300 discount) and came out to nearly a grand less but did not have similar specs (less CPU, less screen resolution, only one set of graphics and the backlit keyboard was extra). Were it upgradeable to be on par with specs, we could see a smaller price gap. The Alienware was equal in specs but closed the gap to just $250. I'd say that more than covers the cost of OS X (which is $150 for five copies) and the iLife suite. The Lenovo was a bit more than the MBP for similar specs.

The situation was similar in Australia, just on a different pricing scale. However, the savings on the recent MBP update haven't seemed to translate to Australia, which is unfortunate.

[Manny M]

Your in luck, kind of. . .

Watched Body of lies, fast a furious and twilight this week they were 720p mkv BluRay rips though. No problems at all. Pretty amazing actually.

I have not had it long. I will see how much quota I have left and try a 1080p one but I can't imagine there would be any problems. I friend has one as well and I think he watches 1080p stuff without any probs.

I think it depends on a few things.
The quality of the rip
What hardrive you have plugged in. Atm I have a 80gb buffalo drive plugged in which appears to load faster than a larger drive but with viewing makes no difference (obviously needs to be NTFS for the large files)
The Hdmi cable and also the tv.

Cool, it'd be great (and extremely surprising) if it could play 1080p rips. My old GMA950 Macbook has a real tough time with the 1080p rips, so was considering a mac mini as a media machine... but this would be a hell of a lot cheaper (and simpler).

Cheers!

[Manny M]

According to this review (http://www.itreviews.co.uk/hardware/h1795.htm), it can support up to 1080p with decent performance.

I'm excited!

[Second]

LAID!


Not really, but the next time I do, I'm posting it in here.

[Italian Stallion]

Over here you can get the equivalent of a MBP for half the cost . . .
That was certainly the case with the 13" Macs last time I checked too. The equivalent by Sony (who are generally ridiculously expensive!) was $200 cheaper, had more RAM, bigger HDD & a better CPU. Compared to the new 13" MacBooks, there's only about $100 difference between the two (in Sony's favour) based on the same specs, except the Sony boasts a far better graphics card.

In fact, looking at the new 13" MacBook Pros vs a Dell Studio XPS 13", the Dell is over $400 cheaper for the same specs with an extended 3 year warranty.

Oh, Dell & Sony both use 7200 rpm HDDs while Apple use 5400 rpm HDDs, too.

These are all prices & specs based on their Australian online stores, and include all taxes etc. :D

According to this review, it can support up to 1080p with decent performance.

I'm excited!
I've actually been looking for a media player thing for the lounge at my place too. The WDTV was the first one I checked out, and really the only down-side I could come up with was the lack of networking options. After checking out reviews for heaps in that price range I've finally settled on an Egreat EG-M34A - which I'll hopefully be picking up this week for about $250 including a Wireless N adapter! They're meant to be very similar to the Popcorn Hour (same firmware even) which seems to get great reviews.

[Watchers]

This discussion is probably better suited to the Mac thread guys. Getting a bit off track, yo.

[Shorty]

Done. :cool:

[adam_91vn]

Cool, it'd be great (and extremely surprising) if it could play 1080p rips. My old GMA950 Macbook has a real tough time with the 1080p rips, so was considering a mac mini as a media machine... but this would be a hell of a lot cheaper (and simpler).

Cheers!


Watched the Fifth Element 1080p. No problems at all.

[Manny M]

I bought it yesterday... brilliant little device, and so small! I've got it sitting perfectly in the gap between my tv set and the cabinet.

I don't know how it manages to run 1080p movies, but for 200 bucks I aint complaining.

[adam_91vn]

Make sure you update the firmware from the website. Just copy it on a flash drive and plug it in the WD will do the rest. The new update allows you to play VOB files amongst other things.

[fishfishmonkeyhat]

Got a G19 last week.

http://www.geeky-gadgets.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/01/logitech-g19-keyboard1.jpg

It's pretty good.

[Dunkurtin]

=O

brb upgrading my G15!

[Vicious]

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v229/Shike/Recent%20Purchases/Win7.jpg

Windows 7 Pro RTM

From MSDN Academic :D

[Halt, Hammerzeit]

Vicous: What's MSDN Academic? Do you have any problems with running older programs on Windows 7? I've put the RC on my laptop and I do like using that, but when I put it on my desktop (which runs Vista), there were programs that wouldn't work and I'm wondering if they've improved that portion of it any. I would like to upgrade, though.

[Vicious]

Vicous: What's MSDN Academic?

It's a program colleges can subscribe to (at least here in the US). It's for use by IT students. There's thousands of dollars worth the software on it straight from MS, 100% legit, and 100% free to us. :D

Do you have any problems with running older programs on Windows 7?

I don't tend to run a lot of legacy software except games. Do you have a specific example?

I've put the RC on my laptop and I do like using that, but when I put it on my desktop (which runs Vista), there were programs that wouldn't work and I'm wondering if they've improved that portion of it any. I would like to upgrade, though.

I haven't had any issues. During the Beta Auzentech hadn't released drivers, but now that they have everything is working quite well.

I plan on installing the 32bit license I have on my laptop (fan control software doesn't work with 64bit). That is after I upgrade the HDD in it.

[Fenrir]

It's a program colleges can subscribe to (at least here in the US). It's for use by IT students.
What're you doing study-wise, by-the-by?

[Vicious]

What're you doing study-wise, by-the-by?

Cyber Security. Just started a week ago, and it seems like I may have a full ride provided I keep my grades up.

I've done quite a bit of jumping in terms of majors since 07' actually. I originally wanted something like Cyber Security, got bait and switched at another college, switched to network admin as a last ditch effort (finished three semesters), transferred to another college when I moved and did a switch to electronic engineering while I handled all of the general credits (which were already covered in my highschool and due to state differences were required at a "college" level), and then transferred to where I'm at now in a program that's what I basically wanted from the very beginning.

It's been . . . so . . . O_o'

[Second]

I suddenly imagine Vicious acting as Cyber Security against all the Cyber Bullies out there.

[Fenrir]

Cyber Security.
Elaborate?

[Second]

Mate, I already explained it to you.

[Shorty]

Cyber Security. Just started a week ago, and it seems like I may have a full ride provided I keep my grades up.

I've done quite a bit of jumping in terms of majors since 07' actually. I originally wanted something like Cyber Security, got bait and switched at another college, switched to network admin as a last ditch effort (finished three semesters), transferred to another college when I moved and did a switch to electronic engineering while I handled all of the general credits (which were already covered in my highschool and due to state differences were required at a "college" level), and then transferred to where I'm at now in a program that's what I basically wanted from the very beginning.

It's been . . . so . . . O_o'

That's funny because I was heading towards a career in network security until I decided to learn how to make games. Been a good while since I was learning network stuff so my knowledge there is a little rusty. :p

[Blue]

Elaborate?http://www.mobygames.com/images/covers/large/987280596-00.jpg

[Vicious]

Elaborate?

Basically it means implementing electronic based security all throughout an organization. For example implementing proper security standards for internal networks, servers, and user machines. Making it so damage is minimized when the organization is attacked or compromised.

[nintendo]

Im imagining that as some kind of elaborate TD game...

[Fenrir]

Basically it means implementing electronic based security all throughout an organization. For example implementing proper security standards for internal networks, servers, and user machines. Making it so damage is minimized when the organization is attacked or compromised.
Ah, no cryptography or buffer overflows?

[Vicious]

Ah, no cryptography or buffer overflows?

Oh, there's that too ;)

It's mainly learning how it's done and how to prevent against them. That goes for tons of exploits, including hidden URLs, packet injection, cache poisoning, etc.

In other news I might as well post some other items I got:

http://lh6.ggpht.com/_qQq7IsRuilM/SoxTD7H-wrI/AAAAAAAAAmE/lWlfsAw74-U/s640/P1030152.JPG

NHT PVC (Passive Volume Control). My amp uses set volume in the back and my DAC doesn't have one, so I really needed to get one of these. Uses an ALPS Blue Velvet pot, solid decoupling caps, and a solid enclosure.

Other than that I posted this in the "are you a winner thread":

http://lh5.ggpht.com/_qQq7IsRuilM/Sn-NDPntdtI/AAAAAAAAAjE/xJG0Go4SNr4/s640/P1030124.JPG

Carry Audio Xciter DAC. The last step to perfecting my computer's audio output. I've pretty much started to enter the law of diminishing returns now.

[TrinityJayOne]

When are you going to upgrade to a 16:9 monitor?

[Second]

Really considering getting a G13 (http://www.logitech.com/index.cfm/keyboards/keyboard/devices/5123&cl=us,en). I saw one when I was at JB on the weekend and it just filled me with desire...
http://blog.c77c.net/photos/lo-g13.jpg

[Vicious]

When are you going to upgrade to a 16:9 monitor?

Considering how much my monitor cost and the overall performance I hope I don't "upgrade" for a very long time.

They don't make any 22" widescreen *VA panels AFAIK, or I would probably have bought one.

Not to mention mine has height, tilt, swivel, and rotation adjustments . . . which is so damn convenient.

[Italian Stallion]

Considering how much my monitor cost and the overall performance I hope I don't "upgrade" for a very long time.

They don't make any 22" widescreen *VA panels AFAIK, or I would probably have bought one.

Not to mention mine has height, tilt, swivel, and rotation adjustments . . . which is so damn convenient.
There's a couple of 22" wide monitors with the PVA panel, but not many. HP have one which is actually meant to be pretty great.. not sure on cost etc though. I think most higher end monitors like that are likely to have height, tilt, swivel & rotation adjustments though. :D

[Vicious]

There's a couple of 22" wide monitors with the PVA panel, but not many. HP have one which is actually meant to be pretty great.. not sure on cost etc though. I think most higher end monitors like that are likely to have height, tilt, swivel & rotation adjustments though. :D

Funny you mention HP, my current monitor is a HP LP1965 actually.

When I bought mine there were no 22" *VA panels. It's great they're coming out now, but it's a day late and a dollar short if you know what I mean ;)

[Italian Stallion]

Can't be arsed taking photos, but my latest purchase is a Richter Krakatoa 10" sub, mostly for use on the PC. These things are meant to show up most subs for under a grand, and be one of the best value for money, short of buying buying the Krakatoa's big brother, the Thor - which I was tempted to get, if for name alone. :p But after paying roughly only half retail price, I'm happy. I've only briefly set it up and haven't given it the chance to wear in yet, but it already sounds lovely and seems to have plenty of power!

[Lazlow]

Funny you mention HP, my current monitor is a HP LP1965 actually.


Woah, AU$649 for a 19" monitor. Must be the duck's nuts >_>

[Vicious]

Woah, AU$649 for a 19" monitor. Must be the duck's nuts >_>

Oof, you guys really do get screwed over the pond. I paid roughly $310 USD for it when the MSRP was $400. Expensive next to some TN panels, but at the time it was totally worth it. I bought a Color Spyder II at the same time to calibrate it so it's solid for games and video; so when I don't feel like throwing a 4:3 source on the Sammy I toss it in my PC, run post processing, upscaling, and IVTC (for anime). Works like a charm most of the time.

It's come down to $270 though, probably due to increased competition in the market.

[/backslash]

Tada!

http://home.exetel.com.au/backslashio/IMG_1269.JPG

I couldn't decide whether to keep it in landscape or portrait mode

Things that irk me about the Dell 2209WA

- Screen is too bright for dark environments (bad for watching movies in pitch black)
- Factory colours are way off, spent the whole day trying to get it right whereas the 226BW was pretty fine straight out of the box
- Seems to be a white sheen when viewing it from different angles (usually whilst I'm standing up), not backlight bleeding but I think the panel's too bright so colours aren't deep enough
- Black levels are OK, not much of an improvement though compared to the 2408WFP/U2410
- Will probably have to buy Spyder3 calibrator to fix the colours, I've tried half a dozen preset profiles today and they make very little difference

[Pai Mel]

- Will probably have to buy Spyder3 calibrator to fix the colours, I've tried half a dozen preset profiles today and they make very little difference

Dells RGB Presets are always crap and they always ship their screens with the Brightness set too high. I never use them. You should be using the Custom RGB preset. If you have a darkened room then when colour-calibrating you should be aiming for a measured target luminance of 90 - 100. The recommended luminance of 120 for LCD screens is for bright rooms.

On my Dell 2408WFP, I've got my Contrast control slider to max (100) and Brightness all the way down at 6 (it goes from 0 - 100), and I use the Red, Green, and Blue sliders to adjust the white balance and to attain the target luminance.
If you've colour-calibrated it right then the Colour Profile created for your monitor shouldn't be compensating much for colour differences - when you see the graph it should be almost the same.

[/backslash]

I am using the custom RGB and I bought the Spyder3 to fix my colour problems. Don't really understand what you're talking about though with luminance, what program do I use to find out? I really don't know anything about calibration aside from fiddling about with RGB & colour profiles :p

[Pai Mel]

I'm not familiar with Spyder3. I borrowed my brother's Greta McBeth EyeOne Match 3 colour-profiling device.

The monitor calibration software I used has 2 modes, Basic and Pro. You have to use the Pro mode in order to properly calibrate the monitor at a hardware level rather than basically creating a monitor colour profile to adjust for colour differences.

The Pro mode allows you to tell the calibration software what your target gamma should be (usually 2.2), your desired white point (this sets how cool or warm it will be, 6500 is a good value), and your target luminance or brightness.

Then the calibration software shows some colour patterns on the screen which are measured by the profiling device. For measuring the brightness or luminance, a grey pattern is displayed and the readings measured by the calibration device are displayed on the screen by way of RGB values. It is those readings that allowed me to adjust the monitor's RGB sliders to my desired targets.

Lol, I think I should just make a video or photo step by step of what I do to calibrate my LCD so it is easier to understand. It's not really a hard process, but f you one thing wrong then you end up with a poorly calibrated monitor.

[/backslash]

It's not really a hard process, but f you one thing wrong then you end up with a poorly calibrated monitor.
That's me times by 5 wrong things

Haven't received Spyder3 yet btw

[Pai Mel]

Then in the meantime just calibrate it by eye. But yeah, set the Dell's Brightness slider all the way down first - somewhere between 0 - 10. And set the Contrast to max, or somewhere between 80 - 100.
Then make sure you set the monitor mode to 'Graphics' rather than 'Video' so you get a wider colour gamut. If you want your monitor to have the same limited colour reproduction as other lesser LCD screens, then you can set it to 'Video' mode.

With your Custom RGB preset, set all the RGB sliders to around 75 first, then bring up a photo or colour pattern you know well and start adjusting the RGB sliders till everything looks natural. You can use the RGB sliders to darken/brighten the monitor further.

Also turn Dynamic Contrast off.

[/backslash]

Already got most of those settings going, I've used quite a few presets from people who have the same monitor but there's obviously something that can't be fixed by these controls alone. I've done what I can - just have to wait for the program to show up

[9warbane]

Got a freakin' sweet new monitor. ASUS VK266H.

http://i816.photobucket.com/albums/zz89/9warbane/P6260078.jpg

Far Cry 2 looks great, very tempted to get a Blue-ray drive but I'll too poor now.

[REQUIEM]

Beautiful MP3 player there Dunk and yeah echoing the thought on a great thread too. I still have my trusty 1st Gen Nano which is still going strong.

Yeah my 1st genertion nano still does its job and has bounced numerous times on my daily run.

[Pai Mel]

Your VK266H is 1.5" bigger than my monitor. I have penis envy. Should never have sold you MP3.

[thegreatlordpancake]

I got a backberry, which I am posting off of.

[9warbane]

http://i816.photobucket.com/albums/zz89/9warbane/Untitlftgftgdfghed-2.jpg
Got a 1.5 TB external Hard Drive. Posting it to some bloke in Tas, he's going to fill it up for me.

http://i816.photobucket.com/albums/zz89/9warbane/Untitlththdhtged-1.jpg
My mum brought a tv, she had a $600 voucher that had to be used. It's a Sony KDL32W5500 Bravia 32 inch.

If only I had a 360, PS3 or high def movies to watch.

[adam_91vn]

Was not worth a new thread.

Brother-in-law has shifted to melbourne and wanted to talk to me on skype.

Whats a good cheap webcam? You cant use them for both the PC and the 360 can you?

[Vicious]

Was not worth a new thread.

Brother-in-law has shifted to melbourne and wanted to talk to me on skype.

Whats a good cheap webcam? You cant use them for both the PC and the 360 can you?

Actually I believe you can. You can use a 360 webcam on both, but not vice-versa.

Hope that helps.

[Silverwolf]

My webcam cost me $9, however I would not call it good.

[Dunkurtin]

$9! I'm getting a webcam!

[Xanafalgue]

Nine dollars

[/backslash]

That price again for those who didn't hear it the 3rd time....$9! :p

----------

http://www.cowcotland.com/images/news/2009/09/pc-k62.jpg

Lancool PC-K62 case - $182 incl p&h from ITS Direct website

Bought it to replace my Antec P180 (which currently has a broken USB port, but that's not the main reason why I got a new case). Possibly the most awesome budget case, it lacks a little in design (too many vents/grills) but it has the best features (no tools at all required and very easy to secure video cards & control cable management since it hides on the opposite side of the metal sheet) that make things so much easier - except for the annoying USB ports on top of the 1st drive. If you don't believe me on how good it is watch this review

N4XCT9yibwQ

[Knuckle Children]

I wish I could be posting a pic of one of the new iMacs, but unfortunately I dropped 2k on one of the now obsolete models 6 weeks ago... Sucks to be me, should have done my research :(

[Lex]

ouch.

you bought a mac.

[Knuckle Children]

ouch.

you bought a mac.

Nah, it's cool. Performance is secondary. It still accessorises well with my iPhone, hoodies and man-bag

[Cicada]

That price again for those who didn't hear it the 3rd time....$9! :p

----------

Lancool PC-K62 case - $182 incl p&h from ITS Direct website

Bought it to replace my Antec P180 (which currently has a broken USB port, but that's not the main reason why I got a new case). Possibly the most awesome budget case, it lacks a little in design (too many vents/grills) but it has the best features (no tools at all required and very easy to secure video cards & control cable management since it hides on the opposite side of the metal sheet) that make things so much easier - except for the annoying USB ports on top of the 1st drive. If you don't believe me on how good it is watch this review.

Excellent choice, that and the CM690 are the best cheaper cases around, to get any better you have to look at spending at least $250 IMO. Though I prefer the look of the 690, as you said, the Lancool has a few too many grills and is a bit too "chunky" for my liking.

[Meg]

That PC case looks nice. Like the idea of the perspex window.

[/backslash]

Excellent choice, that and the CM690 are the best cheaper cases around, to get any better you have to look at spending at least $250 IMO. Though I prefer the look of the 690, as you said, the Lancool has a few too many grills and is a bit too "chunky" for my liking.
I ended up choosing looks over function (again) :p And changed my mind to the Lian-Li PC-7FW

http://lian-li.com/v2/tw/product/upload/image/7F/7fd03.jpg

Which doesn't have as many nice features, there's no cable management behind the motherboard (holes are in the wrong places), there's no super easy levers to secure videocards/hdds & its not completely black on the side :( However it is much lighter since its made from aluminum instead of steel so it only weighs 5.7kg. Shame I can't put the K-62 interior inside the Lian-Li

[sausage]

anus anus anus anus I am a anus.

[/backslash]

Its still a really good case but let down by only having 2 fans instead of 3/4, there's no fan speed control (like my P180) or more than 1 large dust vent and the cable management thing is a bummer. Would love to know how to mod this sort of stuff

At least I'm not much of a gamer, there's only ever going to be 1x HDD, 1x smallish videocard and 2 dvd roms & I'll probably replace the stock fans

[Silverwolf]

Still don't know why you would downgrade :P

[Vicious]

Lian-Li does make good stuff . . . I'd never go without a removable motherboard tray again though.

[/backslash]

My webcam cost me $9, however I would not call it good.
If anyone wants a decent webcam, OneDaySale are selling the HP Deluxe Webcam KQ246AA- BRAND NEW $1 SHIPPING (http://stores.channeladvisor.com/thebluepoint/Items/hp_%4011_kq246aa_nw?&caSKU=hp_%4011_kq246aa_nw&caTitle=HP%20Deluxe%20Webcam%20KQ246AA-%20BRAND%20NEW%20%241%20SHIPPING) for $19, 80% off (RRP $99.95), sale ends midnight tonight

Features

- Up to 8-Megapixel still image capture with software interpolation.
- 1.3-Megapixel sensor with Autofocus in a small form factor webcam.
- Certified high-speed USB 2.0: take full advantage of your broadband access and enjoy up to 30 frames per second for smooth and natural body motion.
- Integrated wide angle microphone capture your voice from any position.
- Tilt and Pan: easily adjust your webcam to let you show what you want while maintaining a stable connection to your monitor.
- Keep videoconferences sharp with the autofocus
- Attach to your monitor with the flexible clip/stand

[StorminNorman]

Speaking of new computer cases, I bought myself an Antec Titan 650 (http://gadgets.softpedia.com/gadgets/Computer-Hardware/The-Antec-Titan-650-Server-Case-3966.html) case the other day to replace the dodgy old case I had.

The big selling point was that it can comfortably fit four HDDs (my old case couldn't) with decent airflow between them. The 3.5" drive bay also has a front door where two 92mm fans can be attached. I'll be getting these next week.

It's a really nice looking black behemoth of a case, with a lockable front door, slide-loading drive bays, a big 650W PSU and 12cm rear fan.

The only downside is that my computer is currently running a small form-factor motherboard, which looks pretty hilarious in a case that's effectively designed to run dual-Xeon boards. Still, this means that it'll have plenty of airflow through the hot summer months, which is important to me.

I think my favourite feature has to be the lock, though. I haven't had a computer with a lock on it since the 386 days!

[/backslash]

@Stormmin - that case is remarkably similar to my old Antec Plusview 1000AMG, must be an evolved line of the series

At the last minute I changed my mind again to the LianLi B25, but now I realise I should've gone for the tool-free B25F 2009 version for roughly the same price (and has better features) :(

http://www.itsky.com.au/assets/catalog/parts/PC-B25B_0.jpg

It has got a removable motherboard tray though and it is possible to put the cables behind the motherboard but any slight modifications seem to involve unscrewing a lot of tiny screws, including a bunch just to clean the dust filters. Grrrr....

[Italian Stallion]

The big selling point was that it can comfortably fit four HDDs (my old case couldn't) with decent airflow between them. The 3.5" drive bay also has a front door where two 92mm fans can be attached. I'll be getting these next week.
I can't think of many cases that can't fit at least 4 HDDs these days. I also haven't seen 92mm fans on a case for a while. >_>

I also recently purchased a new case!

CoolerMaster Storm Sniper:

http://pcwizkidstechtalk.com/images/stories/pcwizkid/coolermaster_sniper-10.jpg

It's a bit of a step down from the CoolerMaster Cosmos I previously used, which is a premium full tower case.. while it was a great case, it lacked airflow, having a single 120mm intake placed underneath(??) the front of the case, which kinda sucked on carpeted floors. :( Cable management was rather hopeless as well.

The Sniper on the other hand, has 2 200mm intakes, a 200m top exhaust & 120mm rear exhaust, with room for another 120mm intake if required. That big knob at the top controls the speed of all the case fans, which makes them almost silent at night time. There's a button on it which turns off all the LEDs too - wouldn't have bought it otherwise, seeing as I sold my case before the Cosmos because of annoying lights.

Fantastic quality case, tool-less installation with plenty of room to work on everything. Probably the best case I've owned or worked on so far. :)

[adam_91vn]

If anyone wants a decent webcam, OneDaySale are selling the HP Deluxe Webcam KQ246AA- BRAND NEW $1 SHIPPING (http://stores.channeladvisor.com/thebluepoint/Items/hp_%4011_kq246aa_nw?&caSKU=hp_%4011_kq246aa_nw&caTitle=HP%20Deluxe%20Webcam%20KQ246AA-%20BRAND%20NEW%20%241%20SHIPPING) for $19, 80% off (RRP $99.95), sale ends midnight tonight



Thanks, purchased one of these.

[TAT]

The Sniper on the other hand, has 2 200mm intakes, a 200m top exhaust & 120mm rear exhaust, with room for another 120mm intake if required.
**** man how hard do you go?

[Italian Stallion]

Haha, I do a bit of overclocking (although not since building my new PC - it doesn't really need it), so the extra cooling is always helpful.. but I was more or less just looking for a good balance between cool & quiet, bigger fans offer that I guess, pushing more air at lower rpms. Meshed/windowed cases generally have better cooling than fully enclosed cases, plus with the fan controller I can make it virtually silent when I need it. I never even have the fan controller over 1/2 way.. at full it's a bit of a jet engine.

[Saxby]

Where can I buy a Cowon S9 and for cheap? :D Will probably just get the 16 gig model.

[StorminNorman]

I can't think of many cases that can't fit at least 4 HDDs these days.[.quote]
The old case *could* fit four drives, it just meant there was very little room between them, and the case had no front airflow, which would be a problem where I live.

The new case lets me put the drives in groups of two with a full bay gap between the two groups.

[quote] I also haven't seen 92mm fans on a case for a while. >_>

The guy at my local computer store was really surprised by it too. The mountings match the front of the drive cage perfectly though, which means its an act of minor genius on the part of whoever designed the case.

I'm guessing that it also allows for quieter fans than the regular 80mm fans.

Now I just wish I could figure out why the HDD LED isn't working properly when I connect it to the right header on the motherboard.

I also recently purchased a new case!

CoolerMaster Storm Sniper

Centrecom actually had these on sale when I went there, but they were way too flashy for me. One of my requirements is that the case can't have too many blue LEDs, or it'll keep me awake at night. :p

[Dunkurtin]

Where can I buy a Cowon S9 and for cheap? :D Will probably just get the 16 gig model.

Online. I could not find one anywhere when i looked for one, though that was in perth. I got my 32gig online just after they came out for around 450 iirc.

http://www.minidisc.com.au/advanced_search_result.php?search_in_description=1&keywords=S9&gclid=CNrjt-qQ5Z0CFdEvpAodK2PvKg

I think that was the site i got it from. Look around though.

[Saxby]

Thanks.

I'm currently looking at this (http://www.eljomedia.com.au/Cowon_Multimedia_s/53.htm?gclid=CMq83eKz450CFQEupAodpHY8Og) site but they both seem to be the same. I guess I could just compare postage...

Also, have you tried the TV out cable? Is it any good?

Edit - I'm thinking about just getting a HD Lacie media storage device because I would probably use it more...

Then again, I wouldn't mind having a Cowon to watch movies on long trips...

Edit 2 - This (http://www.lacie.com/au/products/product.htm?pid=11076).

[Cerebral]

Just won a Viewsonic VG2227 in a raffle - pretty sweet.

Thinking of giving my current BenQ FP222W to my bro and keeping this one for myself - it's smaller than the BenQ but is 16:9 and supports 1920x1080 (as opposed to 1680x1050). Looks like my plan of getting a cheap video card because I won't be playing anything higher than 1680x1050 has gone down the drain.

Do many PC games support 16:9 resolutions?

[Vicious]

Do many PC games support 16:9 resolutions?

Most recent and modern ones do.

[Silverwolf]

16:9 sux dix.

In my opinion.

[/backslash]

16:9 sux dix.

In my opinion.
Stfu :p Anyone who uses their PC to watch movies would much prefer 16:9 to avoid those annoying black bars and to get more coverage. 16:10 is more advisable for those only using it for internet & general apps. Once you get beyond 26" though you'd barely notice the difference anyway

[Vicious]

Stfu :p Anyone who uses their PC to watch movies would much prefer 16:9 to avoid those annoying black bars and to get more coverage. 16:10 is more advisable for those only using it for internet & general apps. Once you get beyond 26" though you'd barely notice the difference anyway

If you're watching vintage anime 4:3 is preferable.

If you're watching movies you should be using a TV anyway . . . like a 50" plasma . . .

;)

[/backslash]

Its weird even though I've got a 46" LCD sometimes I prefer watching stuff on my computer most of the time despite having to put up with backlit problems and lack of blackness. Dunno why, its a mystery

[SOX]

Just won a Viewsonic VG2227 in a raffle - pretty sweet.

Thinking of giving my current BenQ FP222W to my bro and keeping this one for myself - it's smaller than the BenQ but is 16:9 and supports 1920x1080 (as opposed to 1680x1050). Looks like my plan of getting a cheap video card because I won't be playing anything higher than 1680x1050 has gone down the drain.

Do many PC games support 16:9 resolutions?

I got a 16x9 BenQ monitor and aside from old games (actually now that I think about it even Quake 1 supports it), every one I can think of supports at least 4x3, 16x9 and 16x10.

[/backslash]

I ordered the LianLi B25 and instead I got sent the B25F, the new 2009 tool-less design

http://www.techtrip.ro/wp-content/uploads/2009/08/lian-li-pc-b25f-01.jpg

In a way I'm actually kind of glad I got sent the wrong case because the original case would be a pain to change anything and only succeeded in looks. Its brother doesn't have a front door, or a removable motherboard tray but it does have the USB ports & power buttons on the top which'll make it easier for hooking stuff up & turning it on without reaching down. Its also 2kg lighter making it 3.8kg in total! Over 10kg lighter than my Antec P180

Its a bit overkill with the fans though, there's 5 of them compared to 3 with 2 additional on the top. I highly doubt I'd use more than 3 though so I might use 1x front, top & rear only to reduce system noise. Still, I'm quite pleased with the case despite the somewhat industrial look. The cases are practically the same price (with a couple of $) so its not like I was ripped off

[TAT]

That's the biggest power button I've ever seen.

[/backslash]

Haha, no, that's just a light for style - not a button. The power button is on the top right, that little silver thing. Its almost touch sensitive, unlike those other buttons where you have to push it in

[Vicious]

Haha, no, that's just a light for style

I don't like it honestly . . . that's me though.

Can you keep it from lighting up?

[/backslash]

Yes, there's a little power cable. But you'd have to open up the case to turn it on/off. Its one of the main reasons why I wanted that case though :p My roommate thinks it looks pretty ugly too yet I don't and there are many other people who like it

[Vicious]

http://lh6.ggpht.com/_qQq7IsRuilM/Su-zbrpk2ZI/AAAAAAAAA2Y/nmjyocm9FoM/s720/P1030194.JPG

An early Christmas present I accidentally discovered. I never find anything when I actively try to find them, but whenever I try to savor the surprise it gets spoiled.

I wish life came with spoiler tags. None the less I'm getting tons of usage out of it since my parents decided to give it to me early ^_^

Also got these headphones:

http://lh5.ggpht.com/_qQq7IsRuilM/Su-zbWwQr9I/AAAAAAAAA2U/ly_kofkN05s/s720/P1030190.JPG

Mentioned them in the audiophile thread that I just revived moments ago >_>

[Pai Mel]

http://www.zazz.com.au/images/products/The_Ant_Kingdom_Colony_image33005.jpg

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zjKEoSOoShk&feature=player_embedded

Couldn't resist todays Zazz item. This makes purchase number 2 from Zazz. The first was an LED bargraph T-shirt.

Now does anyone have 20 large harvester ants they can send me?

[Zan]

LianLi B25

I actually really like this design. I find most nice cases are generally too gaudy after the new shiny thing loses it's shine.

I love the positioning of the usb ports and audio ports. That would be so damn handy, but I can't justify $300 for the convenience of not having to reach further down. :p

[TAT]

Reach down? My tower sits on my desk so a) I can reach everything, and b) my gf can't see what I'm doing by quickly glancing into the room:

(doorway is sort of to the left)
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v648/Devest8r/pc/pc020.jpg

[Silverwolf]

Even though I do it, box under the desk/on floor = inferior.

Better air circulation if you have it on your desk, plus less dust.
TAT's reason is good too

[sausage]

Holy shit I'd forgotten how much padding goes into a Stephen King novel.

Cujo?

[TAT]

Nah. Christine.

Cujo is one of the short ones.

[sausage]

Yeah yeah shit yeah Christine christ what a big book.

[Cobla]

How about The Stand?? It's about 1000 pages IIRC (I read it when I was about 16)

[Zan]

Reach down? My tower sits on my desk so a) I can reach everything, and b) my gf can't see what I'm doing by quickly glancing into the room:

Hah.
Well I can either fit my tower on my desk or my ps3... plus I don't live with my gf.

[StorminNorman]

How about The Stand?? It's about 1000 pages IIRC (I read it when I was about 16)

1400 in the uncut version. From memory, It is about 950ish pages (well, the hardback I read of it was).

But yeah, King is a master of the doorstopper.

[StorminNorman]

Here's some photos of the new case I got a couple of weeks back:

Inside:
http://i644.photobucket.com/albums/uu170/SerialExperimentsTim/case-inside.jpg

Outside:
http://i644.photobucket.com/albums/uu170/SerialExperimentsTim/case-outside.jpg
(Yes, that really is a lock there under the power/HDD LEDs. The power switch is behind the door.)

And bonus photo of where my computer lives:
http://i644.photobucket.com/albums/uu170/SerialExperimentsTim/computer-setup.jpg

[sausage]

Some sweet fin action there.

[StorminNorman]

They make it go faster!

[Halt, Hammerzeit]

They make it go faster!

Needs more red for ultra, mega fast speeds.

How do you sit at that desk will all that crap under it?

[/backslash]

Here's some photos of the new case I got a couple of weeks back:

Inside:
http://i644.photobucket.com/albums/uu170/SerialExperimentsTim/case-inside.jpg

I'm guessing that case doesn't have cable management? :p

I actually really like this design. I find most nice cases are generally too gaudy after the new shiny thing loses it's shine.

I love the positioning of the usb ports and audio ports. That would be so damn handy, but I can't justify $300 for the convenience of not having to reach further down.
Are you talking about the B25 or B25F? (the F is the tool free version with no front door and chunky-ish roof which is the one I ended up with). Yeah the top mounted USB ports & power buttons are nice but I'm wondering how easily dust will get into those since its not covered. Also I'm going to have to be very careful that I don't knock any liquids over it, not that I do but the case is more vulnerable now

Haven't put my stuff in the new case yet, planning to get my friend to do it on the weekend so hopefully it'll look really tidy once its done. That 3.25" disk drive is getting removed once and for all!

Even though I do it, box under the desk/on floor = inferior.
I can't stand having a giant case on my desk, especially with all that noise its making right next to your ear - unless you're still using a desktop case its not practical. At one point I had it sitting on top of a box to the side of my desk which worked pretty well but not very safe or practical. Would be handy if my desk had some slight elevation platform near the bottom, I'd probably do it if I knew how

[StorminNorman]

How do you sit at that desk will all that crap under it?

The iMac makes a great footrest. :p

I'm guessing that case doesn't have cable management? :p

The big gap between the motherboard and the drive bays serves the same purpose!

It wouldn't be quite as messy if I hadn't had to untie all the PSU cables to get at a couple of the SATA power connectors. Because I have a nonstandard number of HDDs in the thing, there's more cables than you might find in a more normal PC case.

I kind of wish the PSU was more like the one in my Dad's computer, where it has a bunch of connectors on the PSU, and you plug in as many power cables as you need, rather than having seven billion cables all come out of the same hole in the PSU.

[Italian Stallion]

Here's some photos of the new case I got a couple of weeks back:

Inside:
http://i644.photobucket.com/albums/uu170/SerialExperimentsTim/case-inside.jpg
That is horrible. :p Getting rid of those IDE devices would help! This is one of the reasons I prefer cases where the HDD connectors aren't directly in the main part of the case, but out to the side.. makes managing the sata cables a bit easier. Also having the PSU down the bottom is preferable so it doesn't take in hot air from the case.. but I actually don't mind the look of it outside! And it seems quite roomy to work on, which is great after having worked on small cases.

How's the case for noise? With 92mm fans I'm guessing it's not exactly quiet..?

[StorminNorman]

The 92mm fans aren't running yet (I need to get adaptors to connect them to the PSU, and they didn't ship with these), so it's just running off the case/PSU fans, which are relatively quiet. There's also a side fan, which sits approximately about where the graphics card is, on the side panel of the case.

I should point out that I took that photo while I was actually installing those fans, and I was making a couple of other adjustments inside (my HDD LED works finally!), so the cables are a little bit messier than they normally would be.

As for getting rid of the IDE DVD drive, I can't, as the motherboard only has four SATA ports. I'll probably get a new motherboard next year with more ports, and may upgrade the DVD drive then as well. This is still mostly a budget computer (it doesn't need grunt for gaming— that graphics card's only a Geforce 9500), which explains the budget motherboard.

I was using a "round" IDE cable for the CD drive, but it broke when I changed the case (it was cheap and crappy), so I went back to a ribbon cable.

And yeah, the case is quite long, so there's heaps of room in there. It's intended as a server case, and given this computer mostly functions as a server, that seemed appropriate.

[fishfishmonkeyhat]

Now does anyone have 20 large harvester ants they can send me?

You know I'm having a sale on 25 large harvester ants.

[TAT]

And bonus photo of where my computer lives:
http://i644.photobucket.com/albums/uu170/SerialExperimentsTim/computer-setup.jpg
So where do you sit?

[Silverwolf]

iMacs make excellent seats.

[TAT]

It's about all they're good for these days, isn't it?

[Pai Mel]

I had my 17" CRT Apple Studio Display under my desk like that for three years until I decided to just throw it out with council pickup. It was still in good working order. Heavy bastards though.

[StorminNorman]

So where do you sit?
I have an office chair. I'd moved it out of the way for the photo.

[TAT]

Ok, so where do your legs go?

[Silverwolf]

It's about all they're good for these days, isn't it?

All they were ever good for.

[TAT]

I remember my auntie got one due to the ad campaign and then couldn't work out why it didn't come with the internet :psyduck:

[Saxby]

I just picked up this Acer Aspire - 15.6", 2.1ghzm 4 gig ram, 512mb dedicated graphics for $738. It is the best laptop I have ever had the pleasure to use. So awesome.
http://www.onlinecomputer.com.au/product_thumb.php?img=images/5536G-644G32MN.jpg&w=180&h=159
http://www.onlinecomputer.com.au/product_info.php?products_id=2297

REVIEW - http://www.notebookcheck.net/Review-Acer-Aspire-5536G-Notebook.17192.0.html

[/backslash]

Seems good for the price Saxby :)

Here's my latest purchases with photos, Lian Li B25F & BenQ G2420HD

http://home.exetel.com.au/backslashio/pcsetup.jpg

That blue ring is actually much brighter than it seems, it practically lights up my room when the room is dark :p With that big snake cable running through the back I had to put it back inside because the panel didn't have enough room to close :( Also the cable management didn't go as well as I hoped, my old DVDrom drive uses that large flat blue cable instead of SATA and I could've tied up all the cables but then I'd have to break the cable ties next time I upgrade. Considering its already 2 years old I'll leave it for my next setup. It does seem a bit cleaner than my old case however

Couple of things I really like about it:

- Thumbscrews for motherboard, both short & long (long for hard to reach locations)
- Easy to install HDDs (up to 6), installs sideways and has a little lever to lock it into place
- Putting in DVDrom drives involve simply sliding it in and then pushing a lever, done!
- Plenty of holes in the right area for cable management behind motherboard

If anyone wants a Lian Li that is dead easy to work with, this is it. This & the cheaper Lancool K-62

[Lazlow]

Seven daysssssssssssss.....

[/backslash]

Haha, that's what it keeps reminding me of when I see it (Ring movie reference in case nobody knows what the hell he's talking about)

[Italian Stallion]

Messy cables. :p

Is there much room behind the motherboard tray? That's the single greatest place to hide cables.

Try running the front panel connectors through the cutout just below the motherboard.. that's the perfect place for them to come out, and hides the excess!

The case actually looks pretty good for cable management. Missing a couple of ideal cutouts, but plenty of places for cable tying shit down.

I'll post a couple of pics of my case when the camera's charged. I've only done a half-assed job of management too, but it's not too shabby. Gonna get some sleeving on some of it before I bother trying to get it perfect.


Nice looking laptop, Saxby. Surprising to see laptops are able to run games like Crysis fairly decently these days. Looks like you got it at a really good price too. :D

[/backslash]

Messy cables. :p

Is there much room behind the motherboard tray? That's the single greatest place to hide cables.

Try running the front panel connectors through the cutout just below the motherboard.. that's the perfect place for them to come out, and hides the excess!

The case actually looks pretty good for cable management. Missing a couple of ideal cutouts, but plenty of places for cable tying shit down.
I wouldn't say there's "plenty of space" behind the motherboard tray, its quite limited with the amount of depth you have to work with so no thick cables can go through and you can't exactly bunch them altogether otherwise you won't be able to close the case - there needs to be clampers, like the original B25 but its absent here.

I could try again, but it'd take a while and aside from using cable ties here & there I can't be bothered trying to route the cables in a different manner :p

[Italian Stallion]

http://img24.imageshack.us/img24/5139/dsc00574tu.th.jpg (http://img24.imageshack.us/i/dsc00574tu.jpg/)http://img222.imageshack.us/img222/7899/dsc00575b.th.jpg (http://img222.imageshack.us/i/dsc00575b.jpg/)http://img515.imageshack.us/img515/7739/dsc00579u.th.jpg (http://img515.imageshack.us/i/dsc00579u.jpg/)http://img24.imageshack.us/img24/2585/dsc00585tm.th.jpg (http://img24.imageshack.us/i/dsc00585tm.jpg/)http://img26.imageshack.us/img26/125/dsc00589bc.th.jpg (http://img26.imageshack.us/i/dsc00589bc.jpg/)http://img222.imageshack.us/img222/6397/dsc00591x.th.jpg (http://img222.imageshack.us/i/dsc00591x.jpg/)


As annoying as the LEDs seem like they'd get at times, they can all be turned off at the press of a single button, leaving my room virtually pitch black. That piece of fabric covering the HDD/power LED is there 'cause it's the only one you can't turn off.. and CoolerMaster have a habit of making that one annoyingly bright. Gonna cut a piece of film to fit over it to tone it done though.

That big bunch of molex cables is really the worst thing to deal with cable-management wise in the case.. since that's how all the fans are connected to the fan controller. Makes it hard to hide, especially when there's a fan on the door, meaning I need a bit of slack so I can open it when need be. Those cables up near the top are usually tucked away hidden too. Poor form by them coming out for the photo. :mad:

Lucky for me I never have to see the underside of the motherboard tray - who cares about a bit of mess there!

[/backslash]

Goddamn thats a tidy case (well until you look on the opposite site), you should work on mine :D I wish mine had a ring LED brightness control or at least an easy on/off switch on the outside. Wouldn't want to be the person trying to sleep in this room with that left on

[Italian Stallion]

Haha yep. The other side is quite shocking.. I could probably do a bit to fix it up (ie. not have the molex cable all over the place and tangled), but I'm not too fussed. I don't have to see it! I'm happy with it for my first real attempt at cable management.

As for the LED ring, you could probably hook up a switch on the back (or somewhere else more convenient) if you really wanted to.. shouldn't be that hard!

[Silverwolf]

Nice job you did there damo, love how your fancy new HSF doesnt even line up with the fan on the top =D

[StorminNorman]

What's that blue PCB-like thing under the motherboard? I noticed both of the cases above had it.

Ok, so where do your legs go?

The chair has like a ring around it near the bottom that serves as a foot rest.

[Cicada]

What's that blue PCB-like thing under the motherboard? I noticed both of the cases above had it.

That's just the backside of the motherboard. On Italian Stallion's you can see the backplate for the beefy CPU cooler.

/backslash if you don't want to have to cut cable ties whenever you upgrade you should just grab some of the larger reusable velcro or plastic ones for a couple of bucks. Even 1 or 2 can make a large difference, as I've recently discovered :).

[Italian Stallion]

Nice job you did there damo, love how your fancy new HSF doesnt even line up with the fan on the top =D
Haha. Yeah, it's a shame it doesn't.. no hsf would line up properly with it though cause it's too centralised. Still, I noticed a 2-3 degree drop orientating it that way, so it seems to be working!
That's just the backside of the motherboard. On Italian Stallion's you can see the backplate for the beefy CPU cooler.
This. It's just to make changing CPU coolers easier. Saved me from having to take the motherboard out the other day when I installed that one.

[Saxby]

Nice looking laptop, Saxby. Surprising to see laptops are able to run games like Crysis fairly decently these days. Looks like you got it at a really good price too. :D

I'm really happy with it. Currently dual booting Vista & Ubuntu because I hate vista, but love it's Acer functions.

I'll probably only use this for multimedia stuff and work and use my pc for gaming!

[9warbane]

Got a 4890. Wanted Asus or Gigabyte but they sold out, had to go with Power Colour.

[Vicious]

The ground opamp on my Mini^3 bit the dust . . . so till I can have someone repair it I bought a new headphone amp:

http://lh6.ggpht.com/_qQq7IsRuilM/Sv0iM4EtJEI/AAAAAAAAA5A/UxgaRbIWhek/s720/P1030206.JPG

Sexy ;)

[TrinityJayOne]

Gots me a Nokia N97, currently posting from it. Well actually I'm not, but I could if i wanted to. >_>

[igotnewsuper8systemWRONG!]

My headphones arrived

http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y151/infinate_ammo/100_1565.jpg

[texta]

Picked up an HP Mini 110-1156tu.
Specs are:
Intel Atom n280 1.66Ghz
250gb hdd
10.1" screen
2 gig of ram (upgraded from 1 gig).

Comes with Windows 7 Starter, so probably going to upgrade to home premium. I've spent the day getting rid of all the crap on it though. Decided since it doesn't have a cd drive I probably don't need PowerDVD. Thanks anyway though.

[Italian Stallion]

Those little netbooks are not too shabby. Vista always ran kinda sluggish on them though.. how's 7 on it? Wouldn't mind selling my Dell laptop since it's overkill for my use and buying one of the Asus N10s provided it can run 7 well.

I picked up a Kodak ZX1 mini HD camcorder. It's about the size of a mobile phone and can record 720p. Mostly bought it for taking to gigs and so on, since every phone I've ever had just cannot record audio at concerts.. was kind of concerned whether this would do it justice either, but I recorded some bits and pieces last night at a gig and they came out good. Pretty happy with it for $100 + cost of SD card.

[Serenity]

Kodak generally has very shitty visual quality, especially with digital cameras. Even if you paid me a very handsome amount, I would not touch one.

[Lazlow]

eQ1CJhyv0Tw

For a $100 mini Camcorder, I'd say its a kickarse device. How was the sound quality with the gig recordings?

[Italian Stallion]

Kodak generally has very shitty visual quality, especially with digital cameras. Even if you paid me a very handsome amount, I would not touch one.
Depends what you're expecting really. I'm not keen to bring something to metal gigs worth hundreds and hundreds of dollars which could potentially get broken fairly easily. Whereas this little device is pretty rugged and could take some knocks, and if something happened to it, at a hundred bucks I wouldn't be too upset. That said, the quality for the price is pretty amazing. The only real downfalls for it are the shitty zoom (2x digital which is very juddery), the less than fantastic screen & quiet speaker. And while not bad, it wasn't really designed for poor-light situations.

How was the sound quality with the gig recordings?
It's not super fantastic awesome, but for the price it's more than fine. Better than any camera or mobile I've owned.
4GLyupULNgc

Note that the original file was 200MB+, which I compressed down to 35MB, then add whatever compression YouTube do when you upload, so the original is a little better. The video was also filmed with zoom in use which degrades quality a bit - it was my first real play around with it, so I wanted to know what it could do.

[Dunkurtin]

Thats pretty good for that price. Might have to look into getting one i think.

[Lazlow]

Same. Would've been handy on the slopes; POV stacks :D

[Dunkurtin]

Would have been good to have during the battle of the bands my mates were in. Along with all the other various gigs i've been to in the last few months. Also for general screwing around.

[Italian Stallion]

Same. Would've been handy on the slopes; POV stacks :D
Water resistant too, so it's perfect for it! Figure I can take it when I go out fishing for when we finally get that big catch.. screw photos, 720p video ftw!

But yeah, for gigs is my main reason for it.. and it being so small makes it nice and easy to stash away in a pocket. Brilliant idea really.

The competition - which I admittedly haven't used - are all in the $300ish dollar range too, and they're all pretty much rated equally. So for that price it's nuts.

[Serenity]

I haven't used a Kodak camcorder but I used to own an EasyShare digital camera. Easily the worst camera I have ever owned, reviews are often poor for the quality too. Stick to films with imaging, Kodak. Stick to films.

[texta]

Those little netbooks are not too shabby. Vista always ran kinda sluggish on them though.. how's 7 on it? Wouldn't mind selling my Dell laptop since it's overkill for my use and buying one of the Asus N10s provided it can run 7 well.Runs pretty well actually. Win 7 runs a bit slower than on my PC, but it's still more than fast enough.

That said, W7 Starter is very basic (you can't even change the desktop picture) so it'll be interesting to see how Home Premium goes instead.

[Lazlow]

Water resistant too, so it's perfect for it! Figure I can take it when I go out fishing for when we finally get that big catch.. screw photos, 720p video ftw!

But yeah, for gigs is my main reason for it.. and it being so small makes it nice and easy to stash away in a pocket. Brilliant idea really.

The competition - which I admittedly haven't used - are all in the $300ish dollar range too, and they're all pretty much rated equally. So for that price it's nuts.

Checked one out in Good Guys tonight, pretty impressive. Though a larger viewing screen would have been nice.

Unfortunately Good Guys were wanting $223 for it. D:

How much space does HD60 chew up?

[adam_91vn]

Picked up a Billion 7800n for $210
http://www.getright.com.au/v2006ver1/components/com_virtuemart/shop_image/product/0a1bfa287953f58691c210e068ac1b3b.jpg
Its WIRELESS :eek:

Also picked up a Lenovo S10-2 from HT on the weekend
http://www.thinkpads.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/05/s10-2_black.jpg
$358.

[/backslash]

Picked up a Billion 7800n for $210
http://www.getright.com.au/v2006ver1/components/com_virtuemart/shop_image/product/0a1bfa287953f58691c210e068ac1b3b.jpg
Its WIRELESS :eek:
A billion? You only need one :p *boom-tish*

Also that notebook is alright for the price

[adam_91vn]

Yeah I was pretty happy with the price and performance of both.

[fishfishmonkeyhat]

Just added a new fan controller and set up my drives in Addonics removable drive bays.

http://i348.photobucket.com/albums/q321/fishfishmonkeyhat/Temp/pcupgrade.jpg

Buy my old removable caddies in HAH!

[sausage]

I always sensed you posted from a prison cell and now I know for sure.

[fishfishmonkeyhat]

That doesn't even make sense.

Unless you're saying you're now sure I don't post from a cell.

[9warbane]

http://i816.photobucket.com/albums/zz89/9warbane/hdds2.jpg
Brought 2 hard drives.

[/backslash]

Should've got the ioDrive, it has read speeds of 1.5GB per second and write speeds of 1.4GB per second :p

[Cerebral]

One of these ****ers:

http://www.mydigitallife.info/wp-content/uploads/2009/10/logitech-g110-gaming-keyboard.jpg

[Italian Stallion]

G110? Looks good. How is it? I want to get a new keyboard.. the orange lights on the Logitech aren't that fantastic.

My latest purchases:

http://www.doobybrain.com/wp-content/uploads/2007/10/audio-technica-ath-es7-mirror-head-phones2.jpg

http://www.modster-pc.co.nz/shop/images/powerbig550.jpg

[/backslash]

Billion 7800N - Also for $210 (+p&h expenses incl the annoying credit card surcharge)

Could've got it $10 cheaper if I didn't buy it from a WA store but that'd involve too much waiting. Hoping to get a refund from the other store since I sent them an email to cancel my order for the D-Link :p

[Cerebral]

G110? Looks good. How is it? I want to get a new keyboard.. the orange lights on the Logitech aren't that fantastic.
Switching colors from blue to red is cool!

For what its worth, plugging my headset into the keyboard itself gets rid of a few issues with static while voice chatting. The Macros would be great but I haven't given them a go yet on anything that is compatible.
http://www.modster-pc.co.nz/shop/images/powerbig550.jpg

Classic Damo.

[/backslash]

http://www.advancedcircuits.com.au/images/9012E2_04_000.jpg

901E2+ ADSL 2+ Inline Filter - $12ea (got 2 of them). I'm still getting a fair bit of noise issues on my phone with my current ADSL filters and I'm pretty sure its because they're all only suited to standard ADSL whereas this one is certified to the strict new ADSL2+ Australian Standard AS/ACIF S041:2005. Full 2.2MHz bandwidth ADSL2+ design (quoted from their website) :P Heard good reports too from Whirlpool forums

[Pai Mel]

Where did you get it for $12 each?

I may try one as well, although I think our main problem is we are far away from the exchange.

[/backslash]

http://www.warcom.com.au/ADSL-Filters/2270_acs-901e2-adsl-2-inline-filtersplitter

+ $8.95 for p&h. But if you order 2 of them the p&h costs are still the same. RRP is $24.95 from the official site

[Pai Mel]

Why would I need two though?

[/backslash]

Well I bought 2 in case I ever need a second one (gets damaged/whatever), best to be prepared sometimes and its not too expensive. Also atm I have to use 2 filters even though I've only got one modem installed & the other one is just connected to my 2nd phone by itself, because for whatever reason there's just too much noise on my phone from my modem

[adam_91vn]

http://www.advancedcircuits.com.au/images/9012E2_04_000.jpg

901E2+ ADSL 2+ Inline Filter - $12ea (got 2 of them). I'm still getting a fair bit of noise issues on my phone with my current ADSL filters and I'm pretty sure its because they're all only suited to standard ADSL whereas this one is certified to the strict new ADSL2+ Australian Standard AS/ACIF S041:2005. Full 2.2MHz bandwidth ADSL2+ design (quoted from their website) :P Heard good reports too from Whirlpool forums

You should just get a central splitter installed. No filters required. One line for data one for the phone. I have a monitored alarm so I got this done, no probs since.

[/backslash]

So what is it exactly? I've already bought the filters anyway, not getting anymore :p

[pezhead015]

Just got the new 13" white macbook. Sweet!

[Italian Stallion]

Checked one out in Good Guys tonight, pretty impressive. Though a larger viewing screen would have been nice.

Unfortunately Good Guys were wanting $223 for it. D:

How much space does HD60 chew up?
Sorry about the delay, just noticed this now. :p

A bigger screen wouldn't have hurt, but I don't find it a necessity either. Working out what I'm pointing it at is about all I need from it. The majority of video watching I'll do when it's hooked up to the PC.

I can't really tell you for sure how much HD60 uses, but I recorded 2 30 second clips of the same thing just now, HD was 34.8MB, HD60 was 38.5MB.
Switching colors from blue to red is cool!

For what its worth, plugging my headset into the keyboard itself gets rid of a few issues with static while voice chatting. The Macros would be great but I haven't given them a go yet on anything that is compatible.


Classic Damo.
Yeah I've had my G15 for a quite a while now, and I think I've used macros all of about twice. >_>

Also, :cool:

[Italian Stallion]

http://simon.holmbring.se/wp-content/uploads/2008/10/h785_tg.jpg

[/backslash]

I think that could be better than the Harmony One, for one there's actually RGYB buttons on it & two its a hell of a lot easier to navigate than touching buttons that thinks you pressed 'across' instead of 'off' :( Also imo the 725 looks better

[Italian Stallion]

725? I can't find anything on that. >_> Mine's a 785 though!

The Harmony One's screen looks awfully nice, but I'm more of a fan of this kind of form factor. They're making all of the new Harmony's that kind of form factor though, and they all look ugly! Also I couldn't really justify spending an extra $100 (at least) to get the Harmony One over this, for the sake of a touch screen.

That said, I had a Harmony 520 (which has now been delegated to the loungeroom to make it easier for incompetent parents to use the DVD player & surround sound), which is essentially a 525 without the RGYB buttons, and I never really missed them.

[/backslash]

725? I can't find anything on that. >_> Mine's a 785 though!
Well that's what the photo you provided says, lol. Must be american version

How much did you spend on your 785? Mine was $200 incl p&h and that was like 9-12 months ago. I strayed from the 785 because of an apparent occasional charger problem where it just stops working for no reason

[Italian Stallion]

Ah. Weird. I didn't notice that... it definitely says 725, but even in the US it's 785. Strange.

I got the 785 for $80 incl p&h, which is a really good price. They tend to go for about $120. I heard about that issue, but it has a 2 yr warranty, and apparently it's usually the battery that stops working.. they're easily replaceable for about $15.

The new(?) 1100i looks pretty nifty, but I think I prefer the idea of not having to use 2 hands for a remote. There's also a new 900, which seems to be the same as the One, just with a range extender thing.. and double the price. What a waste.

[/backslash]

Yeah that is a great price, better than the 525s and practically the same price (525s still seem to be going for around $70 unless you can find them on clearance)

[Italian Stallion]

DSE is selling them for $260 still! Given that they're about the cheapest for the 525, that's pretty weird.

So far the only things I like better about the 525 are the larger playback buttons. Makes for pressing them easier, and easier to see at night because of more light showing what they are! The 785's screen is also quite bright, but it's not blinding or anything. I set it up to show channel logos for most of major channels too. Pretty nifty feature I discovered last night!

Aside from that, it feels as though it's weighted better than the 525. More comfortable in hand too. The buttons are softer to press too, which was one of my main gripes with the 525 - the buttons are very stiff.

[/backslash]

DSE is selling them for $260 still!
For the Harmony 525? That's a bad DSE! I bought the 525 for my mum at a crappy generally overpriced HN store for $60 and that was out in a QLD small holiday town where there's no store competition

One thing that's slightly cool about the Harmony One is that I can adjust the sensitivity of the touch to make it respond better or to make sure I don't hit something by accident. There's also different themes for it too yet I can't change the colour of the arrow buttons (would prefer blue or something instead of red/orange)

You're right about the clicky buttons on the 525, everything felt very forceful, the One is better but the volume & channel buttons are starting to feel a little bit weird, making some worrying squeaky noises

[Vicious]

First, I got a set of Triple.Fi months ago. I <3 Them:

http://lh4.ggpht.com/_qQq7IsRuilM/S3AGm3k0fiI/AAAAAAAABHk/0JTCe44Z9oE/s720/P1030376.JPG

My old Deck keyboard was starting to tire out my fingers more often than not, so I upgraded to a Filco Majes Touch Cherry Brown w/NKRO:

http://lh6.ggpht.com/_qQq7IsRuilM/S3AGmmhTegI/AAAAAAAABHg/tMLjS2jT9xA/s720/P1030374.JPG

Doesn't look like much, but each key on that is about .80 a pop . . . it set me back $140 (USD) with shipping :eek:

A new Audio Technica cart for my turntable:

http://lh4.ggpht.com/_qQq7IsRuilM/S3AGlT1yAmI/AAAAAAAABHQ/piTWj6JQcFU/s720/P1030369.JPG

An Ortofon stylus force gauge for turntable calibration:

http://lh3.ggpht.com/_qQq7IsRuilM/S3AGlub4g3I/AAAAAAAABHU/B2YfOOY3uiI/s720/P1030371.JPG

Vinyl cleaning solution/brush, also for my TT:

http://lh6.ggpht.com/_qQq7IsRuilM/S3AGl_eykFI/AAAAAAAABHY/WIQc8uWwbpg/s512/P1030372.JPG

A (used) Samsung Laser printer:

http://lh5.ggpht.com/_qQq7IsRuilM/S3AGorl2a6I/AAAAAAAABH8/j-g60F0iGOo/s720/P1030388.JPG

Picked it up from a thrift shop for $6.50 ^_^

A new netbook, an Acer AO532H

http://lh6.ggpht.com/_qQq7IsRuilM/S3AGnRLEYjI/AAAAAAAABHs/vLp0dWqlC04/s720/P1030378.JPG

A case for new netbook:

http://lh6.ggpht.com/_qQq7IsRuilM/S3AGnBZ92qI/AAAAAAAABHo/d3ewtZB3KPI/s720/P1030377.JPG

Lastly, the chair that I had bought wouldn't stop shocking me. So I picked up a Lane leather chair on sale for $115 (USD again):

http://lh4.ggpht.com/_qQq7IsRuilM/S3AGoU-S7CI/AAAAAAAABH4/Rtun9HVCd7w/s512/P1030387.JPG

(also posted chair in other thread, but it's technically a computer chair . . . soo >_>')

NOT PICTURED:

Square Trade warranty for netbook.
Warranty for Chair.
G-Data AV subscription for three PCs.
A couple 3.5mm stereo couplers.

[nintendo]

^Just wondering what the quality, buildwise n all, is like in the Acer netbooks? My friend is looking at getting one and Im not real sure about their 'longevity'.

[Vicious]

^Just wondering what the quality, buildwise n all, is like in the Acer netbooks? My friend is looking at getting one and Im not real sure about their 'longevity'.

I'm not sure . . . I haven't heard of any huge problems so to speak yet and it seems more than durable enough. However, I did buy a 3rd party three year warranty + accidental damage coverage just in case. I imagine the biggest chance of failure would be the HDD since it has moving parts . . . if you have any other questions about it I'd be happy to answer them in PM.


I also ended up buying a broadcom mini PCI-e HD decoder which was easy enough to install (spare slot was open) which allows playback of most HD material (save Flash which will be able to offload onto it and GPUs soon).

[Halt, Hammerzeit]

It's not mine, but I've been having a play with a Nokia 5230 that I ordered for a guy at work. This is quite a nice little phone. It's a touch screen phone (uses a stylus), comes with a memory card, data cable and wired headset in the box. It just seems really nice as a phone and is only $300. Looks pretty cool too, so anybody that's looking for a functional, flash-looking phone, this is for you.

[Vicious]

Upgraded my Kindle to the latest one and grabbed an M-Edge case for it:

http://lh4.ggpht.com/_qQq7IsRuilM/S4HzBNIaITI/AAAAAAAABLg/_UMlbaTAUto/s720/P1030454.JPG

Manga loads faster, odd fonts plus text in darker areas are easier to read, it doesn't start out of order randomly (even if files are named right), basic image functions are available (zoom, panning, rotation), and the integrated Oxford Dictionary is rather nice to have on hand (especially how they interface it when reading normal books).

Now I just need to get the old one sold.

[Lex]

are kindles still shit for comics (not manga)? kind of want one, but meh if they can't do comics right.

[Vicious]

are kindles still shit for comics (not manga)? kind of want one, but meh if they can't do comics right.

Depends how text heavy they are, whether they are colored, and the original size.

If it's black and white/gray like manga then it should display relatively well, though with the 16 shades of gray dithering seems to work a hell of a lot better than it used to. Text may be hard to read if there's a lot of it in a single bubble, then you also have to be concerned about the general size difference. Of course those can be helped by zooming in, but the DX would probably be a better fit for fixing those issues as zooming and panning could grow annoying (of course it costs substantially more for the screen real estate -- not sure how much that's worth to you overall).

Anyway, I guess the real question is whether the dithering is acceptable or not? If you can PM me a sample image (or a few that you think may have trouble) I'll throw them on and take a few pics to help you out so you can see what you think.

[TAT]

New TV.

Yes, the setup is pretty laughable, but I'm not really bothered by it

The plan is to mount the TV to the wall, but that involves, well, handyman skills

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v648/Devest8r/tv001.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v648/Devest8r/tv002.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v648/Devest8r/tv003.jpg

[adam_91vn]

Is that a 26 inch?

[/backslash]

It does look pretty small, its either 26" or 32".

@ TAT I'm not sure if mounting that tv would be worth it, you wouldn't want to look up too much considering how small it is. Also you left your keys in the door, might want to take them out :p

[Vicious]

@TAT

With backslash on this one . . . you don't want to make a screen higher than necessary. It hurts your neck, your viewing angles, etc . . . it's not worth it.

[Stevorooni]

Looks like a 32" to me, pretty sweet.

I've seen them getting cheaper and cheaper, Big W have an AWA brand one for $400 and a week or so ago The Good Guys had a Toshiba 32" going for $500

The tech whore in me wants to buy one, but I can't justify the purchase because I already have an LCD TV and don't need another one at the moment.

[TAT]

@TAT

With backslash on this one . . . you don't want to make a screen higher than necessary. It hurts your neck, your viewing angles, etc . . . it's not worth it.
It's a 32" Series 4 450 (720p). Got it for just under $700 @ JB; the 1080p model was $888. Neither of us thought the $200~ extra was worth it

We've watched 2 movies since we got it, and at it's current position the viewing angle/elevation is perfect for the sweet Ikea armchairs we have. I've seen the X360 running @ 720p before, but it's just really awesome to have it setup for yourself

As for mounting, well we'll probably weigh up the effort of defacing our sweet feature wall (:P) against leaving it where it is and tidying up all the cables

[Italian Stallion]

You could always get a tilt mount so that you can face it down a tad.. if you were really keen to mount it, that is. I've been looking into a tilt/swivel mount for my TV the last few days, and they seem to start around the $100 mark (roughly twice the price of a standard non-tilt mount).

Nice TV though. I've got an older 26" Samsung and I love it.

I hope you don't intend on using the fireplace though! :p

[TAT]

Yeah, we were quoted $99 for a tilt mount from JB but we weren't willing to commit to it one way or another so we just left it

[/backslash]

http://images.csnw.com/lrg/i-nit-mc086lla.jpg

iPod touch 8GB 3rd Gen (though I'm pretty sure its got 2nd gen specs) - $199 from DSE.

Almost bought it at Big W for $244 but then thought "Naw, I'll wait till it gets cheaper". Then when I was browsing the ozbargain website I saw it for $199 :D Rang in advance at local DSE & picked it up along with a wall charger for $17.95, unfortunately I found out its actually a USB charger so I have to use the USB charger cable that came with the iPod!

[Knuckle Children]

Nice price, that. Are you planning on using it for games, music or both? If it's chiefly games, set aside that $45 that you saved and stock that baby up with a fist full of quality.

[/backslash]

Nice price, that. Are you planning on using it for games, music or both? If it's chiefly games, set aside that $45 that you saved and stock that baby up with a fist full of quality.
Games & apps & general internet when away from the computer. Worth the price :D I'll use it for music at some stage once I can figure out how to use iTunes on Windows 7 without it freezing up everytime I sync it :(

[Italian Stallion]

Yeah, we were quoted $99 for a tilt mount from JB but we weren't willing to commit to it one way or another so we just left it
I ended up picking one up off eBay from a local seller. Cost $55 shipped all up. Dual swivel arms & tilt upto +10/-10 degrees. There's a small mounting clip thing made of plastic which is a bit questionable quality-wise, but it all mounted fine and works well. Money well spent imo.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v189/damo2002/IMGP0405-edit.jpg

It's starting to look rather small up there all by itself though. :(

Fair price on the iPod, backslash. Cheaper than they go for on eBay even. I saw it listed on the ozbargains site too, was sort of tempted.. but I never use my mp3 player as it is. :p

My latest purchase:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v189/damo2002/IMGP0413.jpg

[/backslash]

Fair price on the iPod, backslash. Cheaper than they go for on eBay even. I saw it listed on the ozbargains site too, was sort of tempted.. but I never use my mp3 player as it is. :p

Yeah well I have an iPod Nano that I barely use (was a gift so I don't really want to sell it) and I thought the same thing about the iPod Touch but I've been using it heaps lately for wifi use & games & apps which makes it well worth the price. Its suddenly become a device that I feel compelled to carry with me everywhere :D

[Halt, Hammerzeit]

My latest purchase:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v189/damo2002/IMGP0413.jpg

How big is it and how much did it cost? I much prefer solid state drives (no moving parts), but haven't really seen any with a capacity I like.

[Italian Stallion]

How big is it and how much did it cost? I much prefer solid state drives (no moving parts), but haven't really seen any with a capacity I like.
Too small and too much! :o It's only a 64GB. I've got Windows & all my Program Files installed with 37GB free still though, so for that it's fine. Then I have my games on my fastest HDD. I was doubtful about the performance boost everyone says they give, but the speed difference is incredible. I'd never go back to a standard HDD - at least for my boot drive.

[Pai Mel]

How much did cost? I'm also thinking of getting one as the hard drive inside my iMac died last year and I've been running the OS from an external HD though Firewire 800. It actually seems as fast as using an internal, unless there is a lot of data access going on.

[Italian Stallion]

It cost about $230. There's better/more expensive models you can get, but the G.Skill Falcon is the best value for money SSD around at the moment. If you're willing to part with the cash, go for it. Worth every cent I think.

When they come down in price/go up in capacity drastically, I'll probably buy another and retire this to my laptop.

[Halt, Hammerzeit]

I think I'll stick with 1TB external drives for my mass storage needs. I thought I saw one for $160 somewhere the other day. Both of the ones I have were about $200 when I bought them.