Seeing that this will be a slow day for news (in fact this was declared a long weekend where I live), I thought you may want to spend sometime in the forum and tell us about any computer or tech related presents you got this Christmas... in my case, I got myself a few components for upgrading my machine (all from Newegg BTW): a new 865PE motherboard, 1 gig worth of PC3200 RAM, an Enlight 420w PSU, a couple of SATA HDs (10k RPM Raptor, anyone?) and a better cooling solution for my old but still speedy 2.53GHz P4 which I will keep for a few months still... So, what about you folks?

Radeon 9600 pro 128 MB, USB pen/key drive for my keychain, and games to use on the new card!

3.2GHz P4 Extreme (may change)
1gig of corsair XMS RAM
ATI Radeon 9800 Pro
Asus P4P-800 Deluxe
2 SATA Drives (undecided on type)

Don't plan on upgrading till late January sometime, so as they say, my specs will probably change.

and a better cooling solution for my old but still speedy 2.53GHz P4

I am currently running a P3 500MHz with a screaming radeon 7500 :/

EDIT: Forgot, I did get a TDK DVD burner

The raptors are sweet,Ive had them for 6 months now

I got a nice new Phillips DVD Player
got my son a gamecube(really for all of us) and a bunch of games.

Boy did I get everything I wished for. This was definately one of the much better Christmas' I can remember. No one was drunk and trying to choke anyone, family came to visit and we got to give a whole lot to our family this year.

I guess these are all tech related. These were the packaged gifts I got :D

Black & Decker 7 piece 18volt Power Tool set
Klipsch ProMedia Ultra 5.1s (I got these a week early)
Canon EOS Digital Rebel with 18-55mm bundle
JBL Simply Cinema 135 Home Theater 5.1 speaker pack

I really got spoiled this year!

Nothing tech-related received :( , but gave a 256MB Sony Micro Vault USB flash drive :D . The recipient was VERY happy. Planning on upgrading my sys soon and could really use a new vid card. Hey admins, you listening? ;)

I got clothes. :( :( :(

I got my whole upgrade plus a little something I might buy with what's left over :)

I got a Sony DRU510A Dvd Burner and also i'm planning on buying a new monitor 19 or 20 inch viewable crt. Not sure what to get, any recommendations? sub $350.

Also what brand at <350 (NEC, SONY, Viewsonic, Mitsubishi)
thanks for help coz

Nope, nothing PC related here either; several DVDs (Goldeneye, Goldfinger, Equilbrium, X-Men 2 & Hulk) & the Hitchhikers guide to the Universe book.

Originally posted by TS | Thomas
the Hitchhikers guide to the Universe book.
Thats a really good book :grinthumb

Nothing PC related, however I did get money....



however thats going to pay off my dirt bike :(

Well I got my wife an MP3 player, and decided to get myself a new camera. I have purchased the new Minolta Dimage Z1. That thing is a beast, I can't wait to get it and start using it. Other than that just the same old stuff (clothes, socks, puzzles, tools, etc.)

Gave my beloveded a Dell Digital Jukebox 20 GB Mp3 player (with 3 year extended + addtional warrnty to cover dropping, spills, etc.)

I got a Logitech Momo Racing force feedback wheel and pedals:grinthumb and a labtec headset for talking in online games.

Originally posted by StormBringer
I got a nice new Phillips DVD Player
got my son a gamecube(really for all of us) and a bunch of games.
I did the same thing for mysel...er... my daughters. They loved it.Mokey ball is turning out to be one of my favorites.

Originally posted by TS | Thomas
Nope, nothing PC related here either; several DVDs (Goldeneye, Goldfinger, Equilbrium, X-Men 2 & Hulk) & the Hitchhikers guide to the Universe book. Was it the complete jumbo book (Hitchhikers, Resturant,So long.. Ect) or merely theone book? If it was all four (the trilogy?) you are in for a good time. If not you may want to pick them up and also Dirk gently's holistic detective agency and the long dark tea time of the soul. Same author. All very good reads.

I got me a Creative zen extra mp3 player! its sweet!

I got a new graphics card! FINALLY!
Ive now got a shiney FX 5700 Ultra - tripled my mark03 score over my old Ge3Ti200
Also got an Enermax Power Supply and a Coolermaster Aerogate 1 and the cash to buy a 2500+ then overclock the hell out of it :D
Not a bad Christmas all in all

Steg

Damn Steg you did good!!! :D

didn't get anything cool yet (got gift cards, so i'll be heading out today).
i did get my girl a gameboy advanced SP with 2 games and an accessory pack. she loves it. the quality difference b/w it and the old gameboy she has it amazing. the games are fun, colorful, and have a long play life. the games are usually under $30 too which is nice. all in a great purchase, and one i'll get to enjoy too every once in a while.

I got to spend the Holidays with relatives I hadn't seen in a long time.:D

Originally posted by Didou
I got to spend the Holidays with relatives I hadn't seen in a long time.:D

I got to spend it with relatives I see too often. :(


;)

Got to spend it with my closest family (well, all of my family except my uncle)...

Didn't get anything tech related (except for a DiscMan with mp3 support from Denver (DMP347)), but gave my aunt (of all people) a 15" TFT...

Really wanted to buy one for myself too, but I just spendt over 1000$ on a winter coat, so I'm a bit broke right now... :/

It sounds to me like things are a tad expensive in Norway....based on your post in another thread with $20-$30 CD's and all.

I got an HP 733 digital camera (3.2megapixel), LotR RotK and Metal of Honor Rising Sun for gamecube.

I also got my parents a 4 port USB 2.0 hub and a blue Microsoft optical mouse. Mom is pretty excited about the mouse - lots cooler than her old ball mouse that she never cleans.

Originally posted by Masque
It sounds to me like things are a tad expensive in Norway....based on your post in another thread with $20-$30 CD's and all.
You should see him getting ready to go grocery shopping. They fill 2 wheelbarrows full of cash just to buy milk.
I don't think he is using USD but Norwigen (sp?) dollars ( marks?). i am not up on my currency exchanges, but usually after the exchange , items are typically the same cost. ( minus any tariff/taxes of course).

Abit IC7 and 19" Envision LCD:D :D :D

Spent a little of my Xmas money today and got 2 UV CCFL's, a red LED/UV reactive fan, and UV reactive cables. Downed me about $30, but it was worth it. With the extra money I'll get something cool for my truck.

C&C and WarCraft 3 Battle Chests. That's all tech wise. Everything I got was cash so I could still go to school. Bloody government with a 170% increase in tuition. I thought I might finally be able to upgrade out of my P3 450. Alas... maybe next year..

Originally posted by agrav8r
You should see him getting ready to go grocery shopping. They fill 2 wheelbarrows full of cash just to buy milk.

Lol! It isn't that bad yet... But I'm afraid that'll happen next year... j/k...

Originally posted by agrav8r
I don't think he is using USD but Norwigen (sp?) dollars ( marks?). i am not up on my currency exchanges, but usually after the exchange , items are typically the same cost. ( minus any tariff/taxes of course).

No, I'm using USD... We use NOK (Norwegian Kroner) in Norway, of which 1USD = 6.756 NOK...

Thus when my winter coat cost 6 750NOK, it's about 1000$...

And Cd's cost from 150NOk up to 200NOK.. Meaning 22 USD and upwards...

So some things are quite expensive, cd's, computer stuff & the like, but clothes aren't so bad...
(The winter coat I bought is from Ermenegildo Zegna, which costs alot anywhere you buy it)
But in general, everything is more expensive in Norway than it is in the USA...

TV tuner, GTA:Vice City. Lots of CD's, etc. Vouchers and Cash

My PC needs are comparitively simple to everyone elses, so all this getting 1GB of RAM just seems weird to me.

Then again, I do eat HDD space like theres no tommorow, and I have an aversion to big HDD's, so an IDE controller and two more 80GB HDD's might be on the cards for the cash/vouchers to buy

Originally posted by Ayasha I thought I might finally be able to upgrade out of my P3 450. Alas... maybe next year..

i feel ya.

Yeap, now if only I could have kept my post count from the old old 3D spotlight boards.. or could have gotten it back as a Christmas present ;) heh heh. Who knows, maybe when the BTX PCI express boards come out I'll be able to get something then? Hopefully we'll all be able to upgrade soon enough.

logi tech mx duo and a computer chair with the mesh back

The only thing I got tech related was Battlefield 1942 Deluxe Edition. I guess I'm the only game player on the planet that didn't have it, but I played the demo and didn't like it, even though everybody else raved about it.

Now that I've got it I think it's great, just got to get good enough at it to compete online, right now I kind of suck, haven't quite figured everything out yet.

Originally posted by olefarte
The only thing I got tech related was Battlefield 1942 Deluxe Edition. I guess I'm the only game player on the planet that didn't have it, but I played the demo and didn't like it, even though everybody else raved about it.

Now that I've got it I think it's great, just got to get good enough at it to compete online, right now I kind of suck, haven't quite figured everything out yet.

Hey olefarte, when you get a chance sometime, especially on Tuesday or Thursday nights, look for servers with the prefix of -=|***|=- (either North Coast or Hidden Realms Risen) and see if |***|H.E.R.O. is there (myself). I'll see if I can answer any questions on the game or just use the servers for your practice. We've a good bunch of peeps in there for the most part (never can tell when it's pub) and your pings should be good as the servers reside in Ohio on T1's.

Originally posted by Ayasha
Yeap, now if only I could have kept my post count from the old old 3D spotlight boards.. or could have gotten it back as a Christmas present ;) heh heh.

Did you remember to ask Santa Julio for it?

If not, it's your own fault...
(Even though the thread for asking has been locked for some time...)

You r all so lucky, all i got for X-mas was a shirt :(
Money isn't easy to come by with here :(
But anyway, i'm glad most of you guys got what you wanted :D

Originally posted by Federelli
You r all so lucky, all i got for X-mas was a shirt :(
Money isn't easy to come by with here :(
But anyway, i'm glad most of you guys got what you wanted

If Santa Julio ships me one of those fancy new vid cards, I'll mail you a screenshot, okay? ;)

Originally posted by Masque
Hey olefarte, when you get a chance sometime, especially on Tuesday or Thursday nights, look for servers with the prefix of -=|***|=- (either North Coast or Hidden Realms Risen) and see if |***|H.E.R.O. is there (myself). I'll see if I can answer any questions on the game or just use the servers for your practice. We've a good bunch of peeps in there for the most part (never can tell when it's pub) and your pings should be good as the servers reside in Ohio on T1's.

Mind if I tag along? I can be bothered to remember anyawys :rolleyes: Also I was wrong when I said nothing PC related, I got Zalaman headphones which are the best ever. Everyone of you should go buy them, if are $50, sound incredible and support sourround sound.

Originally posted by ---agissi---
Mind if I tag along? I can be bothered to remember anyawys :rolleyes: Also I was wrong when I said nothing PC related, I got Zalaman headphones which are the best ever. Everyone of you should go buy them, if are $50, sound incredible and support sourround sound.

Anybody's invited and make yourself known....you may have to holler out as I don't always see the text. But I'm "normally" on Tuesday and Thursday nights.

I saw one of your posts on the headphones. They really that good?

Originally posted by Masque
Hey olefarte, when you get a chance sometime, especially on Tuesday or Thursday nights, look for servers with the prefix of -=|***|=- (either North Coast or Hidden Realms Risen) and see if |***|H.E.R.O. is there (myself). I'll see if I can answer any questions on the game or just use the servers for your practice. We've a good bunch of peeps in there for the most part (never can tell when it's pub) and your pings should be good as the servers reside in Ohio on T1's. Hey thanks man, I'll see if I can find you tomorrow night, Tue. I can guarantee, I'm not any good at this stage of this game.

Oh, forgot, I got Delta Force: Black Hawk Down also. Haven't really started it yet, just enough to see what it's like. I think I'll stick with Battlefield 1942.

Craftsman 3 piece tool bench, Gamecube, ssx3, mario sunshine, animal crossing, metroid, Zelda 4 game disk, wavebird, memmory stick and some good dvd's

Originally posted by MrGaribaldi
Lol! It isn't that bad yet... But I'm afraid that'll happen next year... j/k...



No, I'm using USD... We use NOK (Norwegian Kroner) in Norway, of which 1USD = 6.756 NOK...

Thus when my winter coat cost 6 750NOK, it's about 1000$...

And Cd's cost from 150NOk up to 200NOK.. Meaning 22 USD and upwards...

So some things are quite expensive, cd's, computer stuff & the like, but clothes aren't so bad...
(The winter coat I bought is from Ermenegildo Zegna, which costs alot anywhere you buy it)
But in general, everything is more expensive in Norway than it is in the USA...

ouch is it the import /export taxes (on US made products) that boost the cost so high? when I was in Europe prices seemed pretty much the same after you figured the exchange rates. Course I wasn't shopping for electronics.

Hope the jobs pay more, than they do here at least, otherwise you are bumming.

I got nothing computer-related :)

Originally posted by agrav8r
Hope the jobs pay more, than they do here at least, otherwise you are bumming.

It's taxes mostly yes... We've got a totally different social system than you have (free medical care for one), which costs more...

But we've also got quite high salaries....
A person without an education but with a full time job usually has 25 000$ as minimum wage...

With a "normal" education it ranges from 35 - 50 000$...

So even though the prices are high, it's not "out of sync" with the salaries...

i got some video games for my PS2.

Mr Garibaldi, it must be nice to live in Norway (at least from what i heard). minimum wage in the US puts a person somewhere around the poverty line (i think it is around $13,000). medical care is super expensive here too. if you are rich in the US, it is good. if you are poor, then it is tough.