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Well I can't really tell you about the Atom since I tend to "Frankenstein" everything and I managed to snag a little Sempron board that fit into the HTPC which I later sold. The customer is quite happy and uses the tuner to record MP4 which he then offloads onto a USB HDD for later burning. I tend to build a machine, play with it for awhile, then get bored and sell.

What I can tell you about is capture cards, especially the cheapos as they are verey popular here. Most folks have lots of old VHS tapes with things like weddings, ball games, etc, and while my conversion rates are reasonable if they have a stack of tapes I tell them it is cheaper simply to get a card and DIY. After showing them how easy it is to capture(I usually program 3 settings-low-med-high so they don't need to know things like bitrate) they are quite happy to hand me their money and have me set it up. Since they are mainly converting VHS and watching some cable on it I can't tell you about high def, but the two cards I have had the most good luck with is the Sabrent which is at the top of the list here and the other which can be hard to find is the "easy TV FM".

The nice thing about the Sabrent is it is a Philips chipset, while I believe the Easy TV is a Brooktree. The reason that is important is not only does Mediaportal usually not give you any trouble setting up with these common chipsets, but that you can find tons of free programs in both Linux and Windows that work well with those chips. That way you can go XP+Mediaportal or Linux with Mythbox, your call. These chips have been out long enough that everyone has drivers for them and both free and commercial software vendors that do capture support those chips. So while I haven't had much luck with KWorld(tend to be buggy) the Sabrents work fine. I also have a couple of customers that use the KWorld USB tuner in their XP laptops and don't seem to have the trouble that the PCI cards do, so if you want to go digital for cheap that might be an option.

IMHO this is one of the side benefits to the changeover to digital. All these analog cards that went for $40-50 are now $15-25, which means that those of us on cable/sat can pick up a card to play with for cheap. So now if I am out of town I can record my shows by simply picking a time and letting the card do the work and at such cheap prices you don't feel heartbroken if the card can't do all that you'd like. That said I record my stuff at 2MBps using the P4 3.6GHz I have had for years and I am very happy with the picture quality. Those whose weddings and kids Bday parties I converted are also very happy to have a nice DVD with their memories backed up safely and easily copied than to worry about tape wear and breakage. So pick you out a little card, Frankenstein you a machine together(for watching anything over 500MHz works fine, for recording I recommend a 1.5GHz or better depending on the format) and most importantly have fun! After all what fun is a new toy, even a cheapo toy, if you don't play with it?

First the typo - the board is D945GCLF

Second, why didn' they use the dual-core, hyper-threading Atom MB, the D945GCLF2? The latest board, the D945GCLF2 includes Gigabit Ethernet, not Fast Ethernet. Link

Finally, I've built systems with each of the "Little Falls" MBs from Intel, and all nice (considering cost) and very-capable MB/CPU combos. If the VIA CPUs are "better" that's great, but they tend to be very pricey by comparison ($85 for Intel vs. $285 for the VIA EPIA SN 1.8 GHz board referenced)

Well, since I can't RTFA since it was slashdotted I can at least help you out there, bud. I have built an HTPC for around the price you state. The reason I say around is simply because you know how volatile PC prices are and can vary wildly day to day. Anyway here is how I did it.

Lets start with the case. Here is the cheapest HTPC case I can find, but if you don't mind fugly you can go even cheaper and get a running box to boot. Simply look up "Compaq Deskpro SFF" or "Compaq Deskpro EN SFF 733" in Google. I was able to pick up a 733MHz for $35 with $10 shipping. It is just a little beige box, a little bigger than a DVD player. Makes a perfect HTPC case, at least I thought so. In fact I am typing this on a second one that I picked up and never got around to converting. For surfing the web the 733MHz paired with 384MB of RAM(max for this little board) and Win2K Pro(came with it) it makes for a nice little net surfer. Oops...back on topic.

Motherboard. Since either the retail HTPC case or the Compaq Deskpro is going to need a little board to squeeze into that little case I would suggest this one which is the classic Atom+945 combo. If you decide you want more graphics and don't mind going over budget both NV and ATI make several PCI graphics cards for those that wanted to upgrade to Vista(shudder). As for RAM, here is a 2GB stick for $22 which will max out the board. Now I am leaving out the tuner for a reason, and not because of price. I am leaving it out simply because the features vary so wildly among tuners that it really is a personal taste thing. I picked up an analog tuner(since I have cable) for a dirt cheap $15 that does all I want it to do(Mpg2/4 and FM radio) so you will need to decide which features/formats are right for your situation. Finally the HDD, which is $33 for a 80GB but again you can get bigger if you don't mind going a little over budget.

Now lets figure up the damage. If you build a Linux based HTPC like in TFA and and go analog with the tuner like I did you should just squeeze in at around the $200 mark, give or take $10 for shipping costs. The final total for the parts listed, which is the worst case since most tech guys have at least a few parts lying around, is $181.96 before shipping. So your $200 HTPC is doable, and with a few extra bucks thrown in for a larger HDD and a digital tuner could actually be quite nice. Well I hope this helps some, as it did give me something to do other than waiting on TFA to come back up.

Well, since I can't RTFA since it was slashdotted I can at least help you out there, bud. I have built an HTPC for around the price you state. The reason I say around is simply because you know how volatile PC prices are and can vary wildly day to day. Anyway here is how I did it.

Lets start with the case. Here is the cheapest HTPC case I can find, but if you don't mind fugly you can go even cheaper and get a running box to boot. Simply look up "Compaq Deskpro SFF" or "Compaq Deskpro EN SFF 733" in Google. I was able to pick up a 733MHz for $35 with $10 shipping. It is just a little beige box, a little bigger than a DVD player. Makes a perfect HTPC case, at least I thought so. In fact I am typing this on a second one that I picked up and never got around to converting. For surfing the web the 733MHz paired with 384MB of RAM(max for this little board) and Win2K Pro(came with it) it makes for a nice little net surfer. Oops...back on topic.

Motherboard. Since either the retail HTPC case or the Compaq Deskpro is going to need a little board to squeeze into that little case I would suggest this one which is the classic Atom+945 combo. If you decide you want more graphics and don't mind going over budget both NV and ATI make several PCI graphics cards for those that wanted to upgrade to Vista(shudder). As for RAM, here is a 2GB stick for $22 which will max out the board. Now I am leaving out the tuner for a reason, and not because of price. I am leaving it out simply because the features vary so wildly among tuners that it really is a personal taste thing. I picked up an analog tuner(since I have cable) for a dirt cheap $15 that does all I want it to do(Mpg2/4 and FM radio) so you will need to decide which features/formats are right for your situation. Finally the HDD, which is $33 for a 80GB but again you can get bigger if you don't mind going a little over budget.

Now lets figure up the damage. If you build a Linux based HTPC like in TFA and and go analog with the tuner like I did you should just squeeze in at around the $200 mark, give or take $10 for shipping costs. The final total for the parts listed, which is the worst case since most tech guys have at least a few parts lying around, is $181.96 before shipping. So your $200 HTPC is doable, and with a few extra bucks thrown in for a larger HDD and a digital tuner could actually be quite nice. Well I hope this helps some, as it did give me something to do other than waiting on TFA to come back up.

Well, since I can't RTFA since it was slashdotted I can at least help you out there, bud. I have built an HTPC for around the price you state. The reason I say around is simply because you know how volatile PC prices are and can vary wildly day to day. Anyway here is how I did it.

Lets start with the case. Here is the cheapest HTPC case I can find, but if you don't mind fugly you can go even cheaper and get a running box to boot. Simply look up "Compaq Deskpro SFF" or "Compaq Deskpro EN SFF 733" in Google. I was able to pick up a 733MHz for $35 with $10 shipping. It is just a little beige box, a little bigger than a DVD player. Makes a perfect HTPC case, at least I thought so. In fact I am typing this on a second one that I picked up and never got around to converting. For surfing the web the 733MHz paired with 384MB of RAM(max for this little board) and Win2K Pro(came with it) it makes for a nice little net surfer. Oops...back on topic.

Motherboard. Since either the retail HTPC case or the Compaq Deskpro is going to need a little board to squeeze into that little case I would suggest this one which is the classic Atom+945 combo. If you decide you want more graphics and don't mind going over budget both NV and ATI make several PCI graphics cards for those that wanted to upgrade to Vista(shudder). As for RAM, here is a 2GB stick for $22 which will max out the board. Now I am leaving out the tuner for a reason, and not because of price. I am leaving it out simply because the features vary so wildly among tuners that it really is a personal taste thing. I picked up an analog tuner(since I have cable) for a dirt cheap $15 that does all I want it to do(Mpg2/4 and FM radio) so you will need to decide which features/formats are right for your situation. Finally the HDD, which is $33 for a 80GB but again you can get bigger if you don't mind going a little over budget.

Now lets figure up the damage. If you build a Linux based HTPC like in TFA and and go analog with the tuner like I did you should just squeeze in at around the $200 mark, give or take $10 for shipping costs. The final total for the parts listed, which is the worst case since most tech guys have at least a few parts lying around, is $181.96 before shipping. So your $200 HTPC is doable, and with a few extra bucks thrown in for a larger HDD and a digital tuner could actually be quite nice. Well I hope this helps some, as it did give me something to do other than waiting on TFA to come back up.

Well, since I can't RTFA since it was slashdotted I can at least help you out there, bud. I have built an HTPC for around the price you state. The reason I say around is simply because you know how volatile PC prices are and can vary wildly day to day. Anyway here is how I did it.

Lets start with the case. Here is the cheapest HTPC case I can find, but if you don't mind fugly you can go even cheaper and get a running box to boot. Simply look up "Compaq Deskpro SFF" or "Compaq Deskpro EN SFF 733" in Google. I was able to pick up a 733MHz for $35 with $10 shipping. It is just a little beige box, a little bigger than a DVD player. Makes a perfect HTPC case, at least I thought so. In fact I am typing this on a second one that I picked up and never got around to converting. For surfing the web the 733MHz paired with 384MB of RAM(max for this little board) and Win2K Pro(came with it) it makes for a nice little net surfer. Oops...back on topic.

Motherboard. Since either the retail HTPC case or the Compaq Deskpro is going to need a little board to squeeze into that little case I would suggest this one which is the classic Atom+945 combo. If you decide you want more graphics and don't mind going over budget both NV and ATI make several PCI graphics cards for those that wanted to upgrade to Vista(shudder). As for RAM, here is a 2GB stick for $22 which will max out the board. Now I am leaving out the tuner for a reason, and not because of price. I am leaving it out simply because the features vary so wildly among tuners that it really is a personal taste thing. I picked up an analog tuner(since I have cable) for a dirt cheap $15 that does all I want it to do(Mpg2/4 and FM radio) so you will need to decide which features/formats are right for your situation. Finally the HDD, which is $33 for a 80GB but again you can get bigger if you don't mind going a little over budget.

Now lets figure up the damage. If you build a Linux based HTPC like in TFA and and go analog with the tuner like I did you should just squeeze in at around the $200 mark, give or take $10 for shipping costs. The final total for the parts listed, which is the worst case since most tech guys have at least a few parts lying around, is $181.96 before shipping. So your $200 HTPC is doable, and with a few extra bucks thrown in for a larger HDD and a digital tuner could actually be quite nice. Well I hope this helps some, as it did give me something to do other than waiting on TFA to come back up.

AMDs chipsets provide better integrated graphics than Intel do however. And I guess I would go for someone better though still crappy graphics when somewhat faster / more power efficient CPU (if Intel really is.)

Also Intel notebook with Nvidia chipset may compare better to AMD.

Just to make things more clear, desktop Intel-CPU motherboards with NVIDIA's latest GeForce 9300/9400 chipsets (with integrated graphics) are also available.

So if you want to use a Core 2 Duo/Quad and the best NVIDIA integrated graphics (with about half the 3D performance of a $35 discrete graphics card), then that option is also available.

I'm not trying to sound like a fanboy, but it's fairly easy to get an x86 CPU to run only off of passive cooling.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835887001

Even with no forced airflow, that cooler should do well for almost any CPU.

Unless you were talking about working in an enclosed space?

That's sure a strange definition of "decent" you have there.

Perhaps you meant "high end" or "top of the line" instead?

That's sure a strange definition of "decent" you have there.

Perhaps you meant "high end" or "top of the line" instead?

That's sure a strange definition of "decent" you have there.

Perhaps you meant "high end" or "top of the line" instead?

That's sure a strange definition of "decent" you have there.

Perhaps you meant "high end" or "top of the line" instead?

That's sure a strange definition of "decent" you have there.

Perhaps you meant "high end" or "top of the line" instead?

That's sure a strange definition of "decent" you have there.

Perhaps you meant "high end" or "top of the line" instead?

That's sure a strange definition of "decent" you have there.

Perhaps you meant "high end" or "top of the line" instead?

That's sure a strange definition of "decent" you have there.

Perhaps you meant "high end" or "top of the line" instead?

That's sure a strange definition of "decent" you have there.

Perhaps you meant "high end" or "top of the line" instead?

That's sure a strange definition of "decent" you have there.

Perhaps you meant "high end" or "top of the line" instead?

Did you mean M3 ?
i.e.
ASUS M3A79-T Deluxe AM2+/AM2
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131339

Thx for the reccommendations though mate!

Well, the Apple computer you buy is the biggest dongle ever manufactured, but I didn't "pay dearly" for it by any means. It is totally comparable in cost to equivalent generic PC hardware

Apple Mac Book Pro $1949 (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834100043&cm_sp=DailyDeal-_-34-100-043-_-Product)
Acer Aspire AS6920 $1299 (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834115474)

Now it is not a 1:1 comparison. The Acer has a 16" screen 1920x1080, the Apple has a much inferior 15.4" 1440x900. The Acer has 4GB of DDR2, the Apple has 2GB of DDR3. The Acer has 320GB HD, the Apple has 250GB. And the Apple weighs 5.5lbs whereas the Acer weighs 7.7lbs (some of that due to the larger screen).

And you did say that Macbook Pros are expensive, so let's look instead at the bread-and-butter market segment. Try these two machines:

Apple Max Book $949 (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834100047)
Toshiba U405-S2915 $849 (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834114624)

In this case I couldn't find a machine on newegg with the pathetic specs of the low end Macbook, so I settled for this Toshiba. The Toshiba has 4GB of DD2, the Mac has 1GB of DDR2. The Toshiba has much better integrated graphics, and a 320GB HD versus the puny 120GB of the Apple. The Toshiba weighs 20% less than the Apple, and comes with a DVD writer, whereas the Apple only has a CD-writer/DVD Rom combo. The Apple has GigE and a firewire port whereas the Toshiba has only 100Mb and no firewire. In short, the budget Mac is pathetically overpowered by the 11% less expensive Toshiba, showing once again that you pay much more for Apple hardware than you do for PC hardware. By the time you upgrade this Mac to a DVD writer, 4GB of memory and a 320GB HD you will have spent another $250-$300, bringing the equivalent Mac price to about $1249.

I guess technically you are correct though, since the ratio is 19/13, not 2/1, but then I never said you paid double for your Apple, I only stated that you paid dearly, and in my book paying 1.5 times as much for a lower spec'd machine is indeed paying dearly. But you go ahead and keep pretending Apple hardware is not much more expensive than PC hardware if it makes you happy.

Well, the Apple computer you buy is the biggest dongle ever manufactured, but I didn't "pay dearly" for it by any means. It is totally comparable in cost to equivalent generic PC hardware

Apple Mac Book Pro $1949 (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834100043&cm_sp=DailyDeal-_-34-100-043-_-Product)
Acer Aspire AS6920 $1299 (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834115474)

Now it is not a 1:1 comparison. The Acer has a 16" screen 1920x1080, the Apple has a much inferior 15.4" 1440x900. The Acer has 4GB of DDR2, the Apple has 2GB of DDR3. The Acer has 320GB HD, the Apple has 250GB. And the Apple weighs 5.5lbs whereas the Acer weighs 7.7lbs (some of that due to the larger screen).

And you did say that Macbook Pros are expensive, so let's look instead at the bread-and-butter market segment. Try these two machines:

Apple Max Book $949 (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834100047)
Toshiba U405-S2915 $849 (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834114624)

In this case I couldn't find a machine on newegg with the pathetic specs of the low end Macbook, so I settled for this Toshiba. The Toshiba has 4GB of DD2, the Mac has 1GB of DDR2. The Toshiba has much better integrated graphics, and a 320GB HD versus the puny 120GB of the Apple. The Toshiba weighs 20% less than the Apple, and comes with a DVD writer, whereas the Apple only has a CD-writer/DVD Rom combo. The Apple has GigE and a firewire port whereas the Toshiba has only 100Mb and no firewire. In short, the budget Mac is pathetically overpowered by the 11% less expensive Toshiba, showing once again that you pay much more for Apple hardware than you do for PC hardware. By the time you upgrade this Mac to a DVD writer, 4GB of memory and a 320GB HD you will have spent another $250-$300, bringing the equivalent Mac price to about $1249.

I guess technically you are correct though, since the ratio is 19/13, not 2/1, but then I never said you paid double for your Apple, I only stated that you paid dearly, and in my book paying 1.5 times as much for a lower spec'd machine is indeed paying dearly. But you go ahead and keep pretending Apple hardware is not much more expensive than PC hardware if it makes you happy.

Well, the Apple computer you buy is the biggest dongle ever manufactured, but I didn't "pay dearly" for it by any means. It is totally comparable in cost to equivalent generic PC hardware

Apple Mac Book Pro $1949 (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834100043&cm_sp=DailyDeal-_-34-100-043-_-Product)
Acer Aspire AS6920 $1299 (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834115474)

Now it is not a 1:1 comparison. The Acer has a 16" screen 1920x1080, the Apple has a much inferior 15.4" 1440x900. The Acer has 4GB of DDR2, the Apple has 2GB of DDR3. The Acer has 320GB HD, the Apple has 250GB. And the Apple weighs 5.5lbs whereas the Acer weighs 7.7lbs (some of that due to the larger screen).

And you did say that Macbook Pros are expensive, so let's look instead at the bread-and-butter market segment. Try these two machines:

Apple Max Book $949 (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834100047)
Toshiba U405-S2915 $849 (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834114624)

In this case I couldn't find a machine on newegg with the pathetic specs of the low end Macbook, so I settled for this Toshiba. The Toshiba has 4GB of DD2, the Mac has 1GB of DDR2. The Toshiba has much better integrated graphics, and a 320GB HD versus the puny 120GB of the Apple. The Toshiba weighs 20% less than the Apple, and comes with a DVD writer, whereas the Apple only has a CD-writer/DVD Rom combo. The Apple has GigE and a firewire port whereas the Toshiba has only 100Mb and no firewire. In short, the budget Mac is pathetically overpowered by the 11% less expensive Toshiba, showing once again that you pay much more for Apple hardware than you do for PC hardware. By the time you upgrade this Mac to a DVD writer, 4GB of memory and a 320GB HD you will have spent another $250-$300, bringing the equivalent Mac price to about $1249.

I guess technically you are correct though, since the ratio is 19/13, not 2/1, but then I never said you paid double for your Apple, I only stated that you paid dearly, and in my book paying 1.5 times as much for a lower spec'd machine is indeed paying dearly. But you go ahead and keep pretending Apple hardware is not much more expensive than PC hardware if it makes you happy.

Well, the Apple computer you buy is the biggest dongle ever manufactured, but I didn't "pay dearly" for it by any means. It is totally comparable in cost to equivalent generic PC hardware

Apple Mac Book Pro $1949 (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834100043&cm_sp=DailyDeal-_-34-100-043-_-Product)
Acer Aspire AS6920 $1299 (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834115474)

Now it is not a 1:1 comparison. The Acer has a 16" screen 1920x1080, the Apple has a much inferior 15.4" 1440x900. The Acer has 4GB of DDR2, the Apple has 2GB of DDR3. The Acer has 320GB HD, the Apple has 250GB. And the Apple weighs 5.5lbs whereas the Acer weighs 7.7lbs (some of that due to the larger screen).

And you did say that Macbook Pros are expensive, so let's look instead at the bread-and-butter market segment. Try these two machines:

Apple Max Book $949 (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834100047)
Toshiba U405-S2915 $849 (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834114624)

In this case I couldn't find a machine on newegg with the pathetic specs of the low end Macbook, so I settled for this Toshiba. The Toshiba has 4GB of DD2, the Mac has 1GB of DDR2. The Toshiba has much better integrated graphics, and a 320GB HD versus the puny 120GB of the Apple. The Toshiba weighs 20% less than the Apple, and comes with a DVD writer, whereas the Apple only has a CD-writer/DVD Rom combo. The Apple has GigE and a firewire port whereas the Toshiba has only 100Mb and no firewire. In short, the budget Mac is pathetically overpowered by the 11% less expensive Toshiba, showing once again that you pay much more for Apple hardware than you do for PC hardware. By the time you upgrade this Mac to a DVD writer, 4GB of memory and a 320GB HD you will have spent another $250-$300, bringing the equivalent Mac price to about $1249.

I guess technically you are correct though, since the ratio is 19/13, not 2/1, but then I never said you paid double for your Apple, I only stated that you paid dearly, and in my book paying 1.5 times as much for a lower spec'd machine is indeed paying dearly. But you go ahead and keep pretending Apple hardware is not much more expensive than PC hardware if it makes you happy.

$239, free shipping.

A digital tuner for your PC is going to cost you more than the $60 you've already spent on a converter box.

Why wast time encrypting, using DC w/ offshore servers, and whatnot when with 1.5 T drives at what? 130 usd? http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822148337 (make sure to update firmware) just take a drive, plop it in a damn near free enclosure, go to your friends house, Trade MP3's. Collaborate on what music to buy, (so you pay 50%) and Suave cycle it. You wanted a spare drive anyway for "backup" right?

  P.S. Adding more friends reduces the cost closer and closer to near zero. 20 friends is like .20 usd / song. Less if you cycle used CD's, and even less if you count the stuff you allready have in trade.

The others have pointed this out, so I'll just stick with a nice informative link. Up to 24GB in 6 sockets, DDR3 1600, triple channel. $234 plus shipping today. They have 23 different ones today just that support the I7.

/happens to me all the time.

You mean like this? http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231242 Or did you mean SLC? There's also a 256GB version for $500. Pure Si has announced a 1TB 2.5" drive. http://www.marketwire.com/press-release/Puresilicon-936099.html

Also, your parent was wrong on about everything he said. Go compare the prices of WD Black (WD1001FALS 1TB $119.99) vs RE3 (WD1002FBYS 1TB $189.99) & RE2 GP (WD1000FYPS 1TB $199.99)drives, then Cuda AS (ST31000340AS 1TB $109.99) vs ES/NS (ST31000340NS 1TB $169.99) drives, and finally VR vs Savvio 15k.2 (ST9146852SS) or Cheetah 15k.6 (ST3300656SS). You're looking at a 50% premium for drives certified to just work in RAID, not even work better. And you're looking at at least 100% more/GB for an enterprise performance drive. Calling a Raptor expensive in '09 is just silly. Hell, calling a Raptor a performance drive in '09 is silly.

Yes - Jetway does. I have one and use it as a firewall running IPcop. It's great.
I got a pretty lightweight one, but they have faster ones that would be perfect for average desktop use.

My Best Buy is horrible. Every time I want something I go there, walk around, then go home and buy what I want on Newegg because it's twice as expensive at Best Buy. I'm not sure about everything, but here's some examples:

2 Gb of memory: Best Buy - Cheapest is $39 (note "Regular price: $144), Newegg - Cheapest is $16.
Not a fair fight you say? How about if we compare to Newegg's Kingston and PNY brands (the only kind my local Best Buy carries): Cheapest Kingston is $18. The only PNY is $20.
Best Buy's prices aren't even close. If this isn't enough for you, how about how Newegg will sell you 4 Gb of "Corsair Dominator" memory for $15 less than Best Buy will sell you 2 Gb? And don't even get me started on their video cards..

My Best Buy is horrible. Every time I want something I go there, walk around, then go home and buy what I want on Newegg because it's twice as expensive at Best Buy. I'm not sure about everything, but here's some examples:

2 Gb of memory: Best Buy - Cheapest is $39 (note "Regular price: $144), Newegg - Cheapest is $16.
Not a fair fight you say? How about if we compare to Newegg's Kingston and PNY brands (the only kind my local Best Buy carries): Cheapest Kingston is $18. The only PNY is $20.
Best Buy's prices aren't even close. If this isn't enough for you, how about how Newegg will sell you 4 Gb of "Corsair Dominator" memory for $15 less than Best Buy will sell you 2 Gb? And don't even get me started on their video cards..

My Best Buy is horrible. Every time I want something I go there, walk around, then go home and buy what I want on Newegg because it's twice as expensive at Best Buy. I'm not sure about everything, but here's some examples:

2 Gb of memory: Best Buy - Cheapest is $39 (note "Regular price: $144), Newegg - Cheapest is $16.
Not a fair fight you say? How about if we compare to Newegg's Kingston and PNY brands (the only kind my local Best Buy carries): Cheapest Kingston is $18. The only PNY is $20.
Best Buy's prices aren't even close. If this isn't enough for you, how about how Newegg will sell you 4 Gb of "Corsair Dominator" memory for $15 less than Best Buy will sell you 2 Gb? And don't even get me started on their video cards..

My Best Buy is horrible. Every time I want something I go there, walk around, then go home and buy what I want on Newegg because it's twice as expensive at Best Buy. I'm not sure about everything, but here's some examples:

2 Gb of memory: Best Buy - Cheapest is $39 (note "Regular price: $144), Newegg - Cheapest is $16.
Not a fair fight you say? How about if we compare to Newegg's Kingston and PNY brands (the only kind my local Best Buy carries): Cheapest Kingston is $18. The only PNY is $20.
Best Buy's prices aren't even close. If this isn't enough for you, how about how Newegg will sell you 4 Gb of "Corsair Dominator" memory for $15 less than Best Buy will sell you 2 Gb? And don't even get me started on their video cards..

You haven't checked hardware prices in a while, have you ? A "very expensive" motherboard supporting 8, no wait... 16 RAM slots costs $80 ! Add a single $180 socket F CPU to make use of 8 of these 16 slots, and this is still way below the price of the ANS-9010. Want to add 8 more RAM modules ? Another ANS-9010 will cost $380, or you can pop in a 2nd CPU in that mobo for $180. When I say RAM drives are overpriced, I mean it !

Regarding your comments that "400 MB/s is enough", you are wrong as you are completely ignoring many workloads where the throughput is needed internally to the system. For example, when processing data on the RAM drive itself, when rsyncing files with a remote machine where you need fast internal I/O throughput to compute the MD4 checksum, when searching through GB of data, when re-indexing a database, etc.

You haven't checked hardware prices in a while, have you ? A "very expensive" motherboard supporting 8, no wait... 16 RAM slots costs $80 ! Add a single $180 socket F CPU to make use of 8 of these 16 slots, and this is still way below the price of the ANS-9010. Want to add 8 more RAM modules ? Another ANS-9010 will cost $380, or you can pop in a 2nd CPU in that mobo for $180. When I say RAM drives are overpriced, I mean it !

Regarding your comments that "400 MB/s is enough", you are wrong as you are completely ignoring many workloads where the throughput is needed internally to the system. For example, when processing data on the RAM drive itself, when rsyncing files with a remote machine where you need fast internal I/O throughput to compute the MD4 checksum, when searching through GB of data, when re-indexing a database, etc.

Perhaps you have't looked lately but DIMMs and el-cheapo graphics cards are both around "free" these days. As in, a 512-mb DIMM costs less than a sandwich. El-cheapo graphics cards that can run Aero are about $25, bringing our total to just under $35.

3GB and 6GB kits are becoming more common now that the i7 and associated motherboards support triple-channel memory instead of just dual-channel. Check Newegg or your favorite up-to-date component sales site.

why does a 32 GB SD card cost $25 but a 64 GB SATA hard drive cost $800?

I was wondering that myself. I've got two guesses:

1. Perhaps the flash 'hard drives' are using really fast flash memory (like the kind professional photographers use, where they need to be able to shoot 10 megapixel photos at 10 FPS).
2. Perhaps they were just gouging, and prices have now dropped as more have become available (for example, compare: $75, $577).

why does a 32 GB SD card cost $25 but a 64 GB SATA hard drive cost $800?

I was wondering that myself. I've got two guesses:

1. Perhaps the flash 'hard drives' are using really fast flash memory (like the kind professional photographers use, where they need to be able to shoot 10 megapixel photos at 10 FPS).
2. Perhaps they were just gouging, and prices have now dropped as more have become available (for example, compare: $75, $577).

Here or here or here if you want an older All-In-Wonder with S video. There are plenty of choices right now in the $15-$20 range and most have nice features like remotes and MP4 capture so you can take your time and get the features that interest you. I just checked and I'm afraid the place where I picked up a couple for $5 each has sold out, but the Sabrent and Kworld cards I have placed into customers computers in the past and they are quite happy with them. I myself picked up an "Easy TV FM" for $15 which I watch cable and listen to the radio with.

they are quite fun to play with and you can add Media Portal if you have XP to make a really cheap media center. Some prefer Xbox Media Center for Windows but I've had better luck with Media Portal. Anyway I hope this helps, and have fun!

Well unfortunately you will get the occasional clunker no matter who you go with. Any product cranked out in those kinds of numbers is bound to have at least small bad batches no matter how good the QA. Now as for ExcelStor, when I said small I was talking 80-160Gb range. I have built plenty of office machines with ExcelStor drives in that range and they are quite popular. They are VERY quiet, which if you are building a machine which is going to be on the desktop is a plus.

With WD I've always had those fail really quick(and thus be under warranty) or not at all. I've got a drawer filled with 40Gb WD IDE drives from upgrades that I'll need to figure out what to do with. Samsung I've had good luck with on very large capacity, as well as Hitachi. But if you are wanting a 1.5TB you are pretty much stuck in Seagate land-they are pretty much the only game in town. Might I suggest either the Samsung I linked to earlier or perhaps one of these, two in a RAID 0 if you really must get above the 1TB range? Because until Seagate gets their collective shit together I would be afraid if picking up one of their drives ATM. My WDs may only be 500GB each(and that strikes me as funny as hell that I can say "only" when my first HDD was 2GB) but they are VERY quiet and give me more space than I will ever need.

Well if you want really large you're best bet in my exp with my customers would be Hitachi or Samsung. If you don't mind smaller I would recommend ExcelStor. Although I have also had pretty good luck with WD, but I mainly buy in the 500Gb range for myself. But for cheap you can't beat a 1TB Samsung for $95.

"So its going to look great on paper..."

It does? Doesn't look that great to me. First they brag about using "very low end hardware" then throw out a $299 price tag: "(we were aiming for $200, it looks like $299 is more realistic)."

3 years ago $299 for a internet only tablet would be great, but this is 2009. For $299 I can buy a brand new Acer Aspire One netbook. Not a tablet, but it has all the conveniences of modern laptops and it supports all browsers and plug-ins and future updates.

If you must have a tablet, I can easily pick up a Fujitsu T4010 for $300. 1.6+ ghz, up to 2gb ram, any standard IDE 2.5" hard drive, runs any OS you want. With a fresh XP install it'll boot in less than 30 seconds.

If you absolutely must have a Linux tablet PC get a Nokia N800. Fits in your pocket, runs Maemo, lots of online community support and they can be had for under $200.

You said, and I quote: "... Newegg will be charged by UPS or fedex for the dimensions of the box" The size of the box doesn't change in this case. Newegg ships small items in rather large boxes.

Amazingly, you said: "If you want to complain about price gouging, complain about the retail prices of cables in the world." That encouraged me to investigate cable prices at Newegg. Here is a comparison of the price for 10 network cables, each 1 foot long:

Newegg.com:
Rosewill RCW-569 1ft. /Network Cable Cat 6 White - Retail
According to the Newegg web site, this is Newegg's lowest price 1-foot Cat 6 network cable.
For 10 cables [Notice, NO discount for quantity order.]:
"Savings, -$0.20 Sale"
Total Price, not $8.90, but $6.90 because of the "Savings".
Subtotal: $6.90
Shipping: $21.92 Grand Total: $28.82

Monoprice.com:
CAT 6 500MHz UTP 1FT Cable - Black, Product ID: 2288
1: $0.75, 2-9: $0.68 10-19: $0.60, 20-49: $0.53, 50+: $0.46
For 10 cables:
SubTotal $6.00
S&H Cost $2.87
Grand Total $8.87

Newegg charges almost $20 more! Most of that is "gouging" for shipping. Remember these cables are only 1 foot long. They are very light.

I've ordered those cables from Monoprice.com, and they are excellent.

Note: These figures were accurate at the time this was researched, Saturday, January 17, 2009, 12:48 PM, PST. I suppose that it is possible that Newegg will have a "special", and change the prices above.

You talk as though you are a top manager at Newegg.com. You said: [My emphasis:] "You've already covered my warehouse manager and workers overhead for going and retrieving the items, and verifying the order for the most part with the purchase of the first item. Having them grab a second, third, or 10th one while they're already there doesn't cost me as much as the initial send, therefore the handling fee per unit goes down."

You said, and I quote, "Newegg is attempting to reward you by passing savings on to you for your bulk purchase, not ripping you off jackass."

I don't feel "rewarded". I feel abused, not only by the price, but by your extraordinarily dishonest argument and your abusive language.

Yep,

something as simple as this little USB dish wifi adapter will do.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16833164012

He may not even need to make any changes to the WAP. Just point the dish at the WAP. If need be, he can add another directional antenna at the WAP to point at the laptop.

Just pick the channel thats least used and experiment a little. Or switch to 802.11a.

Yes, but that it not what Newegg sometimes does, in my experience. Newegg often charges far, far more than the cost of shipping and handling.

Here's an example: A case fan costs 99 cents. Put four of them in a "shopping cart", the price for shipping is $13.28. The price for shipping one is $3.99. The fans weigh very little. The weight to ship 4 is still under 1 pound. Does it cost $9.29 to have a minimum wage person put 3 more of them in the same box? No.

The true cost of the fans from Newegg is (13.28-3.99)/4 = $2.32, the price after $3.99 shipping and handling cost is subtracted, not the 99 cents advertised price.

Put 10 of the same fans in the cart. The cost for shipping is $21.92. Now it seems that you are actually paying MORE per fan, because the shipping cost will not be $9.50, the cost of shipping and handling if you assume you are paying $2.32 for each fan.

There are many other problems. Newegg's web site is often very slow. Newegg does not pack hard drives correctly, in my experience.

Newegg plays games with prices. Newegg often charges more for "shipping and handling" than it costs. So the listed price may be much higher than the actual price. In my opinion, that is abusive.

In my experience, Newegg carries EVERYTHING. That means products that don't work well, or are inferior. There is apparently no attempt to select the best products from a category.

Newegg apparently has no technically knowledgeable people. Newegg doesn't offer technical help. Quote: Does Newegg.com offer any technical support or advice? Answer: "Newegg.com does not offer any technical assistance."

The problem is providing the informed sales staff. It just won't happen. It probably never happened at CompUSA, I know it never happened at any Circuit City I've visited, Staples to some extent doesn't have it with what little PC stuff they sell, and Every BB I've been into doesn't have it.

No retail store has it unless those employees have taken the time to learn certain things on their own. It's a damn shame if you ask me. Every try to get the specs of a TV at a brick and mortar store, or even their website? A lot of them don't provide that information and if you ask, you get puzzled looks and they shit themselves.

Their managers tend to shit themselves too when they start talking to their manager about the questions I have. I used to have a lot of good fun pulling that stuff when I was younger.

So not only do they need to provide a person with informed sales staff, they also need to provide us with necessary information so that we can make more informed purchasing decisions while we're at the stores, or at the very least doing some shopping online. When I am actually looking to make a purchase, I hate being dragged through the store to a PC that's on the other side so they can look at the manufacturer's website, decide I don't like those specs, and go back and look at another TV, only to repeat the process. And when I'm online, I hate having to go to manually go to each manufacturer's website myself. The information needs to be there.

A lot of online retailers don't do it right too, but at least the prices are better, so they're doing something right. I'm not entirely sure Newegg has the format right, but they at least provide you with specifications and often decent prices. It would be nice if more online stores provided much of the same service.

Right, I'm a sexually frustrated 15 year old because I've pointed out flaws in someones understanding. I hope you enjoy your troll mod.

CAN you play every game that ever came out for 360 without hardware upgrades? Do you HAVE TO upgrade your 360 in order to run (not play - run) the latest 360 games?

A bit irrelevant. When it comes time for updates, whether it be bug patches or content update, you're going to need that hard drive. Maybe you don't want updates? That's fine.

Assemble a "gaming PC" for ANY of those prices

People do it all the time. Hell, my old gaming PC can still max out L4D's settings. It has an X2 4800, 2GB DDR400 RAM, and a 7950GT. It's old by today's standards and can run games well into the future. But I'm sure you'll go on some long winded rant about Crysis, a game that is the exception, horribly developed, and certainly isn't the rule, right? Because no gaming PC can handle that game at max settings.

But wait, you guys on the consoles can't even change your graphical settings. So when a game is horribly designed and you get frame rate issues, there's not a whole lot you can do.

However I'll bite.
CPU - 99$
Motherboard - 55$
RAM - 38$
GPU - $150
Case (with PSU) - $50
HDD - $80
DVD Burner - 23$
Mouse - $10
Keyboard - 7$

Total Cost: $512

For the OS, they can easily install Linux and use Wine. You don't need an uber leet box to make sure you can play games at max settings next year, or even the year after.

The CPU is fine. Not top end, but it can hold it's own. The GPU is more powerful than a 3870, which can still max out every recent game so far, except for the exceptions (which none can max out). And 4GB of RAM will last a very long time.

I could have went cheaper on the Case, which would take out $14. I could have went with a 4670 with 1GB of RAM, which would take another $50 off. And that PC would still run games at max settings a year from now. That new price would be $448. More expensive than the 360 at launch by $50, but with greater backwards compatibility and room to do actual upgrades that mean something.

Let us for a moment live in an imaginary world where people play HD console games on old 15" TVs.

But people do. It may not be their old 15" TV, but those TV's probably don't have HD capabilities. Monitors inherently have it. A left over 19" monitor would be very acceptable.

Naturally... we are talking about GAMES games. Not your mom's solitaire or flash games, or some poor freeware game.

You are truly narrow minded. Those are still games. Would you toss Audiosurf into that mix as well? A game but really isn't a "game"? It's fun, it's cheap, and it can run without beastly hardware. How about any other awesome indie game?

Excuse me? Which game is that? The one that does not work with 100+ key controller and an additional 2+ keyed pointer device?

I don't know what you're smoking. I never said no game on the PC worked with that. I was just merely stating some genre's aren't going to be played with the optimal input devices with a mouse and keyboard. That doesn't make it any less doable.

Right, I'm a sexually frustrated 15 year old because I've pointed out flaws in someones understanding. I hope you enjoy your troll mod.

CAN you play every game that ever came out for 360 without hardware upgrades? Do you HAVE TO upgrade your 360 in order to run (not play - run) the latest 360 games?

A bit irrelevant. When it comes time for updates, whether it be bug patches or content update, you're going to need that hard drive. Maybe you don't want updates? That's fine.

Assemble a "gaming PC" for ANY of those prices

People do it all the time. Hell, my old gaming PC can still max out L4D's settings. It has an X2 4800, 2GB DDR400 RAM, and a 7950GT. It's old by today's standards and can run games well into the future. But I'm sure you'll go on some long winded rant about Crysis, a game that is the exception, horribly developed, and certainly isn't the rule, right? Because no gaming PC can handle that game at max settings.

But wait, you guys on the consoles can't even change your graphical settings. So when a game is horribly designed and you get frame rate issues, there's not a whole lot you can do.

However I'll bite.
CPU - 99$
Motherboard - 55$
RAM - 38$
GPU - $150
Case (with PSU) - $50
HDD - $80
DVD Burner - 23$
Mouse - $10
Keyboard - 7$

Total Cost: $512

For the OS, they can easily install Linux and use Wine. You don't need an uber leet box to make sure you can play games at max settings next year, or even the year after.

The CPU is fine. Not top end, but it can hold it's own. The GPU is more powerful than a 3870, which can still max out every recent game so far, except for the exceptions (which none can max out). And 4GB of RAM will last a very long time.

I could have went cheaper on the Case, which would take out $14. I could have went with a 4670 with 1GB of RAM, which would take another $50 off. And that PC would still run games at max settings a year from now. That new price would be $448. More expensive than the 360 at launch by $50, but with greater backwards compatibility and room to do actual upgrades that mean something.

Let us for a moment live in an imaginary world where people play HD console games on old 15" TVs.

But people do. It may not be their old 15" TV, but those TV's probably don't have HD capabilities. Monitors inherently have it. A left over 19" monitor would be very acceptable.

Naturally... we are talking about GAMES games. Not your mom's solitaire or flash games, or some poor freeware game.

You are truly narrow minded. Those are still games. Would you toss Audiosurf into that mix as well? A game but really isn't a "game"? It's fun, it's cheap, and it can run without beastly hardware. How about any other awesome indie game?

Excuse me? Which game is that? The one that does not work with 100+ key controller and an additional 2+ keyed pointer device?

I don't know what you're smoking. I never said no game on the PC worked with that. I was just merely stating some genre's aren't going to be played with the optimal input devices with a mouse and keyboard. That doesn't make it any less doable.