During a week of vacation without traveling, I went on a shopping frenzy, and got myself a lot of new toys. The vacation is almost over, my addiction has settled, but I don’t even want to think about my credit card bill next month. Here’s all the toys I got:
My first item was a Samsung 21.6″ Widescreen LCD Monitor from Futureshop. It was glossy black and on sale for $200, and would replace the old Samsung 15″ LCD in my evening room.
Specifications:
- Model: SyncMaster 2253LW
- Resolution: 1680 x 1050
- Brightness: 300 cd/m²
- Contrast Ratio: 8000:1 DC
- Response time: 2ms
To go with the monitor I got a new Vostro 200 Mini Tower desktop computer from Dell which I spotted on sale at RedFlagDeals.com. I plan to use the computer as a media center and hook it up to my TV and home theatre system. After doing a few customizations to the system the final price tag came to $359.
Specifications:
- Intel Core 2 Duo E4600
- Windows Vista Home Basic
- 2GB Dual Channel DDR2 SDRAM 800MHz
- 230GB Serial ATA Hard Drive (7200RPM)
- Integrated 7.1 Channel Audio
- Intel Graphics Media Accelerator 3100
- Dual Drives: 16x DVD-ROM Drive + 16x DVD+/-RW
The Dell computer didn’t come with any speakers. I wasn’t looking for something fancy since I already hook up the computer to my home theatre system, so I got the Logitech 2.0 Stereo Speaker System LS11 which was sale for $20 at Futureshop. As expected the sound quality wasn’t that great but at least the glossy black face matched with my Samsung monitor. 
I’m one of those people that collect a lot of stuff on my computer, and previously I owned 320GB external hard drive. However, I constantly find myself burning DVDs because my hard drives are always running out of space. Even though, my new computer had a 230GB hard drive, I knew it would not be enough, so I got myself another external hard drive: Lacie 1TB USB 2.0 External Hard Drive. There was no sale, but was $170 at Futureshop, which was a reasonable price compare other external hard drives, and it was glossy black as well.
Specifications:
- Interface: Hi-Speed USB 2.0
- Cache: 8MB or greater
- Transfer rate: Up to 480Mbits/s (60MB/s)
Getting one new computer wasn’t satisfying to me. I always wanted to replace the old IBM NetVista which I use as a server at home. There is a saying that a server is suppose to be a “black box”, and that is exactly what I got from Canada Computers for $219; the small form factor Shuttle KPC K45.
Specifications:
- Intel Celeron Dual E1200
- 1GB DDR2 667Mhz
- Integrated Intel GMA 950 Graphics
- 80GB 7200rpm SATA
Finally, since I had two computers but only one monitor I needed to get a KVM. I got the IOGear 2-Port Compact USB VGA KVM with Built-in Cables GCS42UW6, even though reviews say that people had problems switching from PC to PC. I decided to take a chance and get it anyways because it was the cheapest KVM I could find: $20 at Dell and it was glossy black too . I had no major issues with it, however flickering can be seen in the monitor if the screen is displaying black.
Specifications:
- One USB keyboard, USB mouse, and VGA monitor control two computers
- Max resolution: 2048 x 1536, DDC2B
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Get in line Vincent!! Did you see my credit card bill for my camera? hahaha =P
Good for you!! You deserve it! Happy shopping!!