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Mad Cow! Holiday Computer building (1 Viewer)

'Drifter said:
Worth getting?Seagate Momentus XT 500GB 7200 RPM 32MB Cache 2.5" SATA 3.0Gb/s with NCQ Solid State Hybrid Drive -Bare DriveLimit 1 per customer. $149.99Your Price: $89.99With Promo CodeEMCJJHE48
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I really don't know much about hybrid drives, to be honest. I run a SSD for my boot/games, and a platter HDD for my media.HDD prices are just stupidly high right now (flooding in Thailand). If you can find any way to just get the SSD now and use some old HDD for storage for six months, you'll probably find that platter HDDs are half the price or less then.Problem is my wife wants a 2TB drive for her DVR for xmas. They're about $175+ right now. I bought my last one a year ago for $65. :wall:
 
'Zasada said:
'Drifter said:
Worth getting?Seagate Momentus XT 500GB 7200 RPM 32MB Cache 2.5" SATA 3.0Gb/s with NCQ Solid State Hybrid Drive -Bare DriveLimit 1 per customer. $149.99Your Price: $89.99With Promo CodeEMCJJHE48
Click to expand...
I really don't know much about hybrid drives, to be honest. I run a SSD for my boot/games, and a platter HDD for my media.HDD prices are just stupidly high right now (flooding in Thailand). If you can find any way to just get the SSD now and use some old HDD for storage for six months, you'll probably find that platter HDDs are half the price or less then.Problem is my wife wants a 2TB drive for her DVR for xmas. They're about $175+ right now. I bought my last one a year ago for $65. :wall:
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There's also this non-hybrid:HITACHI 500GB 7200 RPM 16MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive -Bare DriveLimit 1 per customer. $99.99Your Price: $49.99With Promo CodeEMCJJHE47
 
'Drifter said:
There's also this non-hybrid:HITACHI 500GB 7200 RPM 16MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive -Bare DriveLimit 1 per customer. $99.99Your Price: $49.99With Promo CodeEMCJJHE47
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If you can get over the psychological trauma of paying $50 for a 500GB drive when $50 would have got you 1TB+ a few months ago, this is a "good deal" (takes some effort to choke that term out here).So if you can't get by with an old HDD (or just an SSD), this is something you should get alongside your SSD.
 
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I ordered one of the hybrid drives as well as Sony Vegas 11 for movie editing. The two combined cost less than at 160GB SSD after rebate from NewEgg (the Intel ones that were on a BF sale). I know that I'm overpaying for the HDD based on old prices, but my "gift" to my wife this year is going to be some organization to our home movies so this is my solution.

Our camcorder hard drive is pretty much full and I have a bunch of videos I've done nothing with. Based on the reviews I read of that hybrid drive, I can slap it in the laptop, clone the existing HDD to it. Then it ends up learning what you use it for the most. It should then put all the boot up stuff to the SSD portion so you get fast boot times, and you can use the platters for regular storage. I figure that for the movie editing the 7200 RPM will be more helpful than the HDD that is in the laptop now which is only 5400. My theory is that I'm getting the best of both worlds. Or that I'm a dope and fell for some marketing gimmick. One or the other.

 
I'm such an addict.

So I go to Micro Center to just "look around" and overhear a sales guy telling a customer that the 2500K/Z68 combo discount still applies even at the $150 BF sale price.

So like an alcoholic that went to the Jack Daniels brewery to just "look around", I'm now the proud owner of a new CPU and mobo for $190AR+tax.

Do I need an upgrade? Nope.

:bag:

 
'Drifter said:
If you were buying HDD futures, when would you start selling?
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Early Jan is my guess. I think there's some hype to the shortage and when demand drops post-holiday prices will start to drop fast. That doesn't do anything for me for my wife's xmas gift though. :wall:
 
'Zasada said:
I'm such an addict. So I go to Micro Center to just "look around" and overhear a sales guy telling a customer that the 2500K/Z68 combo discount still applies even at the $150 BF sale price.So like an alcoholic that went to the Jack Daniels brewery to just "look around", I'm now the proud owner of a new CPU and mobo for $190AR+tax.Do I need an upgrade? Nope. :bag:
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I just bought mine today but the only deal they had was the amd one.
 
So, I'm at around $350 after rebates in and still needing a CPU/Mobo and Video Card. Trying to get my buddy into Microcenter tomorrow and I'll take care of the former for another $200.

Also waiting on a stupid good deal on a monitor. I've got that covered at a basic level but would like to do something big and fast if a deal comes up.

Also not opposed to returning anything I've bought if something better comes along.

COOLER MASTER HAF 922 RC-922M-KKN1-GP Black Steel + Plastic and Mesh Bezel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case

ZALMAN CNPS9700 LED 110mm 2 Ball CPU Cooler

SeaSonic S12II 620 Bronze 620W ATX12V V2.3 / EPS 12V V2.91 80 PLUS BRONZE Certified Active PFC Power Supply (was debating returning this and grabbing the Corsair on sale today but don't see a compelling reason to do so - should I?)

OCZ Agility 3 AGT3-25SAT3-60G 2.5" 60GB SATA III MLC Internal Solid State Drive (I'll go with the 60 GB for now. Can always get bigger later when prices improve)

HITACHI HDS721050CLA362 (0F10381) 500GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive (see above)

SAMSUNG 22X DVD Burner Black SATA Model SH-222AL/BSBE LightScribe Support

Mushkin Enhanced Silverline 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333 (PC3 10666) Desktop Memory Model 996770

Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 64-bit - OEM

 
'Drifter said:
So, I'm at around $350 after rebates in and still needing a CPU/Mobo and Video Card. Trying to get my buddy into Microcenter tomorrow and I'll take care of the former for another $200.Also waiting on a stupid good deal on a monitor. I've got that covered at a basic level but would like to do something big and fast if a deal comes up.SeaSonic S12II 620 Bronze 620W ATX12V V2.3 / EPS 12V V2.91 80 PLUS BRONZE Certified Active PFC Power Supply (was debating returning this and grabbing the Corsair on sale today but don't see a compelling reason to do so - should I?)
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No compelling reason to swap PSUs. Both are great brands. Regarding the monitor, I need some guidance here from you for deal shopping. Monitors come in varying qualities, sizes, and resolutions, all of which have a huge influence on price.You can get a huge (27"+), low-res (1080p), low-quality panel (TN) for the same price as a smaller (23"), high-res (1200p), high-quality panel (IPS) for roughly the same price.Personally, I voted for "all of the above" (30"/1600p/IPS) but that will cost you ~$1K. Best part of my PC though.
 
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I was hoping to stretch this out but its getting too hard to wait. All I need is the CPU cooler, video card and hard drive. I think I'm going to opt for an ssd for now and use my external hd until hd prices come down

 
'jamil said:
I was hoping to stretch this out but its getting too hard to wait. All I need is the CPU cooler, video card and hard drive. I think I'm going to opt for an ssd for now and use my external hd until hd prices come down
Click to expand...
Good call on the latter. How much can you spend on the cooler? Do you plan to overclock?If you're not going to wait a month for the vidcard, you should at least wait until Monday for the Cyber Monday sales. I'm not optimistic but it should be worthwhile to at least wait and see.
 
'Zasada said:
'jamil said:
I was hoping to stretch this out but its getting too hard to wait. All I need is the CPU cooler, video card and hard drive. I think I'm going to opt for an ssd for now and use my external hd until hd prices come down
Click to expand...
Good call on the latter. How much can you spend on the cooler? Do you plan to overclock?If you're not going to wait a month for the vidcard, you should at least wait until Monday for the Cyber Monday sales. I'm not optimistic but it should be worthwhile to at least wait and see.
Click to expand...
Around how much are they? I was under the impression they weren't too pricey.Just checked my reciept... I did get a discount on my mobo. went from 149.99 to 59.99.
 
'Zasada said:
'jamil said:
I was hoping to stretch this out but its getting too hard to wait. All I need is the CPU cooler, video card and hard drive. I think I'm going to opt for an ssd for now and use my external hd until hd prices come down
Click to expand...
Good call on the latter. How much can you spend on the cooler? Do you plan to overclock?If you're not going to wait a month for the vidcard, you should at least wait until Monday for the Cyber Monday sales. I'm not optimistic but it should be worthwhile to at least wait and see.
Click to expand...
recommendation on brand of SSD?
 
'jamil said:
recommendation on brand of SSD?
Click to expand...
If reliability is #1 above all other criteria, Intel. Next after that are drives that use the Marvell controllers (Crucial M4). Third are the OCZ Vertex 3 drives (assuming they have fixed the BSOD issues, which they have said they have).I voted with my wallet on #2 (Crucial M4) for my laptop. Be sure to get a SATA3 drive so you can get 6Gbps performance.
 
As for monitors:

I'm torn. I either want big (27+) or I want 22/23 with quality. I can be sold either way and am willing to listen to arguments one way or the other. I don't have the cash right now to do big and quality together.

What is the position these days on television as monitors? Is it the resplution and/or response rate that's not up to snuff?

 
'Drifter said:
As for monitors:I'm torn. I either want big (27+) or I want 22/23 with quality. I can be sold either way and am willing to listen to arguments one way or the other. I don't have the cash right now to do big and quality together.What is the position these days on television as monitors? Is it the resplution and/or response rate that's not up to snuff?
Click to expand...
Regarding size vs quality, it's really just a matter of personal preference. It's tough to sell one way or the other because it's not an objective comparison. Personally, I would go with small/good versus large/worse. But I know lots of people who prefere the opposite. Perhaps if you plan to watch movies on it, large/worse is the better option because the higher resolution doesn't get you much for movies. If you plan to work in large spreadsheets or want lots of desktop space, small/good would be a better option.I'm not sure how TVs work as monitors these days, I imagine many of the same panels that end up in TVs are the same that are used as monitors. When in a bind at lan parties, I have used a TV as a substitute and it seemed to work OK.
 
'Pick said:
'Zasada said:
'Pick said:
'Zasada said:
Dragons, buy this NOW:

6850 for $100AR at NewEgg.
Click to expand...
Out of stock. Wait til Monday anyway?
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Back in stock now!
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Not anymore. :( And no rebate anymore. But when it's in stock just go ahead and buy at $120 anyway?
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Yeah, if we get to Cyber Monday and there are no deals, then $120 for this card is still pretty good. Powercolor isn't the greatest brand though so at the same price I might look for a better one.
 
'Zasada said:
'Drifter said:
As for monitors:I'm torn. I either want big (27+) or I want 22/23 with quality. I can be sold either way and am willing to listen to arguments one way or the other. I don't have the cash right now to do big and quality together.What is the position these days on television as monitors? Is it the resplution and/or response rate that's not up to snuff?
Click to expand...
Regarding size vs quality, it's really just a matter of personal preference. It's tough to sell one way or the other because it's not an objective comparison. Personally, I would go with small/good versus large/worse. But I know lots of people who prefere the opposite. Perhaps if you plan to watch movies on it, large/worse is the better option because the higher resolution doesn't get you much for movies. If you plan to work in large spreadsheets or want lots of desktop space, small/good would be a better option.I'm not sure how TVs work as monitors these days, I imagine many of the same panels that end up in TVs are the same that are used as monitors. When in a bind at lan parties, I have used a TV as a substitute and it seemed to work OK.
Click to expand...
This is primarily for gaming. Not worried about movies or spreadsheets
 
'Drifter said:
This is primarily for gaming. Not worried about movies or spreadsheets
Click to expand...
Then I would recommend big/worse with a good response time.Don't buy from NewEgg though, they have a horrible return policy on monitors. Even if you have 5 dead pixels, they won't take it back.Dell, on the other hand, has a two-week no-questions-asked return policy and if you're the kind of person where one dead pixel is enough to annoy you (I am) then you want to be able to return/exchange it.Not knowing if this particular one has any problems, it's got the kind of specs you're looking for:http://www.bestbuy.com/site/ViewSonic+-+27%22+Widescreen+Flat-Panel+LED+Monitor+-+Black/2622595.p?id=1218340596650&skuId=2622595
 
'Zasada said:
'Drifter said:
As for monitors:I'm torn. I either want big (27+) or I want 22/23 with quality. I can be sold either way and am willing to listen to arguments one way or the other. I don't have the cash right now to do big and quality together.What is the position these days on television as monitors? Is it the resplution and/or response rate that's not up to snuff?
Click to expand...
Regarding size vs quality, it's really just a matter of personal preference. It's tough to sell one way or the other because it's not an objective comparison. Personally, I would go with small/good versus large/worse. But I know lots of people who prefere the opposite. Perhaps if you plan to watch movies on it, large/worse is the better option because the higher resolution doesn't get you much for movies. If you plan to work in large spreadsheets or want lots of desktop space, small/good would be a better option.I'm not sure how TVs work as monitors these days, I imagine many of the same panels that end up in TVs are the same that are used as monitors. When in a bind at lan parties, I have used a TV as a substitute and it seemed to work OK.
Click to expand...
I'm using a 37" Panasonic IPS 1080p as my monitor but it's not for everyone - you have to sit at least 3 feet from the screen (I have mine mounted on the wall behind my desk) and it's not ideal for gaming.
 
'Drifter said:
'Zasada said:
'Drifter said:
As for monitors:

I'm torn. I either want big (27+) or I want 22/23 with quality. I can be sold either way and am willing to listen to arguments one way or the other. I don't have the cash right now to do big and quality together.

What is the position these days on television as monitors? Is it the resplution and/or response rate that's not up to snuff?
Click to expand...
Regarding size vs quality, it's really just a matter of personal preference. It's tough to sell one way or the other because it's not an objective comparison. Personally, I would go with small/good versus large/worse. But I know lots of people who prefere the opposite. Perhaps if you plan to watch movies on it, large/worse is the better option because the higher resolution doesn't get you much for movies. If you plan to work in large spreadsheets or want lots of desktop space, small/good would be a better option.

I'm not sure how TVs work as monitors these days, I imagine many of the same panels that end up in TVs are the same that are used as monitors. When in a bind at lan parties, I have used a TV as a substitute and it seemed to work OK.
Click to expand...
This is primarily for gaming. Not worried about movies or spreadsheets
Click to expand...
If you're going to go smaller, the one I bought 2 months ago was $259 but newegg now has it on sale for $199 thru 11/27. It's a 25" LED Asus and it's fantastic. So it halfway between your 22/23 and 27+ dilemma. :) They also have numerous other ones on sale as well.

 
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'MaxThreshold said:
'Drifter said:
'Zasada said:
'Drifter said:
As for monitors:

I'm torn. I either want big (27+) or I want 22/23 with quality. I can be sold either way and am willing to listen to arguments one way or the other. I don't have the cash right now to do big and quality together.

What is the position these days on television as monitors? Is it the resplution and/or response rate that's not up to snuff?
Click to expand...
Regarding size vs quality, it's really just a matter of personal preference. It's tough to sell one way or the other because it's not an objective comparison. Personally, I would go with small/good versus large/worse. But I know lots of people who prefere the opposite. Perhaps if you plan to watch movies on it, large/worse is the better option because the higher resolution doesn't get you much for movies. If you plan to work in large spreadsheets or want lots of desktop space, small/good would be a better option.

I'm not sure how TVs work as monitors these days, I imagine many of the same panels that end up in TVs are the same that are used as monitors. When in a bind at lan parties, I have used a TV as a substitute and it seemed to work OK.
Click to expand...
This is primarily for gaming. Not worried about movies or spreadsheets
Click to expand...
If you're going to go smaller, the one I bought 2 months ago was $259 but newegg now has it on sale for $199 thru 11/27. It's a 25" LED Asus and it's fantastic. So it halfway between your 22/23 and 27+ dilemma. :) They also have numerous other ones on sale as well.
Click to expand...
I'm wondering if 11/27 means they are trying to introduce urgency to the deal because of upcoming Cyber Monday deals. I'm debating pulling the trigger on that one though. That said, the Best Buy same as cash offer is always a nice excuse to spend a bit moreThrough 11/27 tel

 
Gigabyte 560TI for $180AR, shipped free.

Tom's says this card is tied with the 6850 in the $235 price range and Anand's Bench indicates this card is tied with the 6950 (some games better, some games worse). If any of those games are important to you, take a look and decide accordingly.

Regardless, this is $55 below Tom's price range for this card and $30 below the cheapest 6850. Plus, you get a name brand with a good cooler.

Pick, this is probably a great card for you if you don't want to take the chance and wait for Cyber Monday.

Drifter, I think your price range dictates more of the 6970-class (~$300) but if you want to save some coin for other uses (like a nicer monitor), or if you just don't want to spend $300, this would pair with your i5 well.

Dragons, probably a bit out of your price range. We'll keep looking for a card around $120 for you.

ETA: This comes with Batman Arkam City for free. If that was a game you were planning on buying anyway (it's very highly rated), this deal goes from good/great to smokin.

 
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'Zasada said:
Gigabyte 560TI for $180AR, shipped free.

Tom's says this card is tied with the 6850 in the $235 price range and Anand's Bench indicates this card is tied with the 6950 (some games better, some games worse). If any of those games are important to you, take a look and decide accordingly.

Regardless, this is $55 below Tom's price range for this card and $30 below the cheapest 6850. Plus, you get a name brand with a good cooler.

Pick, this is probably a great card for you if you don't want to take the chance and wait for Cyber Monday.

Drifter, I think your price range dictates more of the 6970-class (~$300) but if you want to save some coin for other uses (like a nicer monitor), or if you just don't want to spend $300, this would pair with your i5 well.

Dragons, probably a bit out of your price range. We'll keep looking for a card around $120 for you.

ETA: This comes with Batman Arkam City for free. If that was a game you were planning on buying anyway (it's very highly rated), this deal goes from good/great to smokin.
Click to expand...
Out of stock. That's the third "great deal" I've seen this weekend at Newegg that went OOS in less than 24 hours.

 
all right...my old machine is on it's last legs so I'm looking into putting together something new. I am not all that great with this stuff, but i'm not afraid of tinkering. i want to build a new machine so I can better control what is on it - no bloat ware, and i'm hoping to save a little cash along the way.

i am not much of a gamer these days. I want to use the computer for general home office stuff - internet portal, photo storage, music server, etc.

One thing I do want to start playing with is HTPC apps...this computer will be located in my office, but I'd like to be able to use a media extender (Xbox360, for example) to stream content onto my living room TV from this computers hard drive, including OTA broadcasts captured via a TV tuner, and make this machine a DVR, with the ultimate aim of cutting out cable.

At some point in the future, I may get back into 3D CAD work, so I want something that has a little bit of power as well.

so - all that being said, here's what I'm considering...let me know if you think I can do any better, an make sure everything makes sense.,

Mobo:

ECS H61H2-M2 Intel H61: $20 after rebate. microATX, socket LGA1155.

CPU:

Intel Core i3-2100: $110

RAM:

Kingston KHX1333C9D3B1/4G Desktop Memory Module - 4GB(x2): $30 for 8 Gb. At these prices, no reason to settle for 4 Gb, right?

HD:

intel 80GB SSD: $80 after rebate.

80GB will be fine for now, but at some time in the near future I will be looking to add a terrabite or so...possibly via external HD.

Still have to find case and power supply, but the above, plus $80 or so for win 7, 64 bit looks to me like it can be a pretty decent deal...still working out the case and the power supply, but anyone see anything troublesome with the above?

 
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'moleculo said:
but anyone see anything troublesome with the above?
Click to expand...
This is pretty much the same setup I have for my media server, minus the SSD. It works great.A few suggestions:1. Don't get an ECS mobo. They're crap. Cheap, yes. Quality, no. I have had some in the past that worked flawlessly and others that were really weak. ETA: This only has a 10/100 nic, no gigabit. Stay away!2. Consider an i3 2125. That gives you HD3000 graphics in the case that you want to do some light gaming or 3D work with it. I have no idea how CAD works on this processor.3. The Corsair 430W PSU on special today at NewEgg is perfect for this build.
 
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'Zasada said:
Gigabyte 560TI for $180AR, shipped free.

Tom's says this card is tied with the 6850 in the $235 price range and Anand's Bench indicates this card is tied with the 6950 (some games better, some games worse). If any of those games are important to you, take a look and decide accordingly.

Regardless, this is $55 below Tom's price range for this card and $30 below the cheapest 6850. Plus, you get a name brand with a good cooler.

Pick, this is probably a great card for you if you don't want to take the chance and wait for Cyber Monday.

Drifter, I think your price range dictates more of the 6970-class (~$300) but if you want to save some coin for other uses (like a nicer monitor), or if you just don't want to spend $300, this would pair with your i5 well.

Dragons, probably a bit out of your price range. We'll keep looking for a card around $120 for you.

ETA: This comes with Batman Arkam City for free. If that was a game you were planning on buying anyway (it's very highly rated), this deal goes from good/great to smokin.
Click to expand...
what about me? :kicksrock: lol jk
 
'Zasada said:
'moleculo said:
but anyone see anything troublesome with the above?
Click to expand...
This is pretty much the same setup I have for my media server, minus the SSD. It works great.A few suggestions:1. Don't get an ECS mobo. They're crap. Cheap, yes. Quality, no. I have had some in the past that worked flawlessly and others that were really weak. ETA: This only has a 10/100 nic, no gigabit. Stay away!2. Consider an i3 2125. That gives you HD3000 graphics in the case that you want to do some light gaming or 3D work with it. I have no idea how CAD works on this processor.3. The Corsair 430W PSU on special today at NewEgg is perfect for this build.
Click to expand...
Thanks.Are we expecting further deals on monday? I'm not seeing anything fantastic on mobo's right now...thinking of ordering key components on sale now and the rest monday.
 
Zasada, I'm willing to spend more coin for quality if needed. I'm trying to think where I am right now. Got the case, burner, and power source. About $250 for those but some rebates still to do.

Video card, mobo, and CPU to go as far as expensive stuff. I think I need a soundcard and Internet card or something still, right (but these two will be cheap)?

 
'Pick said:
Zasada, I'm willing to spend more coin for quality if needed. I'm trying to think where I am right now. Got the case, burner, and power source. About $250 for those but some rebates still to do.Video card, mobo, and CPU to go as far as expensive stuff. I think I need a soundcard and Internet card or something still, right (but these two will be cheap)?
Click to expand...
You'll get the last two included with the motherboard (unless you're really picky about sound and want a dedicated card).How much do you want to spend on the CPU/mobo/vidcard in total?
 
Thanks Zasada for the heads up on the 6850. looks like it was gone too fast even if I had gotten the message right away.

 
'Zasada said:
'Pick said:
Zasada, I'm willing to spend more coin for quality if needed. I'm trying to think where I am right now. Got the case, burner, and power source. About $250 for those but some rebates still to do.Video card, mobo, and CPU to go as far as expensive stuff. I think I need a soundcard and Internet card or something still, right (but these two will be cheap)?
Click to expand...
You'll get the last two included with the motherboard (unless you're really picky about sound and want a dedicated card).How much do you want to spend on the CPU/mobo/vidcard in total?
Click to expand...
Not picky about soundcard and the other.As far as what to spend I'm not sure. I want quality but value is nice but I like to err on the side of quality if it costs a bit more.What would be the average price of CPU/mobo/vidcard total?
 
Taking off to have some of Mom's craptastic Thanksgiving dinner. Will be back later to check for any buys.

 
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