Gamer in need! Please help!

G

goosenamedal

CAGiversary!
Don't post much here, mostly lurk and listen to the podcast and scope out deals.. But once in a while I'll reply or make a post. So here is my once a year post!

Now please don't think I'm trying to brag, gloat etc.. Because I'm really not and I realize this is a "1st world problem".

Now this is the deal.. Long story short, I got a promotion earlier this year and am making more money than I used to - I wouldn't say I'm well off - but it supports my gaming habits. Essentially I'm satisfied with everything I have at the moment - If I want a game, I buy it. I have a nice PC Rig, Every current system - A headset I love, keyboard, mouse etc etc.

My birthday is this month and I have some some extra $$, not a lot around $400-500 and my fiance is gonna chip in some on something for my birthday. I had bought myself a $700 DSLR - But for some reason I just have a bad feeling about it, I just have not felt right since I bought it (Shrug). So I am returning it.

I have absolutely no idea what to get! So I need some ideas and advice. Thanks in advance! :D

Additionally, I'm getting married in October so this is mostly a symbolism for my last hoorah of freedom.
 
Lucky you. my aging gaming PC just rather bit the bullet and right before Borderlands 2 comes out. :(


it was only a 2.2ghz dual core 2 GB of ram and a 8800GT card though. Everything was outdated and the motherboard ran on IDE.
 
So, you have hundreds in dollars in disposable income, and have no idea what to do with it? If there's nothing you really want/need to use it on, why not just save it until you do, or donate it to someplace that needs it? Spending lots of money because you have money to spend always seems pretty stupid.
 
I would buy myself an arcade cabinet that is a classic. I know I would probably find myself a Soul Calibur 2 machine (Conquest mode is kick ass), but that is my personal preference.
 
Buy an arcade cabinet kit and the peripherals to make your own classic gaming rig. It's about $400-800 depending on what components you use. I've been wanting to do that for a long time now but I don't have the space (spare room is a music room). You don't need a powerful PC to run it and flatscreen monitors are on the cheap these days. The controllers are probably the biggest decision. Only drawback is the elbow grease you have to put in it if you want it to look cool like a real arcade cab.
 
[quote name='Salamando3000']So, you have hundreds in dollars in disposable income, and have no idea what to do with it? If there's nothing you really want/need to use it on, why not just save it until you do, or donate it to someplace that needs it? Spending lots of money because you have money to spend always seems pretty stupid.[/QUOTE]

It's easy to put it this way, and if I had a close friend that needed it - Or Family member, absolutely. But I don't believe in Charities because I personally will never see the results of what my money has done (Not because I want self glorification, but because I don't think the intention of most charities are in the right place.) - I've donated what I can to childs play numerous times perhaps the only charity I would donate to. Let's put it this way, it's my birthday - I want something special for myself - I make roughly 25k a year (Not a whole lot).
 
I LOVE the ideas of a cabinet, but I live in a moderate sized 2-Bedroom apartment and I don't think I would do something along these lines unless I had a permanent residence. I've seen a lot of mini "systems" built to emulate systems/games that use actual system controllers. Something like that would be neat but I'm not sure if I have the patience/skill to do such a thing.
 
Well... if you factor in returning the DSLR perhaps this $1,000 setup is a feasable option? Cheaper if you have some of the items already in your home. This is similar to something I did before I got married.



Cabinet - $300 http://www.recroommasters.com/Xtension_Arcade_Pedestal_Arcade_Cabinet_p/rm-xt-ped.htm

Controller - $200 http://www.xgaming.com/store/arcade...oduct/x-arcade-tankstick-includes-usb-cables/

Reasonable barebone - $240 http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=3709658&Sku=B69-0584

Graphic Card - $90 http://www.tigerdirect.com/applicat...ffiliateID=Es5Ekr9eEBk-vBBRP1iju8_fsRk7Hx4fLQ

Screen - $180 http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=2495651&CatId=37

TOTAL - $1010
 
[quote name='Steggy']Well... if you factor in returning the DSLR perhaps this $1,000 setup is a feasable option? Cheaper if you have some of the items already in your home. This is similar to something I did before I got married.



Cabinet - $300 http://www.recroommasters.com/Xtension_Arcade_Pedestal_Arcade_Cabinet_p/rm-xt-ped.htm

Controller - $200 http://www.xgaming.com/store/arcade...oduct/x-arcade-tankstick-includes-usb-cables/

Reasonable barebone - $240 http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=3709658&Sku=B69-0584

Graphic Card - $90 http://www.tigerdirect.com/applicat...ffiliateID=Es5Ekr9eEBk-vBBRP1iju8_fsRk7Hx4fLQ

Screen - $180 http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=2495651&CatId=37

TOTAL - $1010[/QUOTE]
Looks sick, This gives me the idea to set aside a secret funds account for after we get a house.. "Look what I found at Goodwill hun!"
 
[quote name='Steggy']Well... if you factor in returning the DSLR perhaps this $1,000 setup is a feasable option? Cheaper if you have some of the items already in your home. This is similar to something I did before I got married.



Cabinet - $300 http://www.recroommasters.com/Xtension_Arcade_Pedestal_Arcade_Cabinet_p/rm-xt-ped.htm

Controller - $200 http://www.xgaming.com/store/arcade...oduct/x-arcade-tankstick-includes-usb-cables/

Reasonable barebone - $240 http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=3709658&Sku=B69-0584

Graphic Card - $90 http://www.tigerdirect.com/applicat...ffiliateID=Es5Ekr9eEBk-vBBRP1iju8_fsRk7Hx4fLQ

Screen - $180 http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=2495651&CatId=37

TOTAL - $1010[/QUOTE]

Wow, Steggy, nice post. I had no idea about that cab or the controller. The fact they are that cheap now is insane. I'm bookmarking those. I may finally have an excuse to make room for a complete rig now. Thanks, man :applause:
 
[quote name='goosenamedal']It's easy to put it this way, and if I had a close friend that needed it - Or Family member, absolutely. But I don't believe in Charities because I personally will never see the results of what my money has done (Not because I want self glorification, but because I don't think the intention of most charities are in the right place.) - I've donated what I can to childs play numerous times perhaps the only charity I would donate to. Let's put it this way, it's my birthday - I want something special for myself - I make roughly 25k a year (Not a whole lot).[/QUOTE]

Fair enough. I could debate the charities thing, but that's a topic for another time. Random Idea time...

- Go out to dinner at a place a few notches above where you tend to go to.
- If you're into collecting games, pick up a few jewels for your collection. Earthbound? Project Justice? Any other rare-enough game with special meaning to you.
- Take a trip somewhere. Perhaps NYC and see the Nintendo World Store or Las Vegas.
- Pick up some gaming themed art prints. Hell, with >$500, you could commission someone to make something special for you.
- Get something nice for your fiance. The kind of thing you could enjoy too, if you catch my drift.
- Legos. Never too old for legos.
- Watercool and/or Overclock your PC
- Select an IP you enjoy, and browse the internet for cool Merch from it/based on it.
- Go wild at Thinkgeek.com
 
[quote name='Steggy']Well... if you factor in returning the DSLR perhaps this $1,000 setup is a feasable option? Cheaper if you have some of the items already in your home. This is similar to something I did before I got married.



Cabinet - $300 http://www.recroommasters.com/Xtension_Arcade_Pedestal_Arcade_Cabinet_p/rm-xt-ped.htm

Controller - $200 http://www.xgaming.com/store/arcade...oduct/x-arcade-tankstick-includes-usb-cables/

Reasonable barebone - $240 http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=3709658&Sku=B69-0584

Graphic Card - $90 http://www.tigerdirect.com/applicat...ffiliateID=Es5Ekr9eEBk-vBBRP1iju8_fsRk7Hx4fLQ

Screen - $180 http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=2495651&CatId=37

TOTAL - $1010[/QUOTE]

Oh, now I got some ideas for my girlfriend's next birthday.
 
[quote name='Salamando3000']Fair enough. I could debate the charities thing, but that's a topic for another time. Random Idea time...

- Go out to dinner at a place a few notches above where you tend to go to.
- If you're into collecting games, pick up a few jewels for your collection. Earthbound? Project Justice? Any other rare-enough game with special meaning to you.
- Take a trip somewhere. Perhaps NYC and see the Nintendo World Store or Las Vegas.
- Pick up some gaming themed art prints. Hell, with >$500, you could commission someone to make something special for you.
- Get something nice for your fiance. The kind of thing you could enjoy too, if you catch my drift.
- Legos. Never too old for legos.
- Watercool and/or Overclock your PC
- Select an IP you enjoy, and browse the internet for cool Merch from it/based on it.
- Go wild at Thinkgeek.com[/QUOTE]
Some nice ideas, I would love to go to Nintendo World some day, I'm in New England so it wouldn't be to much trouble to get there. Every year though my urge to go is slowly dwindling.

I'd like to consider myself a collector.. I think the rarest thing I've gotten is a NIB Sega Nomad. Paid $40 for it and ended up selling it for nearly $300. Which come to think of it I tend to do with every rare thing I pay little for. So I guess I'm not much of a collector, have a ton of old systems laying around though.

I'd really like to setup my spare room as a game room for old systems etc. but I just don't think it'd be worth it if I'm most likely going to be moving within a year. I am a big sucker for collector's editions just for the extra stuff in them (Mortal Combat book stands, Halo 3 Helmet etc. etc.) but I'm way to cheap to pay full price for those things.

Essentially what I think I'm going to do is buy a nice bookcase to display games/paraphernalia and possibly save the rest and get back into my ebaying habits.
 
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