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Weekend Gamer: ROG Ally is here!

ROG Ally Read More ROG Ally Now enter the ROG Ally from Asus. The ROG Ally will address all the things that I wanted in my Steam Deck: Windows, faster chip, better screen, higher resolution, pleasing looks, and the ability to dock in their enhance graphics … Steam There’s no more waiting… You can now buy Steam Deck, right now, without reservation. According to steampowered, it’s been more than a year since it was first announced, but due to numerous supply chain issues and …

There’s an unexpected change in my schedule, so my weekend has been reduced to just Sunday for my one day off. The amazing thing is that my ROG Ally that I pre-ordered last month came in today (Sunday). That’s amazing, considering that I wasn’t expecting it until June 13, when it officially launches.

At the moment, the only place you can buy the ROG Ally is at Best Buy, and that has not been a good experience for me. While I am happy that I am getting the device a few days earlier, I would have just preferred to get it from Amazon. Speaking of which, there is a strange “Pre-Order” page for the ROG Ally on Amazon, so eventually I am assuming you can get it from any retailers.

There seems to be a lot of hate for the ROG Ally from the Steam Deck community, which I honestly don’t understand. I own both devices, and while I have previously praised the Steam Deck, there are some short comings on a Linux (SteamOS) system. My Steam Deck, at this moment, is just limited to Steam games… while my ROG Ally will be used for everything else, such as GOG, Epic Games, Battle Net, Bethesda, playing videos, playing YouTube, using MicroSoft Office, using PhotoShop, and Steam games too.

Look, if you already own a Steam Deck, and is happy with it, there is no reason for you to get the ROG Ally.

For me, I think the Steam Deck is ugly, I think it’s too big and heavy. I don’t really like Linux. There are certain games that just won’t run on the Steam Deck… I’m not entirely sure that the ROG Ally will answer all my problems… but being a Windows device (with Xbox Gamepass), it’s certainly a step in the right direction for me.

Windows is both a curse and a blessing. While I love the Windows compatibility of it all, it wasn’t really designed to be run on a handheld gaming device. You start to notice these things really quickly, as text can be unreadable or unable to pull up the on-screen keyboard can be really frustrating. Asus tried its best to make it usable with their Armory Crate software, but that’s also not a great solution either. What MicroSoft need to do is release their own gaming handheld, call it the Xbox Deck or something. Then they can finetune their operating system to suite the need of a tiny 7” inch screen. Still, despite all of Windows’ problems, the good outweighs the bad.

So far, I’ve had the ROG Ally for a few hours, and all that time, it is spent updating and downloading some games to try out. The first game that I will run is Diablo IV… but it’s a big game and will take a few hours to load up.

The next step is to buy another 1TB Micro SD card to install more games… and a screen protector. Unfortunately, since Asus did not release their files or mock models to third party manufacturers, there are really no cases or accessories designed for the ROG Ally. Give it a month or two when companies get their hands on the device - they will start making all sorts of accessories for it, such as a good dock or some skins, etc. At the moment, the only things available are officially from Asus… and it’s limited to just a cheap carrying case and a charging brick with HDMI out.

P.S. It’s confirmed that the battery life on the ROG Ally is not great. I dropped to 50% just doing normal Windows things, like updating and downloading software. On the bright side is that the 65-Watt charger can quickly charge the ROG Ally to 90% in ten minutes. It’s pretty amazing to see this.

Yours,

Weekend Gamer

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vu ([email protected]) ♥ weheartmusic.com ♥ twitter.com

Weekend Gamer Update: Memorial Day Weekend

Windows 11 Pro Product Description Instantly productive. Simpler, more intuitive UI and effortless navigation. New features like snap layouts help you manage multiple tasks with ease Smarter collaboration. Have effective online meetings. Share content and mute/unmute right from the taskbar (1). Stay focused with intelligent noise cancelling and background blur. (2) Reassuringly consistent. Have confidence that your applications will work. Familiar deployment and update tools. Accelerate adoption with expanded deployment policies. Powerful security. Safeguard data and access anywhere with hardware-based isolation, encryption, and malware protection built in. Read More MicroSoft That’s because I just bought the Microsoft Office Professional 2021 lifetime license for $30, after reading about it on C-Net. The article referenced Stack Social, which I’ve never heard of until today. …

It’s Memorial Day Weekend, which means I have this Monday off and it’s a long weekend for me. As usual with these holidays, there are a lot of sales and deals all across retailers. I’m planning on going to a few Half-Priced Books to take advantage of their 20% instore purchases. The problem with HPB is that their stocks are limited and are vastly different from store to store. You never know what you are going to see, day to day, store to store.

Best Buy is selling a lot of Bluray for under $10… but the cool thing is that the new Pixel 7a is being sold for $450, the first sale price since it was launched on May 10. That was fast! Even though it’s a $50 savings, it’s still not enough for me to want it. I’ve already committed to buying the upcoming iPhone 15 Pro Max, so I need to set aside roughly $1,200. I was never an iPhone guy, until I started using the $25 unlimited data/phone service from Visible. Now, it’s impossible for me to break away from the Apple ecosystem.

Anyway, over at Stack Social, I just purchased Windows 11 Pro for $40. This is the full product key, not an “upgrade” key, meaning you could use it on a freshly built computer. I just basically upgraded my Windows 11 Home on my current computer.

For most people, Home is just fine for everyone. There are some differences, such as local accounts and Hyper-V and some extra security options (as well as more faster updates), but for the most part, I personally didn’t need to upgrade to Pro… But the sale price was so good (it’s normally $199), that I couldn’t pass it up. As of this writing, I don’t have buyer’s remorse.

When Windows 11 first launched in late 2021, video gaming was a problem with stutter and lag… but it was related to driver issues for video cards. Now that it’s been out for a few years, there are no issues with gaming. Since I started using Windows 11 Home in Nov 2022, I have been impressed with its performance over Windows 10.

Fallout New Vegas Ultimate Edition

Speaking of games, Epic Games is offering Fallout New Vegas Ultimate Edition for free. You guys know I love Fallout, so naturally, I’m going to encourage you guys to get it for free. Of course, I already own this on various platform (GOG, Steam, Xbox, etc.), and you can usually find it on sale.

This is the Ultimate Edition, which means all the DLC are incorporated in this game, so there’s a ton of great content to go through.

Of all the Fallout games, New Vegas is one of my top three. A lot of fans did not like the game when it first came out, but over time, I believe they’ve turn around and would agree with me that it’s a great game. The game is 13 years old, and it could benefit from a remaster or remake of the game, in my opinion.

Also, ROG Ally Update: On the day that it was available to pre-order on May 11, 2023, I overreacted and immediately ordered it from Best Buy. It was at a location and a time (noon-ish) and at Best Buy, that I normally don’t buy from online, and at such a high amount, that the unusual activity alerted my bank to issue a stop on my bank card. I had to basically go to the bank and told them that I did purchase the ROG Ally. Unfortunately, the bank already put a stop on the payment. That’s fine, I suppose I’ll just have to go to the physical store on June 13th to see if I can just buy one at their store. It kind of sucks because my local Best Buy closed this year, so I need to travel to another city to visit a Best Buy now. You know, all this could have been prevented, if ROG Ally would just make it available at all retailers… meaning if I had purchased it from Amazon, my bank would’ve just allowed it.

I suppose it’s probably better this way. Now that I’ve seen early reviews, it’s not exactly “twice as fast” as they’ve been claiming. The truth is, it sounds like the ROG Ally is about the same as the Steam Deck… the only difference is that the ROG Ally runs Windows 11 out of the box. Basically, once I get the ROG, I’m calling it my ROG GOG because it’ll be my GOG and Battle Net machine. I just cannot wait to play Diablo IV on handheld.

Yours,

Weekend Gamer

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vu ([email protected]) ♥ weheartmusic.com ♥ twitter.com

ROG Ally vs Steam Deck

Description Play your way with the ROG Ally gaming handheld. Access any game that runs on Windows across all game platforms, including Steam, GOG, Xbox Game Pass, cloud gaming services, Android apps and more. Play anywhere, anytime, using handheld mode or by connecting the Ally to a TV and linking multiple controllers to play with friends. The Ally even transforms into a gaming PC by connecting to ROG XG mobile eGPU and dock - supporting mouse, keyboard, monitor, and more of your favorite peripherals. Equipped with an AMD Ryzen Z1 extreme processor, a smooth 7-inch 1080p 120Hz touchscreen with AMD FreeSync premium technology, and ROG intelligent cooling, the ROG Ally takes handheld gaming on to a whole different level. Read More ROG Ally Now enter the ROG Ally from Asus. The ROG Ally will address all the things that I wanted in my Steam Deck: Windows, faster chip, better screen, higher resolution, pleasing looks, and the ability to dock in their enhance graphics …

I pre-ordered the ROG Ally, the handheld PC gaming device from Asus, via Best Buy, which, as of this writing, is the only retailer selling this product. The Ally will arrive June 13th, 2023.

I’m excited, because I can easily run all my Windows-based games, such as Diablo IV on this handheld PC. The major problem with Steam Deck is that Steam OS is Linux-based system. Yes, I’m aware there are work-around, such you can install Windows on the Steam Deck … but I’m not doing it. Besides, the Steam Deck wasn’t designed as a Windows machine, there are some drivers and features that won’t work.

Anyway, even before I ordered the Steam Deck, I mentioned that I wanted a Windows-based device, but the expensive pricing (above $1,000) have kept me from pulling the trigger.

The ROG Ally is aggressively priced at $700, with a cheaper $600 model available at a later date. I’m glad I never purchased the OneXPlayer or Aya Neo handhelds.

Obviously, I don’t have the ROG Ally yet, but looking over the specs, almost everything is better than the Steam Deck, including faster processor, better screen (1080p at 120hz refresh rate), a faster UHS-II MicroSD card reader, faster-charging at 64W, slightly smaller, lighter, better cooling (two fans), free three months of Xbox Game Pass Ultimate, fingerprint reader, Dolby Atmos with smart AMP, and, again it runs Windows 11.

Although I praise that with Windows I have access to more of my games, the bad side to Windows is that it wasn’t designed to be on a small 7 inch screen. Navigating Windows with joysticks probably isn’t fun either… however, I’m willing to put up with all that so I can use GOG or Battle Net.

I think for most people, the Steam Deck will be just fine for people (especially if they don’t like Windows), but I really feel the ROG Ally will fit most gamer’s needs.

Plus, importantly, with a direct competition, I hope Valve get off their butt and release a Steam Deck 2 or something. They don’t have to release it, maybe just make an announcement on what they are working on. Maybe not just Steam, but I would welcome even more computer makers get into this market. I would love to see an official MicroSoft handheld. They already make the MicroSoft Surface and the Xbox… why not make an exclusive Xbox Handheld? Heck, Sony should make a Vita 2!

Right now, I’m still playing in Steam Deck and putting in over 80 hours, at 30 minutes at a time during my lunch break, on Fallout 4. I love the ability to start up a quick game while I have a little time.

Yours,

Weekend Gamer

Details from tomshardware.com:

Spec	Steam Deck	ROG Ally
CPU	Custom Zen 2 "Van Gogh," 4 cores, 8 threads, 2.4 - 3.5 GHz	AMD Ryzen Z1 Extreme (Zen 4, 8 cores / 16 threads, up to 5.1 GHz, 4 nm)
GPU	8 RDNA 2 compute units, 1.0 - 1.6 GHz	RDNA 3, 4GB VRAM, 12 compute units at 2.7 GHz clock with Z1 Extreme, 4 compute units at 2.5 GHz with Z1
RAM	16GB LPDDR5	16GB LPDDR5-6400
Storage	512GB m.2 NVMe SSD	512GB NVMe PCIe 4 M.2 SSD
External Storage	SD card slot (UHS-I)	SD card slot (UHS-II)
Display	7-inch touchscreen, 1280 x 800 (16:10), 60 Hz, IPS, anti-glare etched glass	7-inch touchscreen, 1920 x 1080, 120 Hz, IPS touchscreen with Gorilla Glass Victus and Gorilla Glass DXC
Battery	40 WHr	40 WHr
Power	45 W	65 W
Operating System	SteamOS 3.0 (Linux)	Windows 11 Home
Weight	1.47 pounds / 669 grams	1.34 pounds / 608 grams
Price	$649	$699.99
Release Date	February 25, 2022	June 13, 2023

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vu ([email protected]) ♥ weheartmusic.com ♥ twitter.com

Google I/O 2023

Read More Google a Google home, as everything is built around the Google Home Hub application. If you don’t mind giving Google your information, you can use many of their services - for free. That’s the attractive thing, it’s mostly free. …

Here’s all the products announced at Google’s I/O 2023.

Pixel Tablet
We’ve seen similar designs from Lenovo, but hopefully the upcoming Google Pixel Tablet will be a faster and better experience. Like that other design, the Tablet is a picture frame when you dock it to the magnetic charger and speaker. If you want to use it as a tablet, you just pick it off the stand… think of it as a tablet that is always charged.

I’m not entirely sure if I will use it on a daily basis, since I already love my iPad 12.9 for the big display and fast processor… the Pixel Tablet is kind of a step down.

Pixel 7A
At $500, the “A-Series” of Google’s phones are the affordable version of their Pixel phones. I’ve been unimpressed with their previous A phones. The phones are not fast or flashy, they’re basically a budget/cheap version of their regular phones… Having said all that, I think the 7A is the phone that I’m actually interested in. That’s because, for the first time, their A phones are going to include wireless charging. I have been all-in on wireless charging, it is hard for me to go back to the old way of charging my phone.

While I’m not in the market to replace my iPhone 14, I might pick up the 7A as my backup phone… mostly because for a limited time, Google is throwing in a free Pixel Buds A-Series if you buy the new 7A phone. I have a Pixel Bud Mint Color and I think it’s one of the best earbuds I own. I love that rubber nub that locks the buds in my ear.

I guess it all depends on if I can buy the Asus ROG Ally (the better and faster Steam Deck) or not. I have already devoted my budget of $800 to buy the new handheld gaming PC.

Pixel Fold
As soon as I saw the price for this upcoming Google’s folding phone, at $1,800, that’s a hard pass for me. As cool as it looks, there’s no way I’m spending that kind of cash on sometime that is unproven. I would love for the price to be sub $1,000... that is the magic number for me.

As a fan of technology, I’m always interested in seeing new products. My complaint about Google has a bad reputation about introducing something and then not supporting it. Plus, I hate to say it, but their products look boring.

Still, I love the fact that I can find any Google products in retail stores, such as my local Target or Walmart. Knowing me, I might just end up buying their Pixel Tablet on a whim, while standing in line at a Best Buy or something.

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Vestron Video: Earth Girls Are Easy

Read More Vestron Video Here is a Bluray series that I love: Vestron Video Collector's Series. When they first came out in 2016, the retail prices were very, very expensive. Normal prices were $40 (and that didn’t even include digital copies!), so I …

One of the Bluray that I recently purchased during my Black Friday purchases was Earth Girls Are Easy, number 27 in the latest Vestron Video Collection.

I remember actually seeing this film in the theaters, thinking how strange it was to see stars Geena Davis and Jeff Goldblum together again after seeing them in David Cronenberg’s The Fly remake. What I didn’t know then, and what I found out listening to the commentary of this film, was that the Davis and Goldblum were actually dating at this time.

The other funny thing was that Earth Girls Are Easy was supposed to star writer/creator Julie Brown (based on her music EP Goddess in Progress). The studio executives thought it would be better if they had a “real” star in the film to draw in a crowd. Better yet, since Davis and Goldblum were a two-for-one deal, they could double their star power, so they gave the lead role to Davis.

They did give the role of Davis’ best friend to Julie Brown, who had originally written the role as a gay man.

Not much of a story that you can base on a few songs… but it was a fun little weird comedy about aliens picking up on Earth girls.

As with all first-run Vestron Videos, they come with a nice slip case and the price is decent ($13), and it comes with a digital code. I highly recommend picking this up if you’re a Vestron fan or just a fan of those late 80s comedy.

The next Vestron release will be a Silent Night, Deadly Night collection. It’s number 3, 4, and 5, which means that Vestron didn’t distribute or released the first two Silent Night, Deadly Night films. I’ll also be picking this up when it comes out. Thankfully, you can find them at Walmart or Best Buy easily… but there’s always Amazon if you don’t live by either retailers.

VESTRON VIDEO COLLECTION

	01 Chopping Mall (1986) Concorde Pictures September 27, 2016		02 Blood Diner (1987) Lightning Pictures September 27, 2016
	03 Waxwork (1988) Waxwork II: Lost in Time (1992) Vestron Pictures/ Electric Pictures September 27, 2016		04 Return of the Living Dead 3 (1993) Trimark Pictures November 22, 2016
	05 C.H.U.D. II: Bud the C.H.U.D. (1989) Vestron Pictures November 22, 2016		06 The Lair of the White Worm (1988) Vestron Pictures January 31, 2017
	07 Parents (1989) Vestron Pictures January 31, 2017		08 The Gate (1987) New Century Vista Film February 28, 2017
	09 Wishmaster (1997) Wishmaster 2: Evil Never Dies (1999) Wishmaster 3: Beyond the Gates of Hell (2001) Wishmaster: The Prophecy Fulfilled (2002) LIVE Entertainment Artisan Entertainment March 28, 2017		10 The Unholy (1988) Vestron Pictures June 27, 2017
	11 Warlock (1991) Warlock: The Armageddon (1993) Warlock III: The End of Innocence (1999 ) New World Pictures / Trimark Pictures / Tapestry Films July 25, 2017		12 Slaughter High (1986) Vestron Pictures October 31, 2017
	13 Gothic (1987) Vestron Pictures January 30, 2018		14 Class of 1999 (1990) Lightning Pictures January 30, 2018
	15 Beyond Re-Animator (2003) Lions Gate Entertainment July 24, 2018		16 Dagon (2001) Lions Gate Entertainment July 24, 2018
	17 Maximum Overdrive (1986) De Laurentiis Entertainment Group October 23, 2018		18 Shivers (1975) Cinepix September 15, 2020
	19 Little Monsters (1989) Vestron Pictures September 15, 2020		20 The Wraith (1986) New Century Vista Film July 20, 2021
	21 Sundown: The Vampire in Retreat (1991) Vestron Pictures August 17, 2021		22 Dementia 13 (1963) American International Pictures September 21, 2021
	23 Steel Dawn (1987) Vestron Pictures October 26, 2021		24 Candyman: Day of the Dead (1999) Artisan Entertainment January 18, 2022
	25 Dream a Little Dream (1989) Vestron Pictures March 15, 2022		26 Extreme Prejudice (1987) Carolco Pictures May 17, 2022
	27 Earth Girls Are Easy (1988) Vestron Pictures November 8, 2022		28 Silent Night, Deadly Night 3: Better Watch Out! (1989) Silent Night, Deadly Night 4: Initiation (1990) Silent Night, Deadly Night 5: The Toy Maker (1991) International Video LIVE Entertainment December 13, 2022

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vu ([email protected]) ♥ weheartmusic.com ♥ twitter.com

Black Friday 2022

Read More Black Friday Sure, I didn’t need all those extra things in my life, but I couldn’t pass up these deals. The prices are Black Friday level (even better in many cases). …

With Black Friday coming up this Friday (November 25), we are already starting to see some really good deals on Bluray/UHD discs. Some of my favorite A24 films are on sale, including X, Everything Everywhere All At Once, and The Green Knight. I bought a ton of discs this week. Most UHD discs are $10 and Bluray are either $5 or $8. It’s really the only time that I make mass Bluray purchases.

Over at Target, the best deal I’ve seen is $200 for the Xbox Series S. That’s $50 off and a $50 Target Gift card (which is as good as cash). I’m very tempted to try and buy it, even though I already own the Xbox Series X (the superior version). But the price is so good that I’m really thinking about it. If you are going to buy an Xbox this year, you might as well get Elden Ring for $40. This is the lowest price I’ve seen for this amazing game. Honestly, Elden Ring is my Game of the Year.

Walmart has the best deals on 4K TV. They have a 50 inch ONN 4K LED for $150. Onn is Walmart’s brand, and for that low bottom prices, I’m not sure if it’ll have the quality. On the bright side, the TV has Roku built into the television. If you want to upgrade, Walmart also sells a TCL 65” 4k TV for $228 (also with Roku).

If you’re looking for a Macbook, Best Buy is selling the M1 MacBook Air 13.3” for $800 (a $200 savings). If you want this year’s MacBook Air, with the M2 chip, you can get it for $1,050… but from what I’ve read, it’s not worth the upgrade.

LG 48” 4k WebOS TV for $570

Also, the best OLED TV prices I’ve ever seen is for the LG 48” 4k WebOS TV for $570. This is a $730 savings, and I’m definitely looking at this very closely. I think the biggest problem is that I rarely watch TV. I spend all my time sitting at my computer and watch YouTube videos or movies I’ve ripped from my Bluray…

So maybe the better money might go to another 4k monitor? My current favorite monitor is on sale for $230. I bought the monitor for $320 in Apr 2022 and absolutely love the “Picture in Picture” feature: “There is another feature that they highlight, and I found it really useful. The monitor has the ability to do Picture in Picture (or as Samsung lists it PBP). What this means is that the monitor can display two simultaneous sources on the monitor at the same time. You have some options, side-by-side or a small popup screen (which you can position in four areas and with varying sizes). The P-i-P is the best thing about this monitor.”

If you’re looking for a new PC or laptop, I would recommend looking at MicroCenter’s Black Friday sale. They have my Lenovo Legion PC for the same amazing price of $850. I’ve said it before, the video card (3060) costs $400 by itself(!), so to have it come with your computer, it’s a steal.

MicroCenter also sells really cheap Wyze cameras. Their v3 camera with color night vision is $30. I currently own two Wyze cameras that I use for my security cameras.

This year, I’ve already started my Black Friday shopping last week. Most retailers already started their sale last week. I’ll be looking at bigger purchases sometime this week, since some retailers won’t unveil their biggest deals until closer to Friday.

Read more Black Friday, Movies and Television.

Vu’s Early Black Friday Bluray/UHD purchases

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Weekend Gamer: Prime Day

Read More Video Games I take that back, Mass Effect: Legendary Edition is on sale, and it’s a game (three games actually) that I’m interested in checking out the new “remaster”. It’s currently on sale for $35 on Amazon, …

Every year Amazon Prime Day comes and go, and every year, there’s never anything good! This year, the two-day event is taking place July 12 to 13, and promises “epic deals on top brands and small businesses.”

Having scrolled through countless items, the sales and discounts are just not enough for me to want to buy something. Most of the sales are 10% off, to me, that’s not enough for a product I don’t need now. Some items that never goes on sale, such as Apple products are slightly discounted - for example the new Apple Watch 7 is $309 (normally $420) and Airtags 4-Pack are $85 (normally $100).

Undoubtedly, the biggest deals are on Amazon’s own products: the Echo Show (not the new models) and their Fire Tablets.

If you’re already a member of Amazon Prime, Amazon is giving away some free digital games, including Mass Effect: Legendary Edition. Originally when this re-mastered game came out in 2021 for a full $60… but since then the game is heavily discounted (as low as $20 on Xbox), and, if you have Xbox Game Pass, the game is “free”. Many gamers interested in the game, including myself, have already bought it. Still, getting another free copy from Amazon Prime is a nice bonus.

There are a few catches in redeeming the Amazon Prime free games. Some games requires you to have an account with a third party, for example, Legacy Games or Origin account. Personally speaking, if I don’t already have an account, I just won’t redeem them… but there are others that might sign up, just to get some free games.

The other catch is that Amazon is promoting their streaming game service, Luna, so some of their “free” games requires you to sign up for their gaming service (which I won’t do).

So, even though I poo-poo the “sales” of Amazon Prime Day, I have to admit that it is good for everyone. That is because Amazon’s competitors, such as Best Buy, are also reacting to Prime Day, with their own sales, which they are calling Black Friday in July.

Yours,

- Weekend Gamer

vu ([email protected]) ♥ weheartmusic.com ♥ twitter.com

Why I'm leaving Amazon for Best Buy

Read More Best Buy Check out the exclusive Best Buy Edition, which is a double-disc digipak with six extra tracks. The new tracks are: Scandinavia One of Our Own …

Look, we all know that Amazon has sucked lately, thanks to the Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, they’ve taken weeks, if not months, to deliver products that they deemed non-essential.

I am a Prime Member, by accident, and it used to be that I would get everything I ordered within two days, sometime next day! It was awesome, and I would order things from Amazon all the time. Then, it started taking things four, five, and now weeks later (this all started since December 2019 when they ended their contract with FedEx). I finally got an item that I ordered over a month ago, and it was the final straw. I’ve decided to shift all my electronic purchases to Best Buy.

With Best Buy, you can choose to have curb-side pickup (and I’ve done this to test it out) or you can get things shipped to you (usually for free). If you look over their My Best Buy Benefits section, at the free level, you can get free shipping if you spend over $35. I’m an Elite Plus member, meaning that I get free two-day shipping… which is above and beyond whatever Amazon is offering (at the moment).

In addition, I’ve also started buying directly from the manufacturer… the first time that I’ve started dabbing in this. Overall, it’s not bad buying direct. Sure, it can be more expensive or you’ll have to pay for shipping, but if it means I can get things sent to me in a timely manner, then I don’t mind.

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iBuyPower Fallout Gaming PC

iBUYPOWER Fallout Basic PC Processor: Intel Core i5-8400 6-Core 2.8 GHz (4.0 GHz Turbo) RAM: 8GB-2666mhz RAM DDR4 Hard Drive: 240GB SSD Video: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1050 2GB (VR Ready | Display Connectors: HDMI, DisplayPort, DVI) Software: Genuine Windows 10 Home 64-bit Connection: 802.11AC Wi-Fi, RJ-45 Network Ethernet 10/100/1000 Connectivity: 4 x USB 3.0 | 2 x USB 2.0 | Audio: 7.1 Channel Special Add-Ons: limited edition Fallout case | Liquid Cooled | 16 Color RGB Lighting Remote Controlled Case | Free iBUYPOWER Gaming Keyboard & RGB Gaming Mouse | No bloatware Enough space for more Fallout Bobble-heads! Read More Site Update I have been meaning to upgrade the graphics card in my computer for a long time now. The integrated Intel video card, for the most part, worked fine, but it won't exactly run graphically intensive games (shooters, big diablo-style …

Before I bought this iBuyPower Fallout PC, I had two “gaming” computers: one running an Nvidia 750Ti that I bought for $400 (plus $150 video card) in Dec 2013, and an AMD Radeon R9-based computer that I bought in Jun 2017 for $500. As you can tell, I’m a cheapskate gamer, and I’m not running the latest and greatest, but it works for me. In fact, both computers were running just fine and dandy and I really, really didn’t have the need to spend more money on yet another gaming computer.... but... this Fallout Computer just looks so cool!

I knew I wanted it, but I didn’t want to pay full retail price. Recently, they had a sale, and on the cheapest model, the “Basic”, had an $80 off discount. I also had a couple of $5 coupons off from Best Buy, so I decided to pull the trigger. Honestly, on reflection, I should have just bought it from Amazon has they would’ve shipped it to me in two days. With Best Buy, they had to build-to-order (which took a week) and then they shipped it (which took another week). Waiting two weeks for this computer just felt too long, but it’s not unheard of, since I bought an Alienware computer that took nearly a month to ship to me (I’ll never do that again).

Now that I have the computer as my daily driver, I had to retire the 2013 Nvidia Computer. Switching over to the new computer was a little harder to do than I thought, as I had to research all the bookmarks and re-enter in all my passwords and re-authorized everything on the new device. Plus, all the softwares that I need, I had to re-hunt them down and re-install. Trust me, it was a pain in the butt to get everything back and running to the way I had it originally set up.

So far, the Fallout Computer is pretty amazing. It’s whisper quiet, thanks to the liquid cooling and quiet RGB fans. The clear glass window lets you look at the internal and admire all the custom Fallout custom designs. The RBG lights were actually way cooler than I thought. I’ve never own a computer that had a lighting system, so I was pretty impressed with it. Despite what I might gripe about, I think $799 is a fair price for this computer: considering that you are getting an SSD Harddrive (these are expensive probably $200), the custom Fallout artwork case (probably worth $300), the Nvidia 1050 card (probably $240). Trust me, if you were to build from scratch, it’ll probably cost you about the same or more, but you don’t get the amazing Fallout design.

Now for some disappointment: no optical drive (CD/DVD/Bluray drive), no media card reader, poor design of the case blocks off thick HMDI cables, generic iBuyPower keyboard & mouse, bobblehead won’t fit on the mount, and oddly missing a screw (which points to poor quality inspection or lackthereof). They’re minor complaints, but I would’ve liked to have at least a card reader, since that is how I import photos and videos from my computer. Not a big deal, since I have several USB readers around the house. For the Bluray drive, I’ll just have to buy another one... it’s not a problem. The iBuyPower keyboard and mouse that comes with the computer is usable, but you should just provide your own mechanical keyboard or optical mouse.

I’ve also read that not all the motherboards are the same across the line. Mine is an ASRock B360M IB-R1, but someone else said the had an MSI Z370-A Pro (I’m assuming they get an upgrade if they pay more). With the bobblehead situation, it depends on the bobblehead’s base. Most of the recent bobbleheads, they have a bigger base, so it won’t fit correctly on the mount. You can just use tape or replace the bobbblehead with a smaller base one. Not everyone is going to have a spare bobblehead (like I do), so that’s going to be annoying to some fans. But again, you can just buy a different one or use tape.

Finally, it’s limited to 2,000. I think the 2k number applies to all the Fallout PC together, because unique number on my sticker does not say “Fallout Basic”. That’s my theory, I could be wrong. What that means is that once all 2,000 PCs are sold, iBuyPower (in association with Bethesda to market Fallout 76 online game) will not re-issue these beautiful computer case. So, if you’re a Fallout fan or just want a unique and cool computer, you should get it now that it’s currently on sale.

If you’re interested in purchasing one, please use our Amazon Affiliate link, no additional cost to you - but Amazon will give us a little money in return.

vu ([email protected]) ♥ weheartmusic.com ♥ facebook.com ♥ twitter.com/weheartmusic

Weekend Gamer: Gamer Unlock and StarCraft II

Best Buy’s Gamer Unlock 20% OFF New video game software (includes PS4, Xbox One, and Nintendo Switch games) 10% BONUS TRADE-IN CREDIT 10% OFF pre-owned video games 20% OFF video game e-guides 2X POINTS on new video game software, digital content, and game accessories SPECIAL WELCOME COUPONS 2X POINTS on video game trade-ins EXCLUSIVE GAMING OFFERS REDEEM REWARD CERTIFICATES POINTS on gaming consoles Read More Best Buy Check out the exclusive Best Buy Edition, which is a double-disc digipak with six extra tracks. The new tracks are: Scandinavia One of Our Own … Starcraft II I was one of the 1.5 million players out there that bought Blizzard's Starcraft II. As much as I like playing strategy games, I have a few problems about this much anticipated game …

Read more Weekend Gamer.

GAMER UNLOCK
bestbuy.com

If you’re a full time or weekend gamer like myself, you know that video games are expensive. New games have a retail price of $59.99. I usually wait six months to a year, when the prices drop, or when they bundle in additional content.

I recently signed up for Best Buy’s Gamer Unlock membership, which costs $30 for two years. This is a similar program to GameStop’s Elite Pro Membership ($30 a year), only Best Buy’s program is more appealing thanks to its 20% off all new games (GameStop’s discount only applies to used games) and cheaper membership pricing.

If you think about it, it’s $15 a year, so buying a brand new $60 game with the 20% discount, you save $12. If you buy another new game, you’ve essentially made back your money. I figure I buy about three or four (new) games a year, mostly for limited edition or collectible SteelBook reasons.

I think it’s worth it, especially if you buy new games and especially if you shop at Best Buy. I’m sure this also applies to online purchases, but please note that the 20% discount only applies to physical games, not digital downloads.

STARCRAFT II
battle.net

I bought StarCraft II in 2010 and was pretty disappointed in its always online requirement. I argued that pirates were playing the game with no online requirement, and for people who actually paid good money for the game, it sort of sucks. You also have to understand that not everybody is online all the time, so at the time, I was pretty upset about the whole thing.

Update: As I write this, I’m having internet problems (connecting to Blizzard), so my argument is still very valid - don’t buy games that requires you to be online to play. I’m still on my Blizzard ban, although I have bought Diablo III on PS4 and Xbox One, which doesn’t require Blizzard’s online check - so take that PC gamers.

Anyway, seven years later, Blizzard is offering StarCraft II’s original Wings of Liberty campaign for free. For those who bought the original game (like me), you’re given the zerg-focused Heart of the Swarm for free.

I’ve been meaning to go back to StarCraft II and play Heart of the Swarm, but it’s been so long, I probably have to re-learn to play - so I might have to start all over from scratch… and unfortunately, I don’t really have the time.

That’s great, I love free stuff, so no complaints here, even though you’re required to be online to play their games. Hey, it’s free.

To get the free game, you have to log into your Blizzard account via the Battle.Net launcher and click on the “Gift” icon.

Update: Since Blizzard is down for the past two days (according to the internet outrage), you may want to wait a few days to get your free StarCraft II game.

vu ([email protected]) ♥ weheartmusic.com ♥ twitter.com/weheartmusic