Hardware Canucks Christmas Wishlist

Mike's (lemonlime) List


I drive my family and friends nuts during the holiday season. I have a particularly bad habit of impulse buying many of the things I want or need throughout the year. Buying things for a computer geek isn’t easy. It’s not like I can just ask a friend to walk into a computer store and buy me a top-end video card. The prices of the PC components that interest me most are unfortunately way out of the average gift buyer’s budget. Generally speaking, when it comes to gifts, I’m a practical person. Having moved into a house recently, I’ve been asking for things like tools and items for around the house. They may not be as exciting as a new motherboard, but getting a gift that I can use on a regular basis does indeed put a smile on my face. Plus getting the things I really “need” as gifts frees up some funds for the finer things in life—like Radeon 4870s and Rampage Extremes.



For Geeks on a Budget
Product: UPM EM100 Energy Meter
Price: $30
Details: UPM Marketing Inc. - Electronic Energy Meters - EM100

On a budget and looking for something that just about any geek would appreciate? Being the practical guy that I am, an AC power meter fits the bill nicely. The UPM EM100 is a very popular AC meter that can be found at major retailers like Canadian Tire. You can plug in just about any AC device that draws less than 1800W and get a live reading of current draw and KWH usage. You can even input the price you pay for electricity and it can keep a running tally for you. I guarantee you that you’ll be checking how much power everything from your battery charger to your toaster oven uses. Pricing in at less than $30, it’s something any geek will love—and you may just help the environment along the way.


For the Hardware Geek
Product: nVidia GeForce GTX280
Price: Price Compare
Detail: GeForce GTX 280

I had a really tough time deciding upon a computer component for my list. It was certainly not because I didn’t know what I wanted—believe me, there are literally dozens of components that I’d love to get. Picking just one was the tough part. This year, I’m going to go ahead and say that the number one component under the $500 mark for me is an Nvidia GTX 280. I’ve always been a step or two behind in the graphics hardware arena. My last major purchase was an 8800GTS 640MB. I didn’t quite spring for the 8800GTX at the time, but this time, I’d like to get Nvidia’s top of the line. A Radeon 4870X2 would also fit the bill nicely but are pricing in at close to the $600 mark right now, unfortunately.

Why a GTX280? It is a monster single card graphics solution. It rocks out some serious FPS in just about all scenarios and its CUDA Phys-X engine makes it a great number cruncher as well. I’d be equally pleased with the new GTX 260 with 216 SPs.

Finding one won’t be difficult. One quick look at the HWC price compare engine turns up dozens of offerings at all of the popular online retailers.

For the Geek Who Has it All
Product: Lian Li F1 Aluminum Computer Desk
Price: $3000+
Details: Lian Li Industrial Co., Ltd.

I can’t tell you how fed up I am with cheap and poor quality computer desks. Right now, I’m actually using a large solid wood kitchen table as my computer desk—I hate it. Not only can I not put my chair under it due to some weird supports in the way, it is way too tall. If someone really wants to make me happy this holiday season they need not look any further than the Lian-Li F1 all-aluminum computer desk—the F1B to be more specific. Being a huge fan of Lian-Li PC enclosures over the last few years, seeing this desk never fails to bring a smile to my face.

Finding a Lian-Li F1 in Canada will be tough, unfortunately. I suppose there is just not much of a market for $3000 computer desks—I have no idea why.