You're handed $1000, but must use it now...

[Hyperion]

I see a topic like this commonly at forums, and I thought I'd ask this here since I want to know what you guys would do with so much free money if you had to spend it quickly.

As for me, I have classes coming up, so I'd use it to buy all the books on my Amazon Wish List. If I have money left over, I'd get a new printer, because the one I have now is pretty lame (it doesn't work).

If I were given this money when I had more time, however, I would definitely use the money to help fund a vacation. As I said in a similar topic, I'm thinking Mongolia and China, and a ride on the Trans-Mongolian.

[Dracvs]

I would buy a ticket plane out of this shit place. That's all I would do with that money. Nothing else I would do with that money.

[Kagato]

I would say school costs, paying back my parents, or random stuff, in order of importance.

[saturnword]

Only $1000? Well, I would spend it on paying someone back some money and then maybe put some towards a school loan that I have.

[Saint]

...Comics.

[CemeteryGates]

A new computer; an SLR camera; or cymbals and a bass amp... many options.

[Dracvs]

how can you buy an SLR camera and a new computer (either) with 1000$? tell me your magic formula so I can apply! Let alone an Amp! the last amp I looked at was over 2000! (mesa bogie head, prog of course runs in my veins)

[Bunyip]

I can get a nice new Dell laptop for $600. Take me 3 minutes to buy it on line.
Could also use a new washing machine or a new fridge.


Any money left would be donated to the Fred Hollows foundation,one of two charities I support. The other is Medicins Sans Frontieres.

[saturnword]

Yeah. You can find electronics pretty cheap online. Thing is that you can't be picky if you're looking for cheap shit. Goes without saying though.

[Dracvs]

Yeah I supposed as much. When your computer is your main tool, 1000 is not enough. For me to get a laptop I would need maybe 3000 if not more. I discovered I am this close to burn my actual Core 2 Duo laptop at work. it gets incredibly hot.

Can someone spare me a Macbook pro with a Core i7 : D (the reason I can't buy a dell is because of the Application Development for iPhone and iPad that, goes without saying, is a pain in the rear end)

[Bunyip]

Originally Posted by saturnword

Yeah. You can find electronics pretty cheap online. Thing is that you can't be picky if you're looking for cheap shit. Goes without saying though.

I'm actually very fussy. I know what I want,and what it should cost.

Depends on your needs. Last month I helped a client buy a new Dell laptop for $600.(from Dell) He's an old fart like me,so doesn't play games.

For his money he got; A Pentium core duo,2.7Ghz, 4Gb RAM and 500GB hard drive,which is far more everything he needs..

My emergency backup is a second hand Pentium 4.I installed Linux Helena and it's fine.

[saturnword]

Thing is that Dells are pretty crap since you can't change parts with other brands. It must be Dell manufactured. So in effect, it doesn't usually acknowledge hardware that isn't compatible with Dell hardware.

So yeah. Not so good a deal if something breaks or if you want to upgrade a single component.

[Saint]

Though it is a cost effective way to build a gaming machine; for my current machine I bought a Dell, a video card, and a power source for around $1000. Instant gaming machine.

[saturnword]

Dude. A PSU for 1k? What year was this and what wattage was the damned thing because that is fucking ridiculous.

[Hyperion]

Not just the PSU; a Dell and video card, too.

If anyone has a $1000 PSU, I have to wonder what he's doing with it. Using it to power a virtual reality where humans trapped in it are forced to fight aliens to survive?

[saturnword]

lol oops. Read that post all wrong. Sorry. I'm kinda tired. It was an amusing thought though. 1k for a PSU. Funniest joke for nerds.

Wither way, I did the same thing but my expenses came to less than 1k for it all. And this wasn't with a Dell computer. Dells aren't particularly cost efficient if you know what you're doing specifically.

[Saint]

Well, it was less expensive than the available alternatives--and I don't have the expertise to build my own machine, so convenience was also a factor.

[Dracvs]

the last time I built a machine it cost me almost 10 000 dollars. (back in 2009 where core I7 was the king of the hill) the thing used to blast.... until the PSU died and I had to replace it and couldn't find it anywhere to this date. I saw it yesterday. it costs 350USD and they are selling it here for 1500USD. heh

[saturnword]

Originally Posted by Saint

Well, it was less expensive than the available alternatives--and I don't have the expertise to build my own machine, so convenience was also a factor.

Fair enough.

Dracvs: Not everyone can build beasts of war and destruction like you. Seriously, what were the specs?

[Dracvs]

Core i7 2.66GHZ clocked to 3.2
6 gbs of ram
2 discs of 1 TB each
1 ATI 5770 (currently added as a black market smuggled part... don't tell the police!)
a Cooler Master 850Watts PSU
one Intel SXO58 motherboard, with posibility to do Dual Wielding Bastard Swords (i mean.... dual video cards)
A Soundblaster recycled from my last PC
Windows 7 (legally acquired)
a 5.1 Sound System
and of course the SATA DVD burner and.. a diskette recycled from a 2001 computer. let alone the thing has from eSata to Optical sound output to HDMI. it's a monster really.

What for?

Developing Apps.
Compiling my programs,
doing my research
doing the conversion for web video for the webapps,
web pages,
3D rendering,
3d Building modeling,
Unreal Torunament modeling,
Unreal Tournament Engine 3 game development,
XNA studio game development,
Data Ware house testing.
some movie editing (actual movie shot in 1080p for college)
among other computer intensive things.... I studied Computer Engineering as you can see


Of course I couldn't afford such monstrosity on my own, I got a loan and a sponsor and payed it off working on it and with my 8:30 - 5:30 job of course (finished in April of this year.. by the way-... now i am broke and with a dead machine missing one PSU I can't find)

You see, back then we did logos and all that in Houdini, and it took AGES to render at 32X Anti-Aliasing. When I got this computer I am writing this on (i cant work on it. just browse the web and play the occasional Soccer game nothing else besides that and a couple of visual studio 2010 C# scripts) from ages, to minutes, and when I fine tuned the Compiler of The Houdini 3D modeling application, to one minute or less. it was quite fun to work on this until the electricity decided to take some victims.


.... I miss the Walkyrie... she used to be my main workhorse....(yes I put names to my computer. This one is the Great Walkyrie. the one at work is called Skuld. The Virtual Machine is called Griselda. The server Pegasi. the main WebServer is called Mjolnir. and the laptop from the other developer Ragnarok (because it is always broken haha)

[saturnword]

Holy fucking shit. That machine was a beast.

I name my drives. Not the entire machine. I haven't built a machine from scratch but I modified a store bought one to the point where the only original pieces were the motherboard and the tower.

[Grift]

A pack of smokes and a burger. to hell with the rest.

[Saint]

I name my machines, too. I like to name them after fictional AIs.

[Dracvs]

Nice! I name the machines and the drives as well...

For instance, I name them after things that the remind me of, for example:

My main Data drive is a 500Gb disc, since it is where data lives, I called it Aegis, as the shield from the mythology.

The one I make backups of the projects, I called The Vault.

The one where everything movies is, is called Nibelung Ring. I have one other driver the main one, and it is called Ygdrassil. as the tree of life source of everything that is and will be.

By the way! I went to court and got 400$!!! : D i can use my credit card in 15 days to buy me something real!! YAY!!!

[X]

I'd put it all on a penny stock that I liked.