Hot Hardware For The Holidays - A Buyer's Guide

Nice read, i really agree with the Q6600... i wish i could switch my E for a Q..lol 

Great Guide!!

Right now the Radeon 3870 Seems like a Great deal... Even more since it's really hard to find the 8800GT's at the MSRP ...

 Two things, the ACER 24" monitor, if you look at Newegg, every other customer review mentions at least one serious problem with this monitor, such as a No Image sign coming up in the middle of the screen and the screen blacking out every few seconds. The second, I own the stacker case mentioned and I wish I didn't. The first problem are the side panels. They are very difficult to close, in fact that's where I got the blood blister on my right hand, having to push so hard to get the side closed all the way and my palm getting in the way when it finally moved. The second big problem is that 6 months after I bought the case the power button stopped working. It doesn't make the noise like it should anymore so it's obviously a mechanical problem, not, as I was hoping, a pulled wired. If you are looking for another case in that price range, the Lian Li PC-201 or the Cosmos 1000, even though it is also made by Cooler Master, are two good alternatives.

Radeon 3870 is what I want... but they are impossible to find, at least close to retail price.  3850 looks okay too, but I'd like more power and RAM.

I also wish I had an AM2 board for I could get that 5000 Black Box.  But I'm stuck with my 939, and dual-core CPU's for that socket are too expensive.