Tech Bargain Thread: Post Your Deals Here!

Omar's Wacky Neighbor

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DDB Jr. has asked for a video card for Christmas. As far as I can tell it is sold out everywhere and the only way to get it in time for Christmas is to pay nearly double its value on ebay, which is way too much.

Not even sure what I'm asking other than for help if anyone knows a way to get stuff like this or whether there are websites I can look on other than just googling the name of the card. It is this:

https://www.newegg.com/asus-geforce-rtx-3070-tuf-rtx3070-o8g-gaming/p/N82E16814126461
Does it have to be the Asus brand, or will any 3070 from a major brand do? What's MSRP?
 

DennyDoyle'sBoil

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Does it have to be the Asus brand, or will any 3070 from a major brand do? What's MSRP, about $380-400?
I would have to ask him that question. I'm not even sure what it means. I'm going to see if I can get more information from him later today and why he is settled on this particular GPU.

It looks as though the card he wants is $550.
 

Couperin47

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I would have to ask him that question. I'm not even sure what it means. I'm going to see if I can get more information from him later today and why he is settled on this particular GPU.

It looks as though the card he wants is $550.
The way things are going right now, the odds are you will be lucky to find any mainline brand 3070 at full MSRP (forget discounts) by July 4th...maybe Labor Day.
 

tmracht

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The way things are going right now, the odds are you will be lucky to find any mainline brand 3070 at full MSRP (forget discounts) by July 4th...maybe Labor Day.
Agree. When 2-3 year old cards are selling for 250-300 the market is well and truly dire.
 

Omar's Wacky Neighbor

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I would have to ask him that question. I'm not even sure what it means. I'm going to see if I can get more information from him later today and why he is settled on this particular GPU.

It looks as though the card he wants is $550.
I saw the price on your newegg link, but I thought I had spotted an OOS price on another site for ~$400 (guessing it was a completely different 3070 with a very outdated or ComeOn price)

I see on asus.com that there have five models of the 3070, and they do list the TUF as $559

EDIT: it's a Hail, Mary, but set Notify Me alerts on several sites, including ebay; you never know what might pop up . I have a few of those alerts pay off a week or two ago when I was looking for a LP GTX 1650 (admittedly not as in demand as the 3070): I got alerts from Amazon, Walmart, Newegg, and Newegg on Ebay. Amazon and Walmart went OOS in short order, but Newegg and Newegg on Ebay lasted a while. But then again, I was looking for just any LP 1650 at MSRP.
 
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Harry Hooper

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FWIW, there's some "new in box" 3070s up on craigslist around $750, though not that specific Asus model.
 

tmracht

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Ok, many thanks everyone.
So no promises since so many vendors are just cancelling orders but if you're still looking I may have accidentally ordered 2 3060TI for $530 after all the additional costs last night. If Zotac honors a multicard order from their own website I would have one available once it arrives.
 

DennyDoyle'sBoil

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So no promises since so many vendors are just cancelling orders but if you're still looking I may have accidentally ordered 2 3060TI for $530 after all the additional costs last night. If Zotac honors a multicard order from their own website I would have one available once it arrives.
Wow — that is very cool. I think Mrs. DDB may have moved on and gotten him something else since it looked so unlikely we would get him the GPU but I will check with her when she is up.

Edit — sent you a p.m.
 
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Omar's Wacky Neighbor

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(apologies for the cross post)

If you need a last minute Secret Santa/Yankee Swap or stocking stuffer, Walgreens has Skullcandy Essential True Wireless earbuds for $10, with local instore pickup. To be on the safe side, since their instore inventory system has lots of holes, select "substitute with comparable product if OOS":

Blue

https://www.walgreens.com/store/c/skullcandy-jib-true-wireless-92-blue/ID=300410137-product

Black

https://www.walgreens.com/store/c/skullcandy-true-wireless-earbuds/ID=300403993-product

edit: DEAD, back up to $30.
 
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Harry Hooper

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Newegg has the ASUS VP249HE 24" Eye Care with Ultra Low Blue-Light Filter & Flicker-Free Frameless LED Backlit IPS Monitor for $130 --
plus $22 off w/ promo code 27STKNGT49, limited offer

LINK

Also on sale as one of the Shellshockers today only is the Nixeus REVEL FIT Gaming Mouse for $10 that goes for about $40 from most sellers.

LINK2
 
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Huntington Avenue Grounds

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Omar's Wacky Neighbor

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OK deal on a good motherboard/CPU, meh PSU and case, and windows license. You'll toss the existing low end/low cost RAM, SSD, and GPU, and upgrade it all yourself after it's delivered:

https://www.lenovo.com/us/en/desktops-and-all-in-ones/thinkcentre/m-series-sff/ThinkCentre-M75s-Gen-2/p/11JBCTO1WWENUS1/customize
Upcharge to Ryzen™ 7 PRO 4750G and 310W PSU, total comes to $999. THINKDESK45 brings it down to $550. Other money-off (e.g., ID.me) and cashback brings it down to just above $500.
 

Omar's Wacky Neighbor

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Dell Refurbished is offering 45% off any item $399 and up and 31% off any item $398 or less with coupon code NEWYEAR2021. This includes free shipping.
Due to 10th gen CPU, this might work out better for some folks:

https://outlet.us.dell.com/ARBOnlineSales/Online/InventorySearch.aspx?brandId=2202&c=us&cs=22&l=en&s=dfh&~ck=mn
Then use code 260410Ins to get another 10% off. Desktop i3-10100 starts at $247, i5-10400 starts at $370. While graphic cards are in short supply and way overpriced right now, RAM and SSD/NVMe are pretty reasonably priced.
 

Couperin47

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Due to 10th gen CPU, this might work out better for some folks:

https://outlet.us.dell.com/ARBOnlineSales/Online/InventorySearch.aspx?brandId=2202&c=us&cs=22&l=en&s=dfh&~ck=mn
Then use code 260410Ins to get another 10% off. Desktop i3-10100 starts at $247, i5-10400 starts at $370. While graphic cards are in short supply and way overpriced right now, RAM and SSD/NVMe are pretty reasonably priced.
Unless you literally only use anything you buy as a glorified smart phone, I implore you to spend the extra $40/year (amortized over just 3 years) and bypass any i3, you will not regret it.
 

Harry Hooper

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Unless you literally only use anything you buy as a glorified smart phone, I implore you to spend the extra $40/year (amortized over just 3 years) and bypass any i3, you will not regret it.
Yes, I can't see laying out new $ for an i3 machine at this point, except for maybe to do a Chromium OS conversion.
 

Couperin47

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Yes, I can't see laying out new $ for an i3 machine at this point, except for maybe to do a Chromium OS conversion.
People want cheap, especially with technologies they really don't understand. The market is flooded with stupidly underpowered computers. Far too many don't comprehend, but ask the average guy if he's interested in a nice compact car equipped with a Briggs & Stratton or even a quality Honda Dual V OHC 25 HP engine.
 
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LoweTek

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As mentioned, I did grab one of these. Got around to testing & playing with it in the past week or two. The software is actually quite good and easy to use. Bigest drawback? The decks are not auto reverse. I couldn't believe anything made this late in the manufacturing lifetime of cassette players would not have auto reverse.

Plus is: the software defaults to uncompressed WAV files. You can then use one of several re-format tools to compress it to MP3 or what ever you need. Tried a few audio and music tapes and they actually sound very good. Bonus.
 

Omar's Wacky Neighbor

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Target is clearing out $25 Skullcandy Spoke True Wireless Earbuds for $7.50. My mini Target has well over 15 available, and Brickseek shows them available at most Targets near me for that price. They were locked in the glass case, and the clearance sticker on them confirmed 7.50 without having to scan.

Granted these are very low end, but if you need a cheap pair to ruin or lose while running or working out, or for the kids, it's hard to go wrong for 7.50.

https://brickseek.com/target-inventory-checker/?sku=008-07-5035

EDIT: and Sam's Club has Apple Air Pods 2nd Gen w wireless charging case for $129, which is the price that some stores had on Black Friday, and IIRC is the lowest price we;ve ever seen with the wireless case.
 

Harry Hooper

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As mentioned, I did grab one of these. Got around to testing & playing with it in the past week or two. The software is actually quite good and easy to use. Bigest drawback? The decks are not auto reverse. I couldn't believe anything made this late in the manufacturing lifetime of cassette players would not have auto reverse.

Plus is: the software defaults to uncompressed WAV files. You can then use one of several re-format tools to compress it to MP3 or what ever you need. Tried a few audio and music tapes and they actually sound very good. Bonus.
Glad it worked out for you. I wonder if auto-reverse makes for a less durable drive mechanism.
 

LoweTek

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Glad it worked out for you. I wonder if auto-reverse makes for a less durable drive mechanism.
Could be. All I know is it forces me to pay manual attention to tapes with two sides during the recording process. Also, if there is any silent interlude in the tape, it sees it as a new track. Kind of a pain to undo.

The primary reason I got this was to transfer about 50 ECAC D2 Ice Hockey radio broadcast tapes from the 82--83 time frame to digital and put them on a website for the guys who may have played in those games to download or listen. It just means more work to get through the the transfers. Many of them are side 1 1st period, side 2 2nd period, additional tape side 1 third period, side 2 any OT etc. It might take me a year to get them all on a website as a result.

Any hints from anyone who has done this kind of thing appreciated. I have stagnant domains to use but but any hints or suggestions would be helpful.
 

Harry Hooper

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For anyone needing a PC for standard office purposes,

Adorama has the HP ProDesk 600 G3 Micro Tower with Windows 10 Pro (not Home) for $400.

TigerDirect has the same PC for $30 more which the ad claims comes with a 3-year warranty included.
 
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mr_smith02

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My colleague at school is in the market for a MacBook and is wondering if it is a bad idea to explore refurbished ones. Any thoughts, suggestions, or options you all could share?
 

luckiestman

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My colleague at school is in the market for a MacBook and is wondering if it is a bad idea to explore refurbished ones. Any thoughts, suggestions, or options you all could share?
Depends on what they want it for. Think I bought my wife an Air for around $900. Couldn’t find a deal at the time on a refurb I liked more than that. She has Air, I have MacBook ( before you assume I buy my wife worse shit than I buy myself, mine is work issued). I’m not anti refurb at all, think I recommended it here a while back in one situation but I think the Air is a fair deal, pretty good value for a solid machine.

edit: this was before m1 chip so might be more expensive now.
 
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mr_smith02

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Depends on what they want it for. Think I bought my wife an Air for around $900. Couldn’t find a deal at the time on a refurb I liked more than that. She has Air, I have MacBook ( before you assume I buy my wife worse shit than I buy myself, mine is work issued). I’m not anti refurb at all, think I recommended it here a while back in one situation but I think the Air is a fair deal, pretty good value for a solid machine.

edit: this was before m1 chip so might be more expensive now.
My colleague would be looking at the MacBook Air...I should have been more clear.
 

soxhop411

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My colleague at school is in the market for a MacBook and is wondering if it is a bad idea to explore refurbished ones. Any thoughts, suggestions, or options you all could share?
Refurbished MacBooks directly from apple are fine and are pretty much like new. From 3rd party sellers... not so much.

i would have no worries about going down that route (refurb from apple) if I needed to get one there.
 

The_Powa_of_Seiji_Ozawa

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Refurbished MacBooks directly from apple are fine and are pretty much like new. From 3rd party sellers... not so much.

i would have no worries about going down that route (refurb from apple) if I needed to get one there.
This. Apple certified refurbished directly from them is indistinguishable from new and have full warranty.

I would advise getting only the latest M1 generation at this point. But I don't think there are any M1 refurbs available. A base M1 Air can be had at Amazon or Costco (no membership required) for 949 right now.
 

Harry Hooper

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This. Apple certified refurbished directly from them is indistinguishable from new and have full warranty.

I would advise getting only the latest M1 generation at this point. But I don't think there are any M1 refurbs available. A base M1 Air can be had at Amazon or Costco (no membership required) for 949 right now.
DealNews is touting the MacBook Pro for $1,199 at Amazon.
 

The_Powa_of_Seiji_Ozawa

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DealNews is touting the MacBook Pro for $1,199 at Amazon.
Yes the price on the Pro has gone down a hundred bucks. Definitely worth considering. I would slightly recommend the Pro over the Air, but Mr. Smith's friend seems to want the Air. The Air is fanless, which means it might throttle itself. Some might consider the absence of a fan a positive thing though. Otherwise they are pretty comparable. For now the gap between the models on the M1 models isn't like it used to be on the Intel chips.
 

Omar's Wacky Neighbor

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Harry Hooper

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Sadly, another good source bites the dust: the PCMag Shop is no more. They offered absolutely Grade A refurb laptops. The one I bought there for my nephew a few years back was by all appearances 100% new from HP's unsold inventory.


The PCWorld Shop is still in operation.
 
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Harry Hooper

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It's a Kingston model, so not in Samsung/Intel/Crucial territory, but Newegg has the 240GB SSD on sale today (with promo code 93XQJ38) for $28.

Fry's Electronics has shut its doors, sadly.
 
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Harry Hooper

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If you're shopping for a beefy power supply, Newegg has the semi-modular EVGA 110-BQ-0850-V1 model good for 850W with a 7-year warranty for $89.99. Sale is through tomorrow either via Newegg.com or Newegg's eBay store.
 
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Harry Hooper

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15% off purchases of $50 or more at the Western Digital online store if you recycle some old hard drive tech in April.

Note: For whatever reason this promotion is not available for residents in the states of AL, IL, MA, and SC.
 

Omar's Wacky Neighbor

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For the DIYers and up-graders out there:

the proprietary (and underpowered at 250 W) PSU on my 8+ year old Dell PC died, so I checked ebay for a replacement. Found an OEM pull for $13 shipped, BUT what also came up in the search was some seller out of TX that was selling their own brand of upgraded proprietary PSUs for for what seems like a reasonable price. A 400W version of my PSU was only $29 shipped.

I have NO affiliation with this seller, but thought that someone who wants to upgrade might make use of this. Seller is kdmpower.