What should I buy for Christmas? What would you like to receive?

Talk about everything else besides Stratovarius here in English. Please try to put more serious topics here, and silly topics in the Spam section.
Post Reply
Pancio
Member
Posts:280
Joined:Mon Sep 08, 2014 2:51 am
Location:Reggio Emilia, Italy
Contact:
What should I buy for Christmas? What would you like to receive?

Post by Pancio » Wed Nov 18, 2020 10:08 pm

Hi guys,

Christmas is coming to town and, before Christmas, we will hit Black Friday with tons of discounts everywhere.

I'm planning to spend a lot, this year, since I "need":

- New gaming laptop
- New MacBook Pro
- New smartphone
- Xbox Series X plus Cyberpunk 2077
- Tons of games for Switch
- Magic the Gathering "Commander Legends" boxes to draft with friends
- Rig for my studio (Soundcraft mixer, cables, plug-ins and stuff)
- New guitar


Following priorities I should buy first a new smartphone, a new MacBook and studio rig, following my brain I should save as much money as possible, following my heart I should buy a new guitar, the new Series X and a new gaming laptop (my current one has GTX1080 and is way too obsolete).

What should I do/buy, in your opinion?

User avatar
AAAAAAAAAA
Sr. Member
Posts:3585
Joined:Fri Aug 22, 2008 9:37 pm

Re: What should I buy for Christmas? What would you like to receive?

Post by AAAAAAAAAA » Wed Nov 18, 2020 10:32 pm

Holy mackerel! No wonder Italy is in a financial crisis. :lol:

Do you have time for Switch, PC gaming and Xbox Series X? Maybe double down on either PC or Xbox gaming. In fact, Xbox is already not competitive with the latest gen graphics cards and will only fall further and further behind, so I would skip it.

And as far as gaming laptop, if you have a macbook already how about a gaming desktop? More power at a better price. You can repurpose the gaming desktop as a workstation, and it has long term upgrade potential.

About smartphones I don't know. What's good these days? I have a OnePlus 6T. Still holding up ok. I'm on my phone all day, and even then I would never pay for a flagship phone. Too costly! I would probably go for a Xiaomi midrange phone.

User avatar
robocop
Sr. Member
Posts:1225
Joined:Sun Jun 09, 2019 12:12 am

Re: What should I buy for Christmas? What would you like to receive?

Post by robocop » Wed Nov 18, 2020 10:56 pm

Buy a $100 smartphone. Get a Bluetooth keyboard, mouse and game controller for it and play emulators on it. Make sure to buy one that has the option of HDMI out if you get the adapter to use it on a monitor. Get a cheap guitar. Stick with what you have for now with the gaming since you said previously you do not have enough free time to do what you want. If you do want to still do the gaming...the old previous gen consoles and games will be getting cheaper soon and there’s tons of good titles to still play through. But I assume you have them already? My mistake. I’m a broke bastard and always try to do things the cheapest. With the recording stuff, stick with free plugins. With the magic the gathering, is that something you think you’d use regularly?

I get that you would buy all of it. But did you remember that maybe you’ll need emergency money in case something happens? Something breaks, you get sick, home repair, you lose your job? With COVID, nothing is certain anymore. Just tread carefully!! :P

Pancio
Member
Posts:280
Joined:Mon Sep 08, 2014 2:51 am
Location:Reggio Emilia, Italy
Contact:

Re: What should I buy for Christmas? What would you like to receive?

Post by Pancio » Thu Nov 19, 2020 12:04 am

AAAAAAAAAA wrote:
Wed Nov 18, 2020 10:32 pm
Holy mackerel! No wonder Italy is in a financial crisis. :lol:

Do you have time for Switch, PC gaming and Xbox Series X? Maybe double down on either PC or Xbox gaming. In fact, Xbox is already not competitive with the latest gen graphics cards and will only fall further and further behind, so I would skip it.

And as far as gaming laptop, if you have a macbook already how about a gaming desktop? More power at a better price. You can repurpose the gaming desktop as a workstation, and it has long term upgrade potential.

About smartphones I don't know. What's good these days? I have a OnePlus 6T. Still holding up ok. I'm on my phone all day, and even then I would never pay for a flagship phone. Too costly! I would probably go for a Xiaomi midrange phone.
Let's say that I have saved enough money to be able to buy everything without having to worry about borrowing from the bank; my family has never done it and I certainly won't be the one to start :lol:

No, I don't have enough time at all for gaming, I can rarely play 6/8 hours/week without doing much else.
Regarding PC/Xbox I don't know really: the XSX can't compete against NVIDIA 30xx but it's a different concept and also a different price: with gamepass and streaming services can Xbox beats a gaming PC? I think I'll go with PC first for sure, but I'm thrilled :oops:
The thing about "desktop vs laptop" is a little bit more clear, to me: I used to have a gaming desktop but I never really used it for gaming, the idea of ​​having another fixed place to play/work is terrible and I will end up not using it since I always had separated devices for everything: my TV with consoles in the living room, iMac with Logic in the studio, MacBook to work on the go and my old gaming laptop, which I lent to my girlfriend atm, ready to be used everywhere since 100 square meters are not enough.
I wish I can enjoy desktop but the only thing I like about desktops is to assemble them :roll:

I currently have a Huawei Mate 10 Pro with major display problems but I'm planning to buy OnePlus 8T or Xiaomi Mi 10 so mid-range smartphones. China for the win :lol:


Mmm, I'm almost convinced about PC, Smartphone and studio rig

User avatar
AAAAAAAAAA
Sr. Member
Posts:3585
Joined:Fri Aug 22, 2008 9:37 pm

Re: What should I buy for Christmas? What would you like to receive?

Post by AAAAAAAAAA » Thu Nov 19, 2020 12:17 am

Pancio wrote:
Thu Nov 19, 2020 12:04 am
No, I don't have enough time at all for gaming, I can rarely play 6/8 hours/week without doing much else.
Regarding PC/Xbox I don't know really: the XSX can't compete against NVIDIA 30xx but it's a different concept and also a different price: with gamepass and streaming services can Xbox beats a gaming PC? I think I'll go with PC first for sure, but I'm thrilled :oops:
You're right: its different playing games in the living room with a controller on the couch. You could make that work with a PC but a console seems more natural. And with Xbox Game Pass, you might not have to spend too much on games.

My problem with laptops in general is, in most cases the build quality is very poor. A decent desktop can run 5+ years no problem, but every laptop I bought has become a smoldering pile of overheating junk within 2-3 years. Apple is somewhat of an exception, but you've got to pay big money for it.

For what its worth, I don't have any consoles right now and an aging gaming PC that i've made some selective upgrades to...I could use some upgrades too. I'm hearing rumors of a Nintendo Switch Pro next year. That might be interesting.

The only nice thing I have is my 33" ultrawide monitor. :lol:

User avatar
AAAAAAAAAA
Sr. Member
Posts:3585
Joined:Fri Aug 22, 2008 9:37 pm

Re: What should I buy for Christmas? What would you like to receive?

Post by AAAAAAAAAA » Thu Nov 19, 2020 12:19 am

robocop wrote:
Wed Nov 18, 2020 10:56 pm
Buy a $100 smartphone. Get a Bluetooth keyboard, mouse and game controller for it and play emulators on it.
When I read this sentence immediately I thought you're trolling. :lol:

Imagine telling someone who's shopping for a branch new Xbox and a Macbook Pro that they should get a $100 smartphone and play Donkey Kong Country on it. :lol:

But I actually agree with you. I am super frugal and hate spending money.

User avatar
robocop
Sr. Member
Posts:1225
Joined:Sun Jun 09, 2019 12:12 am

Re: What should I buy for Christmas? What would you like to receive?

Post by robocop » Thu Nov 19, 2020 12:36 am

AAAAAAAAAA wrote:
Thu Nov 19, 2020 12:19 am
robocop wrote:
Wed Nov 18, 2020 10:56 pm
Buy a $100 smartphone. Get a Bluetooth keyboard, mouse and game controller for it and play emulators on it.
When I read this sentence immediately I thought you're trolling. :lol:

Imagine telling someone who's shopping for a branch new Xbox and a Macbook Pro that they should get a $100 smartphone and play Donkey Kong Country on it. :lol:

But I actually agree with you. I am super frugal and hate spending money.
Guess I’m just satisfied with basic stuff and don’t need anything fancy. I meant to use a hdmi out adapter, also.

Pancio
Member
Posts:280
Joined:Mon Sep 08, 2014 2:51 am
Location:Reggio Emilia, Italy
Contact:

Re: What should I buy for Christmas? What would you like to receive?

Post by Pancio » Thu Nov 19, 2020 12:53 am

robocop wrote:
Wed Nov 18, 2020 10:56 pm
Buy a $100 smartphone. Get a Bluetooth keyboard, mouse and game controller for it and play emulators on it. Make sure to buy one that has the option of HDMI out if you get the adapter to use it on a monitor. Get a cheap guitar. Stick with what you have for now with the gaming since you said previously you do not have enough free time to do what you want. If you do want to still do the gaming...the old previous gen consoles and games will be getting cheaper soon and there’s tons of good titles to still play through. But I assume you have them already? My mistake. I’m a broke bastard and always try to do things the cheapest. With the recording stuff, stick with free plugins. With the magic the gathering, is that something you think you’d use regularly?

I get that you would buy all of it. But did you remember that maybe you’ll need emergency money in case something happens? Something breaks, you get sick, home repair, you lose your job? With COVID, nothing is certain anymore. Just tread carefully!! :P
I do have a lot of retroconsoles and I also have a PS4Pro, a Nintendo Switch and a Nintendo Switch Lite but I don't like the PS4Pro at all :|
I love retrogames but I'm also a sick collector and I'm not able to enjoy emulators, I cannot even use the NES and SNES mini my girlfriend bought a couple of years ago, so I usually play the last or second-last gen (I'm not a snob, it's difficult for me not using something physical, that's why I always buy physical copies) :?
With guitars I always bought cheap and this time I wanted to buy an handcrafted guitar but the price is what holds me back the most: 6k euros for a mediocre player is just madness, even for someone rich, and I consider myself mediocre.
But the temptation is strong :lol:

Studio rig is somewhat complicated since I don't need effects or amps but a new mixing console (my old X32 broke a couple of months ago), some mics and lots of cables and stuff plus a series of not-so-cheap plug-ins :roll:

You're right about saving money and COVID situation: there is certainly a lot of economic and job insecurity and problems could arise suddenly.
But this year things went well for me, economically, and between the production bonuses and the extra work as a sound engineer I managed to have enough extra money to invest in "luxury things" since my bank account is covered enough and the emergency fund is still intact.
Add to this the fact that medical expenses are practically free as they are already prepaid with taxes (in Italy health is public and there are no health insurance to pay, except in private clinics).
To be clear, I'm not rich at all, I managed to save money for years :lol:

User avatar
robocop
Sr. Member
Posts:1225
Joined:Sun Jun 09, 2019 12:12 am

Re: What should I buy for Christmas? What would you like to receive?

Post by robocop » Thu Nov 19, 2020 12:57 am

I see. Well...just remember even if you do buy it all, you may still want more and more. That's the reality for me at least. :lol:

Pancio
Member
Posts:280
Joined:Mon Sep 08, 2014 2:51 am
Location:Reggio Emilia, Italy
Contact:

Re: What should I buy for Christmas? What would you like to receive?

Post by Pancio » Thu Nov 19, 2020 1:33 am

robocop wrote:
Thu Nov 19, 2020 12:57 am
I see. Well...just remember even if you do buy it all, you may still want more and more. That's the reality for me at least. :lol:
Nono, I wish I could buy everything but I need this sort of brainstorm to make less rash decisions :lol:

Pancio
Member
Posts:280
Joined:Mon Sep 08, 2014 2:51 am
Location:Reggio Emilia, Italy
Contact:

Re: What should I buy for Christmas? What would you like to receive?

Post by Pancio » Thu Nov 19, 2020 1:33 am

What should Flavio buy instead?

User avatar
Motha-faka
Sr. Member
Posts:1130
Joined:Sat Aug 22, 2015 10:42 pm
Location:In the ass of the world, Argentina

Re: What should I buy for Christmas? What would you like to receive?

Post by Motha-faka » Thu Nov 19, 2020 2:57 am

I don't know, maybe i will rebuild one pc based in Intel, my actual pc have some bottleneck about data transfer, sadly Pro Tools not work with AMD, you all know that AMD it's pissing on Intel (My Pro Tools version only works with Core I7 or I9, very expensive is pro tools) and I dont will go for the Apple why the new Ones come ARM (Smartphone processors) :shock: , and for me is bad this, i'm more X86 processor.

sadly argentina is in Crisis, here is like 4th Reich song

Let's just press more money
Don't worry about the inflation
We got to have more weapons to carry on
Unemployment and sorrow cannot be avoided at this point
But thins will be so different when they are
Ruling the world


1 american Dollar = 164 argentinian Pesos (Is a Nightmare the Inflation) and build a new PC in Argentina is like Buy a Car in United States

I hope not Scare you about Argentina :lol:

User avatar
AAAAAAAAAA
Sr. Member
Posts:3585
Joined:Fri Aug 22, 2008 9:37 pm

Re: What should I buy for Christmas? What would you like to receive?

Post by AAAAAAAAAA » Thu Nov 19, 2020 3:04 am

Motha-faka wrote:
Thu Nov 19, 2020 2:57 am
I don't know, maybe i will rebuild one pc based in Intel, my actual pc have some bottleneck about data transfer, sadly Pro Tools not work with AMD, you all know that AMD it's pissing on Intel (My Pro Tools version only works with Core I7 or I9, very expensive is pro tools) and I dont will go for the Apple why the new Ones come ARM (Smartphone processors) :shock: , and for me is bad this, i'm more X86 processor.

sadly argentina is in Crisis, here is like 4th Reich song

Let's just press more money
Don't worry about the inflation
We got to have more weapons to carry on
Unemployment and sorrow cannot be avoided at this point
But thins will be so different when they are
Ruling the world


1 american Dollar = 164 argentinian Pesos (Is a Nightmare the Inflation) and build a new PC in Argentina is like Buy a Car in United States

I hope not Scare you about Argentina :lol:
HAHAHA! Unemployment and sorrow. Hope its not that bad, but when I checked, you are unfortunately right. It looks like the currency has hyperinflated in the last few years. :(

You're right that the new Macbook's come with an ARM processor, but it looks like its a high performance processor- better than the previous generation and certainly faster than most phones.

User avatar
robocop
Sr. Member
Posts:1225
Joined:Sun Jun 09, 2019 12:12 am

Re: What should I buy for Christmas? What would you like to receive?

Post by robocop » Thu Nov 19, 2020 6:50 am

Pancio wrote:
Thu Nov 19, 2020 1:33 am
robocop wrote:
Thu Nov 19, 2020 12:57 am
I see. Well...just remember even if you do buy it all, you may still want more and more. That's the reality for me at least. :lol:
Nono, I wish I could buy everything but I need this sort of brainstorm to make less rash decisions :lol:
Ok. :lol:
If you have the money, what do you think you'd enjoy the most? Maybe write out a percentage out of 100% how much you like each thing. The highest ones on the list should be what you pick. :wink:

Pancio
Member
Posts:280
Joined:Mon Sep 08, 2014 2:51 am
Location:Reggio Emilia, Italy
Contact:

Re: What should I buy for Christmas? What would you like to receive?

Post by Pancio » Thu Nov 19, 2020 2:16 pm

AAAAAAAAAA wrote:
Thu Nov 19, 2020 3:04 am
Motha-faka wrote:
Thu Nov 19, 2020 2:57 am
I don't know, maybe i will rebuild one pc based in Intel, my actual pc have some bottleneck about data transfer, sadly Pro Tools not work with AMD, you all know that AMD it's pissing on Intel (My Pro Tools version only works with Core I7 or I9, very expensive is pro tools) and I dont will go for the Apple why the new Ones come ARM (Smartphone processors) :shock: , and for me is bad this, i'm more X86 processor.

sadly argentina is in Crisis, here is like 4th Reich song

Let's just press more money
Don't worry about the inflation
We got to have more weapons to carry on
Unemployment and sorrow cannot be avoided at this point
But thins will be so different when they are
Ruling the world


1 american Dollar = 164 argentinian Pesos (Is a Nightmare the Inflation) and build a new PC in Argentina is like Buy a Car in United States

I hope not Scare you about Argentina :lol:
HAHAHA! Unemployment and sorrow. Hope its not that bad, but when I checked, you are unfortunately right. It looks like the currency has hyperinflated in the last few years. :(

You're right that the new Macbook's come with an ARM processor, but it looks like its a high performance processor- better than the previous generation and certainly faster than most phones.
Exactly, ARM processors are way more efficient than Intel or AMD so less consumption=lower temperature=almost no throttle=better overall performances/Watt.
Keep in mind that Switch can handle The Witcher 3 on a 5 Watt socket while PS4 is 134 Watt (yes, on PS4 the game is better but not 26 times better) :lol:
The only two things that bugs me are that the architectural difference will surely slow down the conversion of applications a lot (at least for some developers more interested in Windows) and this first generation is a sort of experiment and I don't like Apple experiment at all :roll:
But it's also true that my old Mac is too slow and I need a better one and I'm not convinced about the previous gen :~(
robocop wrote:
Thu Nov 19, 2020 6:50 am
Pancio wrote:
Thu Nov 19, 2020 1:33 am
robocop wrote:
Thu Nov 19, 2020 12:57 am
I see. Well...just remember even if you do buy it all, you may still want more and more. That's the reality for me at least. :lol:
Nono, I wish I could buy everything but I need this sort of brainstorm to make less rash decisions :lol:
Ok. :lol:
If you have the money, what do you think you'd enjoy the most? Maybe write out a percentage out of 100% how much you like each thing. The highest ones on the list should be what you pick. :wink:

The problem is that I do have priorities but my priorities are different from what I would actually like to buy.
So I need two different graphics:

One for "What I like the most" and one for "What I need the most" then I should cross the data and see how it turns out :lol:

Rationally I would say:

Mac for working, Smartphone because mine is almost dead and studio rig since I need to replace stuff already dead and, you know, productivity always comes first.

Instinctively I would say:

Xbox, Gaming notebook and guitar

Making the right compromise I would say:

Gaming notebook, Smartphone and rig with MacBook and Xbox later to see possible problems (on the backs of early adopters) :oops:

Too much rationalization for a bunch of Christmas' present? :lol:

User avatar
NeverendingAbyss
Sr. Member
Posts:4840
Joined:Mon Sep 29, 2008 10:41 pm
Location:Betty White will outlive the queen.

Re: What should I buy for Christmas? What would you like to receive?

Post by NeverendingAbyss » Thu Nov 19, 2020 4:25 pm

Personally I could use a new computer chair. The one that I have I got it for free from a school library giveaway. After one hour of sitting I have to get up and/or lay down because I can feel my lower back begging for comfort.

What I would give is my river of pee. :wink:
What the fuck did you just fucking say about me, you little bitch?!

User avatar
robocop
Sr. Member
Posts:1225
Joined:Sun Jun 09, 2019 12:12 am

Re: What should I buy for Christmas? What would you like to receive?

Post by robocop » Thu Nov 19, 2020 5:23 pm

Pancio wrote:
Thu Nov 19, 2020 2:16 pm

The problem is that I do have priorities but my priorities are different from what I would actually like to buy.
So I need two different graphics:

One for "What I like the most" and one for "What I need the most" then I should cross the data and see how it turns out :lol:

Rationally I would say:

Mac for working, Smartphone because mine is almost dead and studio rig since I need to replace stuff already dead and, you know, productivity always comes first.

Instinctively I would say:

Xbox, Gaming notebook and guitar

Making the right compromise I would say:

Gaming notebook, Smartphone and rig with MacBook and Xbox later to see possible problems (on the backs of early adopters) :oops:

Too much rationalization for a bunch of Christmas' present? :lol:
Ahh! I do this in my head when buying stuff. Some days you just have to go with the flow and hit buy even if you're undecided. I was going to add that maybe stick with the gaming laptop instead of getting the Mac if you want to game. The most important thing is if you have a working phone. Just that I mean in case you have an emergency. Of course you could use Wi-Fi calling at the same time.
NeverendingAbyss wrote:
Thu Nov 19, 2020 4:25 pm
Personally I could use a new computer chair. The one that I have I got it for free from a school library giveaway. After one hour of sitting I have to get up and/or lay down because I can feel my lower back begging for comfort.

What I would give is my river of pee. :wink:
Same. I need a desk too. But don't put your back through hell. It will come back to bite you in the ass. I did that my entire life on the computer starting at 16. It may be my height at the same time. Anyway, I wish chairs were cheaper. :cry: My back gets so bad some days I can't function for a week. Or walk. Protect your back. :red:

User avatar
AAAAAAAAAA
Sr. Member
Posts:3585
Joined:Fri Aug 22, 2008 9:37 pm

Re: What should I buy for Christmas? What would you like to receive?

Post by AAAAAAAAAA » Thu Nov 19, 2020 5:29 pm

I do want a new PC that I can use both for work and gaming, but can't really justify it right now. I have a PC with 16GB RAM and Core i7-6700 I bought years ago, that is still working fine. I upgraded it last year with a 1TB SSD and a Radeon RX 5700, and hardly have time for games these days anyway. The only problem is, my new ultrawide monitor is too many pixels for my hardware to drive it at a high framerate. But truthfully, after spending 50+ hours a week sitting in front of the computer, I just can't play games on it anymore. I want to get up and do something else like get some exercise, take a walk, cook, etc.

User avatar
robocop
Sr. Member
Posts:1225
Joined:Sun Jun 09, 2019 12:12 am

Re: What should I buy for Christmas? What would you like to receive?

Post by robocop » Thu Nov 19, 2020 9:41 pm

AAAAAAAAAA wrote:
Thu Nov 19, 2020 5:29 pm
I want to get up and do something else like get some exercise, take a walk, cook, etc.
I’m getting an exercise bike for Christmas. Already have a treadmill. It’s hard to justify sitting longer and doing some bullshit thing rather than getting up and doing whatever. Some kids can sit there and watch Netflix (and chill) for days while scrolling on Instagram. :lol:

Stimulating yourself (not pumping off lol) and your mind will make you feel a hell of a lot better than rotting on a computer. It’s the motivation that’s hard to find if you’re stuck in a rut or used to doing absolute nothing. I used to play quake live online when it was free and had to do hand stretches and eye stretches from playing it too much. :lol: Pointless shit. :eyes

Post Reply