How To Shop For Computers and Electronics

Creative Zens on eBay 

Product Recommendation

Creative Labs is a really good company. I can really trust them with everything that has a soundcard built right in. I own a Creative Audigy 2 ZS, and I used to have a Sounblaster Live! as well as a Soundblaster PCI 64. Now I own a Creative Zen Vision:M. You can say that I really like the products from this company. Yes I do.

The only thing an iPod nano, or really, an iPod period can match up to in terms of quality of sound with Creative Labs is the Soundblaster PCI 64. Mine was manufactured in 1998. Just think how outdated that sounds for a second. Why would an MP3 player which is quite a new invention would have such outdated sound?

My experience with the iPods is with my DJ Style Headphones and them. My DJ style headphones are an $89 Sony MDR-V700s. I felt pretty sad, because these headphones can pick up on everything, but with this iPod, I couldn't even hear panning, it sounded like I was listening to crappy radio. It was pretty sad.

Now, from time to time, and even the first time I got my Vision:M, I tried them out with DJ Style headphones. I have a friend with a Creative Zen V. I didn't even need expensive headphones to be able to hear the quality of the sound for the songs. Goes the same for my Vision:M.

Most people think that it's size that matters, functionality that matters. But in reality, is that really true? In fact the Creative Zen V is smaller than the iPod Nano. The Vision:M is a bit bigger than the iPod Video. But I have so much functionality and so much quality with mine, that the iPod Video is just no comparision. Plus I paid less for my Vision:M.

So here is a list of MP3 players from Creative Labs (Prices vary depending on where you buy them at):

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Creative Audigy 2 ZS on eBay 

Product Recommendation

This soundcard is a nice, high quality soundcard. I own one and I will never go back to just poor quality integrated sound cards ever again. I paid $60 for this including shipping on ebay. With it I got a remote control, drivers and software, front panel which you can see here(copy and paste into browser): http://www.deviantart.com/deviation/46608476/,
and the soundcard you place inside your case yourself. Really nice sound quality as I've said before. The only thing I can tell you is that the problem youll have with this is trying to place it in a small case (MicroATX). Because of the quality, the soundcard is a little big. But in the end it's all worth it. Even with $20 pair of headphones, I saw a significant improvement in sound when I changed my soundcard. Crystal clear sound, ability to hear lower and higher frequencies (Especially with DJ Style headphones), SNR(Signal to Noise Ratio, more is better) is 108, above average. The SNR of an iPod Video is 90. The SNR of a Creative Zen Vision:M is 97.

All and all, I give this a 5/5!

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Logitech MX Revolution on eBay 

Product Recommendation

Logitech is a good brand to buy mouses, keyboards, and webcams from. I own an MX revolution and it works great!

Product: Logitech MX Revolution: Wireless mouse
Pros: I have used my mouse for more than 16 hours and it still didn't need charged. It has a rechargeable battery in it. You can go back and forth on webpages. You can configure the button on top to do whatever you want. you can configure the scroll wheel to be at any speed. You can configure the fastness of your mouse. Best of all, you can configure these seperately for each programs you use. No cords! Cords are evil and make the mouse move slower.

Cons: I couldn't exactly get a good signal with the receiver in the back of my computer and my mouse being so far at the front of my desk. I fixed this problem by placing the dongle in the front.

Stars: 4/5

Please be aware that certain computers, such as emachines, there may be USB ports on the front, but they are most likely not going to work. My computer was home-built, so my front USB ports do work. I have heard many complaints of front USB ports not working on pre-built machines. So if the product you have does not work, this may be the reason!

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Logitech Elite LE Keyboard on eBay 

Product Recommendation

I, myself, have this keyboard. It's a really nice, functional keyboard with more to it than the average keyboard. One of the key features I like about this keyboard, though so simple, is that the delete key takes up all of the space. Instead of having that dreadful insert key RIGHT BESIDE the backspace key. That's never fun. I like F-Keys because instead of going through start menu I can just press F-Lock key and then press whichever Fkey I want to press. I also like the calculator key because I use it a lot! I only wish they had a notepad key! ;) I like the volume: up, down, mute keys because it's easy access and quicker to use.

One problem I had was when I was taking this with me on a 4 hour long trip. I had wrapped the wiring around the keyboard and placed it in the same suit case as my MircoATX computer. I soon realized at my destination that my keyboard no longer worked. This is a con because I can do this to older keyboards and they have no shortage problems or anything.

I give this keyboard a 4/5!

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