# Aldi P4 3Ghz - Â£849



## christtopher (May 7, 2002)

Anyone else seen this? Its a special next week, would anyone with hardware knowledge care to comment? They've had good reviews in the past apparently....


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## saint (Dec 6, 2002)

erm - nothing wrong with a P4 32ghz - 800 fsb - depends on what is included with the rest of the package.


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## christtopher (May 7, 2002)

Opps sorry, thought I posted a link. Â Here it is:

http://www.aldi.co.uk/specials_01_11/offers_nav.htm

there's also a fair bit of software included that isn't mentioned on the website. Inc XP home.

HD is Seagate.
DVD Rom is Sony
DVD-RW is Pioneer.


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## saint (Dec 6, 2002)

Shite - HD
Good - DVD-Rom
Good - DVD-RW
Good - Video Card
Good RAM

Seems ok - but don't expect the Seagate drive to last too long


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## master_t (Sep 23, 2002)

> Shite - HD
> Good - DVD-Rom
> Good - DVD-RW
> Good - Video Card
> ...


What HD do you recommend? I have a mate that swears by Seagates cos they seem to be the quietest. I've had Maxtor and IBM in the past and have never failed (but are a tad noisy). The IBM one has lasted 5 years (and the comp has been on for 5 years!)


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## saint (Dec 6, 2002)

Seagate are great in SCSI format - in budget PCs Seagate are the pits.

Go for something like the Western Digital JB range of HD or atleast the brand new Fujitsu (IBM) drives.


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## master_t (Sep 23, 2002)

Are Western Digital/Fujitsu drives quite though?


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## saint (Dec 6, 2002)

Yes


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## master_t (Sep 23, 2002)

> Yes


Cheers


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## Dubcat (Jun 10, 2002)

saIntt - would you recommend the Aldi PC at that price? 
W.


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## saint (Dec 6, 2002)

Hrm - its ok - but when u remember that you will have to add another Â£100 for a 17" Crt or Â£250 for a 17" LCD the price does not look too good. Most of the spec that is given in the add is acutally all on the motherboard, its standard these days to have a huge range of stuff on them. 
Over all it llooks a little bit expensive.


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## christtopher (May 7, 2002)

Thanks SaInTT, knew I could rely on you for an opinion on PCs  I personally think they will fly out, and there might be some margin to be made on ebay!


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## Dubcat (Jun 10, 2002)

ChrisTTopher - so you are going to buy some and flog'em on ebay?

Saintt - thanks for the advice  Probably saved me from making a mistake.

W.


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## aidb (Mar 19, 2003)

> Are Western Digital/Fujitsu drives quite though?


Are you doing a bit of music recording?


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## master_t (Sep 23, 2002)

> Are you doing a bit of music recording?


Nope! I just hate noisy computers and seeing as mine is always on, it'd be a good idea to have a quiet HD as it would get on my nerves at night


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## aidb (Mar 19, 2003)

> Nope! I just hate noisy computers and seeing as mine is always on, it'd be a good idea to have a quiet HD as it would get on my nerves at night Â


Understood.


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## christtopher (May 7, 2002)

> ChrisTTopher - so you are going to buy some and flog'em on ebay?


Hmm.. probably not, but would expect some to appear on there just like the GPS PDAs.

Only PC I'm looking for at the moment is one for my living room...


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## racer (Feb 3, 2003)

Slightly unrelated but I bought last years version of this offer(2.66GHz 120GB etc for Â£750). I went into several PC stores major chains and small independents and asked them what price they would give for a similar spec machine and nobody could come close.
Unless you know people in the trade or have other cheap sources I'd be surprised if you'd get a better price. (I suggest you do your own checks for your own peace of mind) 
I only had one problem with the CD burner, I called up the manufacturer's help line and they sent an engineer out to swap the part before 9.00am about 3 days later.  Overall I'm very pleased, although it is amazing what 1 year and an extra Â£100 will buy now.


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## saint (Dec 6, 2002)

Â£750 - but how much was your monitor?


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## racer (Feb 3, 2003)

> Â£750 - but how much was your monitor?


I didn't bother changing my screen, fair point though. There may be better deals out there for people who want a full package however most folks considering a new purchase will probably have a screen that is 3-4 years old. Upgrading that is an entirely a matter of choice rather than necessity.


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## Dubcat (Jun 10, 2002)

I actually want a very specific monitor that is not available bundled with any system. If that is the case is this a good deal then? Also, is there any way to pre-order this Christtopher or do you just have to be the first one in the shop?
W.


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## saint (Dec 6, 2002)

Â£850 for the PC - Â£300 + for a decent brand LCD - therefore > Â£1k - I think not. :-/


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## master_t (Sep 23, 2002)

I reckon it's worth it! I did a quick check on ebuyer to see how much it would cost for the parts to build yourself and it came up to around 850, if not a bit more.


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## Dubcat (Jun 10, 2002)

Just put together a pc at aria.co.uk and found that it was more expensive too. Am confused now. This does seem like a good deal.


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## racer (Feb 3, 2003)

I was in exactly the same position last year, just take the plunge or you might miss it. ;D


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## christtopher (May 7, 2002)

> I actually want a very specific monitor that is not available bundled with any system. Â If that is the case is this a good deal then? Â Also, is there any way to pre-order this Christtopher or do you just have to be the first one in the shop?
> W.


You have IM!


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## beavis2003 (May 23, 2003)

Hi all.

Just a bit of feedback on Aldi PC's. I bought one at the beginning of the year (P4 2.66Ghz for Â£649 - reduced from the ones they had for sale at Christmas). I've found it to be a fantastic machine, no problems with the 120gig Seagate disk, very fast and very quiet machine, lots of useful extras inc Digital Card readers, front usb, tv card etc. I compared to building individually and I could not come close to the spec and I've got to say the build quality is great. If you are thinking of getting one, get there early on Thursday (I think most shops open at 9am - get there at 8.30ish at the latest!) - as there was a queue when I bought one and also I had a mate who missed out last time, left it a day and they had all gone. He has since managed to get a pc from Aldi at a later date and is very happy with it.

If you need further information, let me know.

Regards
B.


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## christtopher (May 7, 2002)

Am informed that they will be taking orders from people who don't get there in time.


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## master_t (Sep 23, 2002)

Does anyone know if the motherboard on this PC will fit into an ATX case? I'm thinking of building my own customised PC and would like to extract the components off the aldi PC and put it into a new case.

Cheers


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## Dubcat (Jun 10, 2002)

I translated some german sites with google and the motherboard is shown as being either Intel or Sis chipset. Hoping it is Intel!


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## master_t (Sep 23, 2002)

Just had a thought..... is the price (Â£849) inclusive of vat?


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## beavis2003 (May 23, 2003)

Yes, all [email protected] are inclusive of VAT.

Cheers 
B.


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## nutts (May 8, 2002)

Saw an advert for a 3.06 ghz Dell in the paper... looked a good spec and included a 17" flatscreen monitor and 512k ram, DVD writer, 80gb hd, etc

Â£799 inc vat and delivery.


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## saint (Dec 6, 2002)

There - nice one NuTTS - my point exactly


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## master_t (Sep 23, 2002)

Just checked Dell and tried to configure a system to match the Aldi spec and it still came up more expensive. The dell one even included free 256mb memory, Â£100 off, 40gb smaller HD and a single format DVD writer (DVD+R).

:-/


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## nutts (May 8, 2002)

I know I did the same :

I'm guessing that there is a special price for a particular pc... I'll dig out the ad if I can and post some details.


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## gunner (May 18, 2002)

Why not build it yourself?

A roughly comparable PC from www.ebuyer.co.uk costs about Â£636, the spec is AMD XP2700 SO worth it see below !

Qty Product QuickFind Stock Price Line Total 
Super Flower White ATX Tower Case with Front Hydraulic Door 050311 171 Â£19.23 Â£19.23 
Chic Office Keyboard PS/2 Black 049648 246 Â£6.49 Â£6.49 
Hitachi 180GXP 120Gb 7200rpm ATA100 2mb Cache Hard Drive - OEM 043158 49 Â£53.93 Â£53.93 
MSI 651M-L SKT 478 up to 3.06GHz Video/Sound/lAN OEM 054458 19 Â£37.74 Â£37.74 
Ebuyer 15ins TFT Multimedia 0.29dpi with 3year onsite Swap out Warranty 055252 373 Â£179.99 Â£179.99 
Microsoft XP Home OEM With Service Pack 1A 050264 1048 Â£55.88 Â£55.88 
Crucial 512 DDR266 PC2100 DIMM 042144 52 Â£41.09 Â£41.09 
Creative Sound Blaster 5.1 Digital/pci Wave Sound Card OEM 043912 415 Â£20.61 Â£20.61 
Kinyo Surround Sound Speaker System With Wired Remote 055675 58 Â£16.12 Â£16.12 
AMD Athlon XP2700 333FSB 256Cache Retail Boxed Inc Heatsink & Fan with 3year Warranty 044568 28 Â£79.36 Â£79.36 
Benq 52x24x52x IDE DRIVE - Retail Box 045308 120 Â£20.25 Â£20.25 
- remove item Cart Total: Â£530.69

Deliver my Order by: Mon 1st Dec 2003 (Standard Service)Wed 3rd Dec 2003 (Super Saver)Sat 29th Nov 2003 (Saturday Delivery) 
Shipping Band: Â£5.99 
Approx Cart Weight: 35.12Kg 
Shipping Surcharge: Â£4.80 
SubTotal: Â£541.48 
VAT: Â£94.81 
Total: Â£636.29 
(click if you have changed any quantities)


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## master_t (Sep 23, 2002)

> Why not build it yourself?
> 
> A roughly comparable PC from www.ebuyer.co.uk costs about Â£636, the spec is AMD XP2700 SO worth it see below !
> 
> ...


An AMD PC is cheaper, but some ppl prefer pentiums. 

PS: you forgot the DVD-RW drive in your spec! ;D


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## Dubcat (Jun 10, 2002)

That PC is not even CLOSE to be comparable!

First of all its an Athlon (that is quite a bit slower than the p4 3.0ghz) on 333fsb motherboard!

The keyboard and mouse is not wireless.

The HD is inferior.

etc.

SainTT - Can you configure up a system with that spec for less money? Please post it - not much time left to make a decision now. I couldn't spec up an equivalent system for less... help! ???


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## saint (Dec 6, 2002)

Winter - yup np - I'll post details of stuff tomorrow for you.


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## Dubcat (Jun 10, 2002)

cheers Saintt! New I could rely on you ;D

Wintermute


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## Dubcat (Jun 10, 2002)

Hi Saintt - any joy? D-day for decision making is tomorrow morning.

W


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## saint (Dec 6, 2002)

Am doing some pics atm of the system I'm currently building. I also have some meet pics to upload too so I'll post link once all is done.

Cheers


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## Dubcat (Jun 10, 2002)

Coooolio. So i've gone off the aldi one if you can build a better one for less. I'll just copy whatever system you specify I guess.

Main thing for me is a good gfx card so I can play the latest games, a pentium (3.0 seems to be most cost effective) with 800mhz fsb, and a DVD+-R. It would be nice to have the other stuff too but the above is essentail


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## saint (Dec 6, 2002)

Ok - Wintermute - got the page finally nearly complete.

Spec -

Intel P4 3.0 Ghz 800 FSB
512 Mb PC 3200 Ram
120 GB WD HD
ATI 9700 Pro Video Card
On-Board 6 Channel Sound
Pioneer or Sony 4x DVD-RW/CD-RW
Card Reader
17" LCD Monitor
Wireless Mouse & Keyboard
Creative P380 Speakers
Epson C64 Colour Printer
Windows XP Home

Â£850

If only I could get my ass off Starwars Galaxies I would get it done quicker.


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## racer (Feb 3, 2003)

I've had a 4 page A3 flier delivered with my local free paper today with all the details of this offer, I'll put a photocopy in the post to anyone who is interested. 
Send me an IM and it will be done.


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## saint (Dec 6, 2002)




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## Dubcat (Jun 10, 2002)

> Ok - Wintermute - got the page finally nearly complete.
> 
> Spec -
> 
> ...


Which motherboard? Where would I get all this stuff from?


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## saint (Dec 6, 2002)

Mobo is generic - but it supports SATA too 

With regards to stuff - most can be picked from

www.dabs.com

and

www.hamiltone.co.uk

I however order approx Â£3k worth of kit a month - so alot of times I use the business type suppliers where I get cost prices etc etc.


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## nutts (May 8, 2002)

These are prices from CCL computers http://www.cclcomputers.biz/acatalog/

DVDRW Â Â Â - Pioneer DVR-106 (Dual Writer) OEM Ref: CDR4004 Â - Â£86.60
case Â Â Â - Aopen QF50C Silver Midi Tower Ref: CAS3004 Â Â Â - Â£35.59
keyboard/mouse Â Â Â - Genius Wireless TwinTouch+ Optical Value USB Ref: KBD0032 Â Â Â - Â£35.41

mobo Â Â Â - MSI 865PE Neo2-FIS2R SKT 478 M'Board Â Â Â - Â£113.23
harddrive Â Â Â - 80Gb W/Digital WD800BB 7200 RPM Â Â Â - Â£49.57
harddrive Â - 120Gb W/Digital WD1200JB (8MB Cache) Ref: HDD0022 7200 RPM Â - Â£81.24
sound Â Â Â - Sound Blaster Audigy 2 OEM Ref: SND1003 Â Â Â - Â£55.41
graphics Â Â Â - 128Mb XFX Geforce FX5600 Ultra Ref: VGA1020 with DVI + VIVO Â Â Â - Â£130.87
mem Â Â Â - 512Mb DDR (PC3200) 400 Ref: RAM0010 Â Â Â - Â£64.61
PSU Â Â Â - 350W ATX PFC-350A Morex PSU Ref: PSU0005 Â Â Â - Â£19.09
Chip Â Â Â - 3.0Ghz Intel P4 Retail (Skt 478 800Mhz FSB) Ref: CPU6009 
Northwood Core 512k L2 Cache" Â Â Â - Â£219.21


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## saint (Dec 6, 2002)

See - a self build can easily be done


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## racer (Feb 3, 2003)

Does a self build have a 3 year guarantee? ???


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## saint (Dec 6, 2002)

Guarantee - of course everything has -

Printers & Monitors usually have 3 years with on-site service

HDS - 3 years too

CPUs - up to 5 years

RAM - same as CPUs

This ain't no Dixons where u have to pay for an existing warranty


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## nutts (May 8, 2002)

If those that are interested in a self build, take the spec of each component and search the web, posting best prices and their source, eventually there will be a list of prices to source the kit at. Everyone can go and buy their "cheap" self build pc...

I've started with some prices for some of the components from ccl, can anyone get them cheaper elsewhere?


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## saint (Dec 6, 2002)

If anyone needs help in building their own PC etc - just gimme a shout.


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## Dubcat (Jun 10, 2002)

I was thinking of building the following which comes to about 1300 pounds:

USB 2.0 6in1 Mem Card Reader BLK EX

Â£15.00

Lian-Li PC-6070A

Â£109.00

16X Samsung DVD-ROM Black

Â£22.00

Intel Pentium 4 3000 (HT,RET,800)

Â£183.00

Sony DWU-14A DVDRWÂ± OEM Black

Â£85.00

Â£85.00
Remove

3Â½" Black Floppy Drive

Â£9.00

Â£9.00
Remove

ATI Radeon 9800 Pro 128MB DDR AGP

Â£229.00

160G Maxtor DMax+9 SATA150/7200 8MB

Â£79.00

Microsoft Wireless Desktop Optical

Â£37.00

Corsair 512MB XMS3700 DDR SDRAM

Â£86.00

Asus P4P800 Deluxe

Â£89.50

Zalman Ultra Quiet PSU 400W

Â£68.00

Creative SB Audigy 2 ZS

Â£75.00

I'm still really in two minds over the Aldi PC  I am thinking that whatever PC I buy now will be outdated in 1 year when the 64 bit stuff and pci express stuff takes off so I should not go overboard right now - the 3.0 p4 sounds ideal.. argh.. i have 1k sitting in my wallet burning a hole in my pocket.

W


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## saint (Dec 6, 2002)

No need for 2 DVDs - just get the DVD-RW

Good RAM

Good Video

Get a Western Digital HD over the Maxtor

Great Sound card

Get Creative Digital 5.1 speakers to go with it


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## saint (Dec 6, 2002)

Oh if u get the Sony DVD-RW u get a change of fronts to make it black too


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## vlastan (May 6, 2002)

Amir,

Why do you need a floppy when you get dvd and cd re-writer?

What about the monitor?


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## Dubcat (Jun 10, 2002)

Sod it - decided not to buy any computer for now. Going to wait until I've bought a house first  Might convert to the world of Mac too...
W.


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## saint (Dec 6, 2002)

lol


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## Dubcat (Jun 10, 2002)

hahahha shut it! No laughing damn it! ;D All that anguish for nothing  Still your advice was much appreciated.

By the way - as far as the SFF stuff goes - I really like the Shuttle Spacewalker XPC SB75G2 with a P4...

W.


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## christtopher (May 7, 2002)

Ok then, who wants to help me build a nice quiet home theater PC with a nice looking case? Â Am willing to pay for the service! Â 

Basic requirements:
Nice case
Needs to be silent or very quiet (possibly use Fan Mate or similar)
Big HD
TV out ports (s-video etc)
Doesn't have to be too powerful really.
Will probably add a digital TV card with mpeg2 h/w decoding.
LAN connectivity.

The Aldi PC spec would be fine (possibly too powerful) but probably too noisey and ugly!


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## saint (Dec 6, 2002)

me










or


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## christtopher (May 7, 2002)

Thought so Â 

I've actually just edited my post with more info!

The Tranquil is nice, but is not powerful enough. Â Do you reckon I can get cheaper if I build my own? I like the cases tho.


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## Dubcat (Jun 10, 2002)

what about the hush or cubid cases? Hush means going mini-itx - the M10000 nemeiah stuff IS powerful enough for PVR and Tivo like funcitonality. If you go cubid iyou can P4 but it won't be as cool running or quiet.


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## christtopher (May 7, 2002)

Yeah I really like the hush boxes, but for the software I want to use, they aren't powerful enough to do real time decoding of mpeg2 (so no live TV). Even though they have h/w decoding, the software doesn't yet support it


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## Dubcat (Jun 10, 2002)

buy a sky+!  There is no subscription cost now. Then just make a super cheapo mini-itx (dont even bother with the 10000 for this) box for your mp3's and digital photo viewing. If you just want mp3 and photo viewing you could definitely build a fanless one that is totally silent


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## christtopher (May 7, 2002)

> buy a sky+


..but where's the fun in that!? 

That would mean, no frustration, no tinkering around and messing things up, no late night troubleshooting, and something the gf could use...I wanna get my hands dirty, I'm an SE remember!!


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