For the longest time J's been whingeing that his laptop that he bought just over three years ago is really slow.
I can't remember how many times i've heard him complain that the graphic card is so bad that even the most basic games out on the market can't run on his good-for-nothin' laptop. And that each time he gets kicked out of a game it's because his computer was lagging.
I think it all started to go down hill when he had that argument with his ex on the phone over two years ago. And in a fit of rage, he threw the phone at the screen [by accident of course] resulting in a massive crack right in the middle of it. But due to financial constraints, he never got around to fixing it and has since been using an external monitor.
Fast forward to now...
For the benefit of those silent readers who have just tuned in, my relationship with my boyfriend's obsessive gaming has been everything but good. In fact, at one point it even tore us apart and i threatened to leave.
But i'm happy to report that ever since the ultimatum and those 6 days he had to go away for business, life at home has been going relatively better than i ever expected.
Perhaps it was the distraction of trying to find a new apartment in the last month which has forced him to spend less time playing Battle Ships/World of Warcraft/chatting with his online friends. Or maybe my tears finally struck a nerve and he actually thinks our relationship is worth fighting for.
*shrugs*
Anyway, for the last two months J's been going into Mediamarkt [a store that sells electronics] nearly every week hoping the sales person would reduce the price. And each time he's gone, he has been successful.
Then yesterday he went back and spoke to another sales person and he was even able to knock down the price lower!
So when J's Christmas and birthday money finally arrived yesterday, J called me to ask whether i wanted to accompany him to Mediamarkt so he could finally get the laptop he's been dying for.
I was having a relatively good day when he called, so instead of being a bitch and throwing sarcastic hateful remarks about his gaming as i often do, i agreed quite happily to go with him.
I've realised i've wasted many precious hours of my life arguing about how i've felt ignored due to his new habit/hobby. So now i just have to remind myself to stay calm and get on with whatever i was doing.
And anyway, seeing that it's not my money to begin with, he should be able to do pretty much whatever he likes [within reason of course].
If i had my way, the mouse would be silent. Unfortunately, there doesn't seem to be one.
Many times i've been beyond annoyed with how loud his intense clicking has been. I can tell his computer is lagging not only by his yelling but by those irritating repetitive forceful clicks. Currently his desk is less than a metre away from the sofa in the living room, so you can imagine how distracting that can be when one is trying to watch TV.
Plus the sound travels so well through the apartment that even if i'm in the next room with the door shut i can still hear it.
A.N.N.O.Y.I.N.G!
We eventually settled with a Microsoft Wireless Mobile Mouse. It's not the best for gaming but for the time being it'll do. It still makes a little noise when he clicks but no where near as annoying/loud as the one he currently has.
It retails for 41.99 € but J managed to bring the price down to 40 €.
Next was trying to find the correct sized laptop protector. He settled for a 12.1 inch Philips Netbook sleeve with HeatProtect in yellow/grey, the other option was lined in pink. Apparently the HeatProtect layers prevent heat build-up and protects the netbook from scratches.
And last but definitely not least, unveiling the 11.2 inch Alienware M11x by Dell and inspecting the contents of the box.
As they were about to make the final deal the sales guy who originally said he could lower the price down to 800 €, suddenly forgot he ever mentioned it.
But lucky for J, J had gone into the store earlier to speak to another salesperson and he also agreed to 800 €. Thinking that J was probably lying, the guy that was serving him went to go ask his colleague if he did quote that amount.
He did.
And because of J's persistence the guy included the Philips Netbook sleeve with HeatProtect which retails for 19.99 € for FREE! So for the Alienware M11X + Microsoft Wireless Mobile Mouse, it only cost him 840 €.
Dell is selling it for 949 €. And although cyberport.de is selling the exact same machine for much cheaper at 699 €, the amount stated doesn't include delivery charges. Plus one has to wait several days maybe even a week or more until it arrives.
So we get home and i start preparing dinner whilst J's already unpacking the items out of the box. Minutes later he calls out to me and says there's a problem.
Oh shit. Now what?
Placed on a flat surface the laptop wobbled side to side if i touched one corner. And whoever screwed on the casing from underneath didn't do a good job because it wasn't even screwed on properly.
J was so annoyed that he didn't see these mistakes at the store, he got back into the car in a huff and drove to Mediamarkt which so happened to be only 5 minutes away.
20 minutes or so later, he's back with a new laptop and the whole procedure of unveiling the ultimate netbook gaming machine repeats itself.
And would you believe it, J finds ANOTHER mistake!
The side of the screen where the glass meets the edge was not aligned properly causing it to stick out.
At this point i'm starting to think maybe J's horoscope was right when it said that he should refrain from buying electronics during December due to malfunctions. I tell him this and that just irritates him even further.
Oops. Bad timing.
So he repacks everything up... again and drives to the store for the third time believing that all good things must come in threes. But this time wishing harder that he doesn't find anymore mistakes as that's the last of its kind at the store or at any of the other nearby branches.
After having installed everything at the store and triple checking the hardware, he's back within half an hour.
And here it is...
J's new toy accompanied by his 23 inch Samsung SyncMaster F2380 monitor that i bought for him last month from his brother for 130 €.
For those who are interested, above is the review.
So what do i think?
Well the resolution and the machine itself is far more superior than what J used to have. Although a wee bit small for my liking, i can only hope for J's sake that it means less frustrations and less shouting.
But another positive angle would be should we ever be traveling by train anywhere again, J can easily carry his new laptop with him and we can watch movies or use the Internet should we get bored.
So now that he has possession of the ultimate travel-size gaming laptop, how do i feel it will affect our relationship?
I dunno but all i do know is he woke up this morning in a better mood. I'm not sure whether the laptop had anything to do with it or that him and his team won yesterday's online battle.
I guess only time will tell.
I can't remember how many times i've heard him complain that the graphic card is so bad that even the most basic games out on the market can't run on his good-for-nothin' laptop. And that each time he gets kicked out of a game it's because his computer was lagging.
I think it all started to go down hill when he had that argument with his ex on the phone over two years ago. And in a fit of rage, he threw the phone at the screen [by accident of course] resulting in a massive crack right in the middle of it. But due to financial constraints, he never got around to fixing it and has since been using an external monitor.
Fast forward to now...
For the benefit of those silent readers who have just tuned in, my relationship with my boyfriend's obsessive gaming has been everything but good. In fact, at one point it even tore us apart and i threatened to leave.
But i'm happy to report that ever since the ultimatum and those 6 days he had to go away for business, life at home has been going relatively better than i ever expected.
Perhaps it was the distraction of trying to find a new apartment in the last month which has forced him to spend less time playing Battle Ships/World of Warcraft/chatting with his online friends. Or maybe my tears finally struck a nerve and he actually thinks our relationship is worth fighting for.
*shrugs*
Anyway, for the last two months J's been going into Mediamarkt [a store that sells electronics] nearly every week hoping the sales person would reduce the price. And each time he's gone, he has been successful.
Then yesterday he went back and spoke to another sales person and he was even able to knock down the price lower!
So when J's Christmas and birthday money finally arrived yesterday, J called me to ask whether i wanted to accompany him to Mediamarkt so he could finally get the laptop he's been dying for.
I was having a relatively good day when he called, so instead of being a bitch and throwing sarcastic hateful remarks about his gaming as i often do, i agreed quite happily to go with him.
I've realised i've wasted many precious hours of my life arguing about how i've felt ignored due to his new habit/hobby. So now i just have to remind myself to stay calm and get on with whatever i was doing.
And anyway, seeing that it's not my money to begin with, he should be able to do pretty much whatever he likes [within reason of course].
***
So first protocol was to find a mouse that didn't click so loud.If i had my way, the mouse would be silent. Unfortunately, there doesn't seem to be one.
Many times i've been beyond annoyed with how loud his intense clicking has been. I can tell his computer is lagging not only by his yelling but by those irritating repetitive forceful clicks. Currently his desk is less than a metre away from the sofa in the living room, so you can imagine how distracting that can be when one is trying to watch TV.
Plus the sound travels so well through the apartment that even if i'm in the next room with the door shut i can still hear it.
A.N.N.O.Y.I.N.G!
We eventually settled with a Microsoft Wireless Mobile Mouse. It's not the best for gaming but for the time being it'll do. It still makes a little noise when he clicks but no where near as annoying/loud as the one he currently has.
It retails for 41.99 € but J managed to bring the price down to 40 €.
Next was trying to find the correct sized laptop protector. He settled for a 12.1 inch Philips Netbook sleeve with HeatProtect in yellow/grey, the other option was lined in pink. Apparently the HeatProtect layers prevent heat build-up and protects the netbook from scratches.
And last but definitely not least, unveiling the 11.2 inch Alienware M11x by Dell and inspecting the contents of the box.
As they were about to make the final deal the sales guy who originally said he could lower the price down to 800 €, suddenly forgot he ever mentioned it.
But lucky for J, J had gone into the store earlier to speak to another salesperson and he also agreed to 800 €. Thinking that J was probably lying, the guy that was serving him went to go ask his colleague if he did quote that amount.
He did.
And because of J's persistence the guy included the Philips Netbook sleeve with HeatProtect which retails for 19.99 € for FREE! So for the Alienware M11X + Microsoft Wireless Mobile Mouse, it only cost him 840 €.
Dell is selling it for 949 €. And although cyberport.de is selling the exact same machine for much cheaper at 699 €, the amount stated doesn't include delivery charges. Plus one has to wait several days maybe even a week or more until it arrives.
***
So we get home and i start preparing dinner whilst J's already unpacking the items out of the box. Minutes later he calls out to me and says there's a problem.
Oh shit. Now what?
Placed on a flat surface the laptop wobbled side to side if i touched one corner. And whoever screwed on the casing from underneath didn't do a good job because it wasn't even screwed on properly.
J was so annoyed that he didn't see these mistakes at the store, he got back into the car in a huff and drove to Mediamarkt which so happened to be only 5 minutes away.
20 minutes or so later, he's back with a new laptop and the whole procedure of unveiling the ultimate netbook gaming machine repeats itself.
And would you believe it, J finds ANOTHER mistake!
The side of the screen where the glass meets the edge was not aligned properly causing it to stick out.
At this point i'm starting to think maybe J's horoscope was right when it said that he should refrain from buying electronics during December due to malfunctions. I tell him this and that just irritates him even further.
Oops. Bad timing.
So he repacks everything up... again and drives to the store for the third time believing that all good things must come in threes. But this time wishing harder that he doesn't find anymore mistakes as that's the last of its kind at the store or at any of the other nearby branches.
After having installed everything at the store and triple checking the hardware, he's back within half an hour.
And here it is...
J's new toy accompanied by his 23 inch Samsung SyncMaster F2380 monitor that i bought for him last month from his brother for 130 €.
For those who are interested, above is the review.
***
So what do i think?
Well the resolution and the machine itself is far more superior than what J used to have. Although a wee bit small for my liking, i can only hope for J's sake that it means less frustrations and less shouting.
But another positive angle would be should we ever be traveling by train anywhere again, J can easily carry his new laptop with him and we can watch movies or use the Internet should we get bored.
So now that he has possession of the ultimate travel-size gaming laptop, how do i feel it will affect our relationship?
I dunno but all i do know is he woke up this morning in a better mood. I'm not sure whether the laptop had anything to do with it or that him and his team won yesterday's online battle.
I guess only time will tell.
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