So with my birthday coming up, that means I'll be getting some money, and I'm thinking of buying something, THe only thing is, only 2 of these things are cheaper than $100, and I don't want to lose all my money. So these are the things i need help deciding on, and only 1 of them: 1)A TV for my room (a smaller one, probably around 32", somewhere around $250) 2)A new, refurbished laptop. Preferably a higher end one, but if anyone want to tell me where mine is on the scale, let me know; I'll put the DxDiag info as an attachment. 3)Megaman Star Force Black Ace 4)A year of PSN + A PS4 Headset 5)An Elgato Capture Card. I can record walkthroughs of my games and all that. So yeah, not a lot of cheap things. The megaman is probably the cheapest, but since I did the dumb move of selling mine, I now have to spend at least $30 to get one back. So help me out KHV, I need help deciding.
Unless you plan on being super dedicated with youtube/streaming buying a capture card is a gigantic waste of money. Also TV's are nice
That's a tough one. Unless your laptop/computer at the moment is 10+ years old and barely functions, you're not going to be able to find a worthy replacement, let alone a high-end laptop in the $300-400 price range, regardless of if it's refurbished or not. I'd say a TV for your room if you don't currently have one. Always nice to be able to relax in bed and watch the tube. c:
It really depends on what you want/need the most. If your laptop isn't cutting it for you anymore, I think that should be your priority since you'll likely use that the most out of all your choices here. @Misty is your best bet for computer related questions and deals, lol. For PS Plus, Target has a nice deal running atm ($40). Headset wise, I use this and it's also $40. The sound quality is extremely clear and it's pretty easy to setup and use.
Yeah, I was going to ask Misty for help with the laptop if I went for it, but that's still a big "if". Also, nice headset, though I was going to go for a slightly more expensive one just because I can get a discount at Target (granted it's still more, but that's not all of it), plus I was looking for a wireless because I already have too much around me while I'm playing the PS4, so I don't need wires right now. Although if I get a TV in my room, I'll be able to have all my stuff next to me, including my laptop. Eventually all of this would come together, but it's all bits and pieces of what I can use that are all really expensive
Laptops are generally just a pain in the butt sometimes. Yours doesn't seem outdated to me, and a budget laptop bought these days isn't going to offer a compelling difference in speed or specs. If you don't mind being stationary you could save for a gaming PC, but either way, if you're going to buy a new computer you should invest enough that you won't have to replace it in a few years. If you game online a lot, headsets are pretty much a must have. I bought the first of Sony's wireless headsets and it works great with my PS4 -- I would have maybe gone to the Pulse Elite but I found mine on eBay for $35 which is a steal. Their new Gold headset has gotten crazy good reviews though it's still pricey. Wireless headsets will run you a fair amount though, I will warn you about that. I love my capture card even if I'm not an avid streamer or anything. The quality of the PS4's sharing stuff is nice but not great, and I like the flexibility that my capture card offers -- I'm not bound by the limitations of the PS4. Plus I wouldn't want to use the PS4 for commentaries or anything like that. Quick screenshots and the occasional "wow I want to preserve that moment" are done great by the PS4 but if you want to do more than that a capture card is a good investment. I have an Elgato and I love it, IMO best capture card on the market. Pretty sure you can get them refurb from Walmart for $110. The TV is a good option too though, from a convenience and usefulness standpoint. Hope some of this helps ~
Actually, I've decided at this point that I'm going to get the TV, as well as the Capture Card some time fairly soon after. It's just that if I have the TV and can play all my stuff in my room, and finally have all of my things together instead of half of it on one end of the house and vice versa, then I can get a capture card and record walkthroughs/LP's (okay, the LPs are not very likely, or at the very least, just because some games might not be as fun without a little commentary, but that's still up in the air in my idea head). Especially of games like dot hack, where there's really no good walkthrough videos of GU, and Legend of Dragoon as well. I know a lot of people do 100%, but there's definitely some games I wouldn't be able to do, like Legend of Dragoon (Faust can burn in Hell, that stupid boss. There's no way I'm going to put away how many hours it would take to get enough money to buy the armor you need for that fight. Oh Lord no. People can google Faust from someone else if they want that). But I think one of the things I'd really like to figure out is how to record 3DS games. That's the most diverse collection I have right now, and I think it'd actually be somewhat fun. I just wish I knew how it worked. Some people have perfect quality videos, like Chuggaconnroy, and he uses Black Magic capture cards, but those are too expensive for me. I just hope I can find some way to make it work
Correct. Since the 3DS doesn't have a video out you either need to use a camera to record what is coming off the screen (not recommended), or mod the system to look at the signal on the way to the screen. If you decide to go that route I highly recommend this site as it works well and the guy who does it is super helpful (he even just sent me free replacement screws when mine fell out well after he had worked on it). However at $245 it is pretty pricey for a device that by definition will only work with one system, and is well over the price range you were talking about earlier.
Oh, I actually saw that exact same thing when looking how to record, but I didn't think that was really the only good way to do it. Guess that one will have to wait. Kind of sucks, but I wouldn't mind recording stuff like Link Between Worlds or longer games like Devil Survivor
Well you could always make monetizeable videos and try to earn your money back. roughly 250,000 views on adsense would pay for it, and there's big demand for 3DS captures because not many people buy the capture card
well, I just paid 231 dollars for a TV, and the Elgato is 175 (with shipping and tax), and that's as much as I'm willing to pay. I used my savings for the TV, and most of my birthday money is for the Elgato. If I were to pay another 200+, I'm just going to have to wait.
