We're finally into 2022 and guess what... some things haven't changed. COVID is still as rampant as ever and we're still advised to stay close to home. That makes it harder for us to stick to some of our New Years Resolutions, like working out or having more fun. We've listed some deals that will hopefully make you a bit more productive, or at least make your life more enjoyable, while we're all trying to stay safe.
If there's any one piece of exercise equipment you should decide on, free weights would be a very good investment. These super popular dumbbells haven't been discounted for months. Investing in some exercise equipment at home means there's less of a reason to take the risk (and the extra cost) of going to your local gym. Because the Bowflex SelectTech dumbbells are adjustable, you don't need a rack of individual weights lying around. Each dumbbell can be adjusted from 2.5 pounds all the way to 52.5 pounds.
Do you want to work out but simply don't enjoy working out? Ring Fit Adventure is one way to get around this hurdle. Ring Fit incorporates a huge variety of excellent workout exercises disguised as an RPG game. An epic adventure awaits you slaying monsters and dragons, tackling new levels, traversing different environments, acquiring powerups and skills, all the while toning your abs and burning calories
Best Buy is offering a free 128Gb Micro SDXC Memory Card when you pick up a 12 month Nintendo Switch Online Family Membership. Nintendo Switch Online is required for online play in games like Super Mario Kart or Splatoon, downloading custom maps in Super Mario Maker 2, playing free retro SNES games, saving your game data to the cloud, and much more. The "Family" membership allows for up to 8 different account holders, not necessarily in the same household. The 128GB memory card is basically required as well; it will increase your storage capacity by quadruple the stock amount.
This Black Friday deal is back. The XPG Gammix S70 Blade is one of the more recently released SSDs that's specifically designed for your PS5 storage upgrade. It also happens to be the lowest priced PS5-compatible 1TB SSD with heatsink available. In fact, it's even less expensive than most compatible SSDs without heatsink. The S70 Blade boasts transfer rates up to 7,400 MB/s and a PCIe Gen4 interface. It includes a PS5-compatible low-profile aluminum heatsink. It's not beefy, but it works and it fits.
For a limited time, Best Buy is offering $80 off the 1TB model of the popular WD SN850 SSD with heatsink. This is currently the most popular (and probably the best) SSD to get for your PS5 storage upgrade. It's blazing fast drive with transfer speeds rated at up to 7,000 MB/s and a PCIe Gen4 interface and it comes preinstalled with a heatsink.
Even at retail price, the Cooler Master NR200p is already considered a heck of a deal compared to other mini ITX cases out there. The NR200P is easily the most newbie-friendly mini ITX computer case on the market. Although it's a bit larger than the smallest mini ITX cases, it's definitely much smaller than any mATX case you'll find. It's less than 12" tall and about 7.5 inches wide. Don't let the diminutive size fool you. I'm currently using this tiny case to house an Intel Core i7-12700K processor and RTX 3080 video card. There's space for up to seven 120mm fans, both perforated steel and tempered glass windowed side panels are included, and there's even a PCI riser if you want to mount your video card vertically.
It's rare to see this LEGO set in stock on Amazon. This is the largest LEGO Star Wars set ever, is an Ultimate Collector Series item, and has always sold out very quickly. It weighs a massive 29 pounds, measures 33" long and 22" wide, and consists of 7,541 pieces. Remember the LEGO Death Star model in Spider-Man: Homecoming? This set has nearly double the brick count. It's also due to be discontinued in the relative near future. Yes, this is very very pricey for a LEGO set, but if you actually factor in the cost per LEGO for an Ultimate Collector's Series set, it's actually pretty good.
Battlefield 2024 was released in mid November and already we're seeing a huge price drop. The game has received much criticism, and most of it is justified, but it's still a fun game. Since I myself am a diehard Battlefield fan, I've still put in over a hundred hours into the game. The biggest advantage of this game over prior games is that it is crossplay; so there's a bigger combined player base for every platform. Get the PC version from Green Man Gaming or the Xbox and PlayStation versions from Amazon.
Alternatively go with an RTX 3060 equipped PC and save $250. Besides the video card, the difference between the two configs is the amount of RAM and storage: this config is equipped with 16GB compared the 32GB for the pricier config and includes no hard drive (only a 512GB SSD). If you're planning to play games at 1080p, the RTX 3060 is definitely the card to get. The RTX 3060 handles that resolution almost as well, even at frame rates of up to 144Hz. It's about as powerful as the previous generation's RTX 2060 SUPER and almost as powerful as the RTX 2070 SUPER. It can definitely handle 1440p gaming as well, although if you want to push 100+ fps, the RTX 3060 Ti is still the better option.
AT&T Fiber offers internet speeds that's faster than the highest tier cable internet at a lower price. It's similar to Verizon FIOS except that it's more widely available. Get up to gigabit speeds for $60/month for the first 12 months and $80 thereafter. I currently subscribe to this service in the San Francisco area and I'm averaging 900Mbps downstream, 800Mbps upstream at the modem. Previously I had been signed up for the highest tier Comcast Xfinity cable internet and I was getting around 300Mbps downstream, 30Mbps upstream. Whereas I had paid about $95/mo with taxes and fees from Comcast, I'm currently only paying $60/mo (taxes and fees are already rolled into that cost) with AT&T. Sign up online and you'll get a bonus $250 rewards card and a free 1-year HBO Max subscription so you can watch The Matrix Resurrections when it comes out this week.
Continue reading...
Bowflex SelectTech 552 Adjustable Dumbbells
If there's any one piece of exercise equipment you should decide on, free weights would be a very good investment. These super popular dumbbells haven't been discounted for months. Investing in some exercise equipment at home means there's less of a reason to take the risk (and the extra cost) of going to your local gym. Because the Bowflex SelectTech dumbbells are adjustable, you don't need a rack of individual weights lying around. Each dumbbell can be adjusted from 2.5 pounds all the way to 52.5 pounds.
Ring Fit Adventure for Switch
Do you want to work out but simply don't enjoy working out? Ring Fit Adventure is one way to get around this hurdle. Ring Fit incorporates a huge variety of excellent workout exercises disguised as an RPG game. An epic adventure awaits you slaying monsters and dragons, tackling new levels, traversing different environments, acquiring powerups and skills, all the while toning your abs and burning calories
Nintendo Switch Online Family Membership and 128GB Memory Card
Best Buy is offering a free 128Gb Micro SDXC Memory Card when you pick up a 12 month Nintendo Switch Online Family Membership. Nintendo Switch Online is required for online play in games like Super Mario Kart or Splatoon, downloading custom maps in Super Mario Maker 2, playing free retro SNES games, saving your game data to the cloud, and much more. The "Family" membership allows for up to 8 different account holders, not necessarily in the same household. The 128GB memory card is basically required as well; it will increase your storage capacity by quadruple the stock amount.
Cheapest PS5-Compatible SSD with Heatsink: XPG GAMMIX S70 Blade 1TB M.2 PCIe Gen4 SSD
This Black Friday deal is back. The XPG Gammix S70 Blade is one of the more recently released SSDs that's specifically designed for your PS5 storage upgrade. It also happens to be the lowest priced PS5-compatible 1TB SSD with heatsink available. In fact, it's even less expensive than most compatible SSDs without heatsink. The S70 Blade boasts transfer rates up to 7,400 MB/s and a PCIe Gen4 interface. It includes a PS5-compatible low-profile aluminum heatsink. It's not beefy, but it works and it fits.
Most Popular PS5-Compatible SSD with Heatsink: WD Black SN850 1TB M.2 PCIe Gen4 SSD
For a limited time, Best Buy is offering $80 off the 1TB model of the popular WD SN850 SSD with heatsink. This is currently the most popular (and probably the best) SSD to get for your PS5 storage upgrade. It's blazing fast drive with transfer speeds rated at up to 7,000 MB/s and a PCIe Gen4 interface and it comes preinstalled with a heatsink.
Cooler Master NR200P Mini ITX Computer Case
Even at retail price, the Cooler Master NR200p is already considered a heck of a deal compared to other mini ITX cases out there. The NR200P is easily the most newbie-friendly mini ITX computer case on the market. Although it's a bit larger than the smallest mini ITX cases, it's definitely much smaller than any mATX case you'll find. It's less than 12" tall and about 7.5 inches wide. Don't let the diminutive size fool you. I'm currently using this tiny case to house an Intel Core i7-12700K processor and RTX 3080 video card. There's space for up to seven 120mm fans, both perforated steel and tempered glass windowed side panels are included, and there's even a PCI riser if you want to mount your video card vertically.
LEGO Star Wars 7,500-Piece Millennium Falcon Set
It's rare to see this LEGO set in stock on Amazon. This is the largest LEGO Star Wars set ever, is an Ultimate Collector Series item, and has always sold out very quickly. It weighs a massive 29 pounds, measures 33" long and 22" wide, and consists of 7,541 pieces. Remember the LEGO Death Star model in Spider-Man: Homecoming? This set has nearly double the brick count. It's also due to be discontinued in the relative near future. Yes, this is very very pricey for a LEGO set, but if you actually factor in the cost per LEGO for an Ultimate Collector's Series set, it's actually pretty good.
Battlefield 2042 Starting at $34.57
Battlefield 2024 was released in mid November and already we're seeing a huge price drop. The game has received much criticism, and most of it is justified, but it's still a fun game. Since I myself am a diehard Battlefield fan, I've still put in over a hundred hours into the game. The biggest advantage of this game over prior games is that it is crossplay; so there's a bigger combined player base for every platform. Get the PC version from Green Man Gaming or the Xbox and PlayStation versions from Amazon.
Dell XPS RTX 3060 Gaming PC for $1299
Alternatively go with an RTX 3060 equipped PC and save $250. Besides the video card, the difference between the two configs is the amount of RAM and storage: this config is equipped with 16GB compared the 32GB for the pricier config and includes no hard drive (only a 512GB SSD). If you're planning to play games at 1080p, the RTX 3060 is definitely the card to get. The RTX 3060 handles that resolution almost as well, even at frame rates of up to 144Hz. It's about as powerful as the previous generation's RTX 2060 SUPER and almost as powerful as the RTX 2070 SUPER. It can definitely handle 1440p gaming as well, although if you want to push 100+ fps, the RTX 3060 Ti is still the better option.
Sign up for AT&T Fiber Gigabit Internet for $60/Month and Get a Bonus $250 Gift Card, Free HBO Max
AT&T Fiber offers internet speeds that's faster than the highest tier cable internet at a lower price. It's similar to Verizon FIOS except that it's more widely available. Get up to gigabit speeds for $60/month for the first 12 months and $80 thereafter. I currently subscribe to this service in the San Francisco area and I'm averaging 900Mbps downstream, 800Mbps upstream at the modem. Previously I had been signed up for the highest tier Comcast Xfinity cable internet and I was getting around 300Mbps downstream, 30Mbps upstream. Whereas I had paid about $95/mo with taxes and fees from Comcast, I'm currently only paying $60/mo (taxes and fees are already rolled into that cost) with AT&T. Sign up online and you'll get a bonus $250 rewards card and a free 1-year HBO Max subscription so you can watch The Matrix Resurrections when it comes out this week.
Continue reading...