5 Gadgets You Can’t Skimp On (And How to Save Money Buying Them)

The Financiapocalypse ca n’t kibosh Christmas , but it can certain as hell wet-nurse some of the joy out of it . At the very least , it ’s probably make you reconsider just how much you wanna spend on toy for yourself and others this vacation season . You ’re probably looking to cut street corner here and there , ondollar - store Christmas Light Within , iPod knockoffsand the comparable . That ’s all fine and peachy , but we ’ve made a list of things you ca n’t open to cheap out on , because doing so will bite you in the nooky afterward . Still , since we like you , we ’re also sharing how to save a bit of money in the process , so the whole not - cheaping - out affair does n’t hurt as much .

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Graphics Cards

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When you ’re configuring a laptop online , you get a short ton of choice unless it ’s a Mac ( ooooo burning ) . Anyway , the pop wisdom is that juicing the processor is always the good agency to allocate your dollars to boost performance , since more MHz is more betterer , correct ? Wrong . Take this Dell Studio form here . Spending $ 75 on the distinct ATI Mobility Radeon is a room better bribe than $ 50 200MHz elevate to the processor .

The performance difference those duo hundred megahertz buys you is negligible , while a distinct computer graphic bill from ATI or Nvidia will present serious performance welfare over Intel ’s integrate graphics crap . This is peculiarly true if you do even light 3D gaming , HD video playback or anything else gently graphically intensive like campaign Vista ’s Aero port ( oooo another burn ) . Also , if you contrive to keep a laptop computer for more than two years , buying the graphic card cook it more future - proof , since Windows 7 — and many resource - intensive apps — will snaffle hold of art card for supernumerary computing muscularity , too .

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storage ( aka RAM ) is another place to sock your computing dollars instead of blindly relegate up the megahertz . Adding RAM almost always gives your computer a more noticeable functioning boost for the same Mary Leontyne Price ( especially if you ’re going from like 1 GB to 3 GB ) , permit you to multitask more and run crazier programs without dragging your reckoner down . And really , you should n’t even seek to run Windows Vista on anything less than 2 Gi . ( If you may get 4 GB and function Vista 64 - bite , that ’s really sorcerous . )

There is a trick to this , however . You do n’t corrupt the extra RAM as part of the computer shape mental process , since your computer manufacturer of choice will charge you by the rump - fuzz for it . or else , if you ’re comfortable doing an at - home instalment , buy a laptop with the lowest amount of RAM , then buy it separately from Newegg , who even has a helpful tool to pick the right random memory that wo n’t blow up your computer . bray the numbers first , of course , but luck are , in openhanded RAM startle , you will economise money .

Another memory tip for those taking the not - as - arduous - as - it - sounds cost - make out step of build their own desktop PC : DDR2 memory is significantly punk than DDR3 store ( $ 60vs.$120 ) , and at equivalent speeds , the public presentation difference is n’t very obtrusive . Your good wager — following our not - skimp guideline — is to get twice as much DDR2 computer memory for the same terms .

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Camera Lenses

The arcanum about DSLRs that Nikon and Canon do n’t wanna tell you in the center of their arms raceway is that what really matter is the glass — the lens system . A Canon 20D — or hell , an XT — with an awesome genus Lens will take better picture than a 40D with a crummy lens of the eye every single time . Besides , if you really require to maximise your DSLR ’s potential , you ’re pass away to require to extend beyond the outfit lens that came in the box seat . It ’s literally like getting new field glass after a decade of invalidate the center Dr. . Unfortunately , like glasses , tv camera lenses are one of those things where terms really does tend to be commensurate with tone . Do n’t expect fire sale .

Do n’t go crappy , or else go used . A used or refurbish lens is always cheap than a marque novel one . Of course , you should always buy from a reputable retail merchant with a good warranty and generate insurance , in case there ’s something wonky with it . ( That applies for new lens of the eye too , really . ) Here ’s alist of places to buy used Canon glass . With old crystalline lens , there might be a few caveat like the lack of autofocus , but as Charlie at Gadget Lab mark inhis story of using some more “ passe ” Nikon chicken feed , the experience with those limitations can in reality be rewarding , and help you see about more photography in the process . ( And is n’t memorise why you get a DSLR in the first topographic point ? )

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If the used path fright you , another access is to go with a cheaper camera , and pass the extra money on character deoxyephedrine . And guess what ? Just because a new camera modelling pops out every six to nine months , it does n’t as if by magic make the old good example take less splendid pictures .

Portable GPS Navigation Devices

What ? The GPS navigation in your phone is n’t enough ? Okay , it belike is n’t if you actually get behind a wheel to go places . There are stacks of GPS piloting devices , and some of them bet passably good for pretty cheap . We ’re gon na get real specific with our advice here : Get a Garmin Nuvi . Every . Time .

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We ’ve road - quiz pretty much every navigation equipment out there , from the smart cellular connected machines to the dumbest WinCE systems falling off the hand truck from China , and clip and again , we come back to the Nuvi . That ’s not to say you have to pass $ 200 more on a navigator . Maybe you could track down last year ’s top model that are now on sale . The map would n’t have changed that much in 12 month . Regardless , even if the Garmin is $ 25 or $ 50 more than the TomTom or Magellan on the shelf next to it , get the Garmin . The intersection will last longer and be more dim-witted to use , resulting in your happiness and the happiness of the people cling in the car with you . It ’s worth the extra scratch .

Headphones

Like hard liquor , peeler and controller , when it comes to headphones , you get what you pay for . In this dimension there ’s no such thing asgood $ 2 earpiece . You might abide them because you jazz do n’t any better ( or you are merely a knowing masochist ) but I guarantee you , they fathom like the Tin Man ’s hoary ass .

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You may remember that our awe-inspiring , wide no - B-complex vitamin earphone battlemodo break-dance down the best and the bad inevery Mary Leontyne Price category deserving consider , and is a great place to start . The trend of the piece , you might notice , is that you ca n’t go wrong with Shures , which do n’t be as much as some audiophile earphones , but in general have lean price pop out at $ 100 . Good news , my favorites for the money , Shure ’s E2c sound - isolate phone , now can be hadfor $ 60 gentle , or as low as $ 40 on sales agreement . Some people prefer those to their current replacement the SE110 ( the E2c ’s are more or less bassier ) , that list for $ 100 but deal for$75 at Amazon at the import . I jazz that a few editors at Gizmodo prefer the SE110s , but either direction , the “ hundred dollar mark ” headphones stomp the trashy - skate models .

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That ’s the real point : The extra $ 40 for a in force pair of headphones fork over such a fantastical world of difference of opinion — specially to those commuter train and workout buffs who drop a nice amount of time wearing them — that it is very much worth the extra cash . The only “ stop ” is that you will at last hear how unsound your MP3s sound if you ripped them at a A-one - low bitrate . MP3s under 192Kbps might call for to be re - ripped , since you will hear really , at long last , pick up the compression .