This is a reblog of my site http://geekysweetie.com – Other stuff may appear here such as reblogs from other wordpress.com sites. I blog and reblog about anime, video games, kdrama, toys, technology, and kawaii fashion and decor.
Titles Include (but not limited to) 5 Centimeters per Second, Your Lie in April, Hiiro no Kakera, Emma, Monthly Girls’ Nozaki-Kun, Nisekoi, Wolf Girl and Black Prince, Playful Kiss, Boys over Flowers, and many other great romance titles.
Sekai Project is one of many companies localizing Visual Novels into English. And for the next 2 weeks you can get 17 Sekai Project Visual Novels for $12. That’s less than $1 a game. (or pay less and receive less games) And it supports charity too! Feel good and score some awesome Visual Novels with the new humble bundle.
All of the Above PLUS…
NekoPara Vol 1
Idol Magical Girl Chiru Chiru Michiru Part 1
Marcissu 10th Anniversary Anthology Project, Plus Season PASS DLC
Fault Milestone two side:above
Sound of Drop -fall into poison
Highway Blossoms (a Yuri game (girl x girl game))
Japanese School Life
Pay $12 to receive it all:
All of the Above PLUS…
NekoPara Vol 2
Wold End Economica – Complete Edition
Idol Magical Girl Chiru Chiru Michiru Part 2
Memory’s Dogma Code:01
Robot Double – Before Crime After Days Xtend Edition
Sunrider: Liberation Day – Captain’s Edition
That’s a whole lot of visual novels for not a big price! I only had 3 of these currently in my collection (and almost all of them wishlisted). I am super excited about this bundle and can’t wait to start playing.
Robot Double sounds incredibly interesting to me from the brief description. It states that unlike traditional Visual Novels, there are no clear cut choices, but instead you control the story purely through your emotions.
Please Note: This is not a sponsored post. I am not being compensated by Best Buy to write this. I did receive an email from Best Buy wanting me to complete a survey (for a chance to win a gift card) regarding my recent purchase. But then I thought, the comments I made in the survey, might make for a good Blog Post for my readers here, especially if supplemented with some info about the Laptop itself.
It’s tax refund time. Like most Americans, instead of saving, investing, or putting this money to good use, it’s time to go have FUN! (yes, I know, not smart or responsible of me lol.) My last laptop was purchased at Sam’s Club for around $750 back in 2013. It was just a “mid-range” “budget” laptop. In no way was it a “gaming” laptop, except that I researched and selected a model with a dedicated graphic card and enough RAM to play most games at the time back then on “medium” settings.
Prior to that laptop, I did in fact have an Alienware and it did last 7 or 8 years, compared to 3 to 4 years, being able to play newly released games on medium settings. However, I paid over $2000 for said Alienware. So then it occurred to me, that I could just buy “throw away” laptops, for less than half the cost, and just upgrade (to another “throw away” or “mid-tier” laptop every few years as needed.).
So when I got my tax refund, I set out to find just such a laptop. a mid-tier “throw away after 3 years” “gaming” laptop. My goal was to stay below $800. I was not expecting much in this price range. I was not looking for a “true gaming laptop”, just something that could “play without crashing” on medium settings.
What I got for under $800 is so much more than a “throw away” laptop. It’s actually a legit Gaming Laptop!! Not only can this system play a 2016/2017 AAA gaming title on “medium settings” without crashing; it can even play them on high settings.
I would say, keep an eye on Best Buy’s pricing even if you do purchase this item and after bringing it home. Here’s my little Best Buy story. I purchased the Asus ROG Strix on 3/28/2017. At that time, the price on the “Satisfactory” Open Box model at my local Best Buy store was listed at $806. When I went to checkout, the associate working at Best Buy told me that the price was actually $899 (still before taxes, etc. After taxes it was actually $960 (which yes, was over my expected budget.)
I still thought $899 was a good buy for a $1200 gaming laptop with great reviews all over the internet (some of which reviews I will share with you later in this article). So I didn’t give too much push back on that price and just accepted it as is.
The associate had tried to tell me it was the same computer / same model / everything, but that they had 2 or 3 in the store and had sold the one listed at that price. But my receipt still said “Satisfactory Open Box”, and that’s what the pricing on the website supposedly reflected – for my specific store location even. I felt somewhat jaded but still happy to save $300.
The next day, I was once again reading the reviews about the laptop on Best Buy’s website and I discovered the item was on sale now, and as such, the price on all models, new, or open box, had been lowered.
I called and asked if they would be willing to price match the newer pricing. I was told “yes” but I was still skeptical because they wouldn’t even honor the original supposed price on the website (it was not a website price; it was for my local store “In-store only” price for an open box model available at my store marked as being in the same condition as the one I purchased.)
It is a 45 minute drive to my nearest Best Buy, so after work, I made the journey back to my Best Buy. This was yesterday, on the 29th of March 2017, with hopes that they would in fact honor the new lower pricing. It did take a bit for them to lookup whatever they needed to in their computers, and I could sense some resistance, but overall, both the manager and cashier at customer service were polite and professional. And I walked out of it feeling respected and valued as a customer, and with a refund of $201.69 to match the new lower pricing.
Now today when I view the item, it’s up to $765 instead of $711.
So that’s why I’m saying, keep an eye out for this. I guess their prices change every day??? It’s strange to me, and kinda shady, but you can’t deny the awesome savings you get by shopping at Best Buy.
If you print out the website pricing for your local store, as well as show them your order history on their own website/app on your mobile phone, there’s little they can do to argue (IE they can’t tell you it’s a different model or part number, because it’s right in your order history on your phone, etc).
Overall, I would shop at Best Buy again, especially for Open Box products. I also was in a few months ago and snagged a Sony HDTV open box model for under $120 and have been very happy with that purchase.
One thing I absolutely love about Best Buy is their return policy. They let you take home any product in their store for 15 days, try it out as much as you’d like, and return it for a full refund within 15 days (or 14 days for cellphones). This is amazing when buying a gaming PC, because you can actually make sure your games are going to run the way you expect!
Per Best Buy’s description this model features the following gaming specifications:
Nvidia Geforce 970m Graphics Card
6th Gen Intel® Core™ i7-6700HQ mobile processor
12GB RAM
1TB Hard Drive to store all your games
And best of all, it weighs less than 5 lbs!
I know this laptop is NOT “future proof” — The Nvidia 970m graphics card now ranks at number 11 overall according to http://laptopmedia.com/top-laptop-graphics-ranking/ — making it well on its way already to becoming a “mid-tier” gaming rig. But for the price I got the open box Asus ROG Strix for, at just $711, it still blows anything else in that price range out of the water.
And according to Notebookcheck.net which I always heavily rely on when looking at new laptops, the 970m is still considered to be a “high-end” Graphics card. – So while it is in no way as powerful as the Nvidia 10xx cards, it can still hold its own on nearly any game out there right now. Interestingly enough, the benchmarks on Notebookcheck.net show the 970m performing on nearly equal footing with the Nvidia 1050 Ti.
Notebookcheck.net also lists the FPS (frames per second) for popular 2016 and 2017 games for the Nvidia 970m in the following chart. This chart shows that Nvidia 970m can play many 2017 games on high or even ultra graphic settings while achieving 40+FPS.
Notice on some games, you’ll want to lower the graphic settings to medium to achieve 40FPS. While on other games, you can play in high or ultra and attain 60+FPS. It’s subjective as to the type of game. Not all games “need” 60FPS.
For example, if you play a lot of First Person Shooters or Action games, especially ones with PVP against other players online, you will want higher Frames Per Second so you can out perform your competition. But, if you mostly play RPGs – which I assume is true for my readers here, 40FPS is a perfectly acceptable frame rate without any lag or choppiness. Anything below 30FPS will be noticeably laggy and possibly unplayable.
Nvidia 970m 2017 Review
We all know that processors are not the main thing to consider when shopping for a Gaming PC. Intel is getting ready to launch their 8th generation of Intel Processors, deemed Coffee Lake later in 2017. This follows up Kaby Lake which was released last year. However, my ASUS ROG Strix has a chip from 2015 called Sky Lake. But according to Networkworld.com, “Intel’s new Kaby Lake processors: No performance gains The new chips are pretty much even with the last generation.” – Source: networkworld.com http://www.networkworld.com/article/3155403/computers/intels-new-kaby-lake-processors-no-performance-gains.html
I actually would have bought this Dell instead of my ASUS, if it had more RAM. That said, the important thing to consider when buying a gaming laptop, is the graphic card. So I would’ve taken the I5 with the Nvidia 1050 over the I7 with the 970m.
I also really love Dell. I have had very positive experiences with their customer service — which began as a negative experience, but was made more than right for me, years ago when one of the first XPS came out, I had the highest level of protection/warranty, and after weeks of frustration, (and venting on blogs/social media), I was contacted by a customer advocate who worked at Dell and was upgraded to a newer iteration of the XPS. (This was probably 10-12 years ago now) But that experience stuck with me and made me very loyal to Dell for a number of years.
For the price point, or for those tech savvy enough to upgrade their own RAM this laptop at just $799 for a brand new (not Open Box like my Asus) gaming laptop is a great buy! I went into Best Buy with the intention that if my Open Box ASUS was already sold out, that I would be bringing this Dell XPS home instead. And both machines have great reviews!
However, the extra processing power is useful for video editing and other things that many games may be interested in (such as for editing youtube Let’s Plays, and so on.)
When it comes to deciding how much RAM you need in a gaming PC, most laptops in the “under $800 range” feature 8GB of RAM (such as the Dell XPS indicated above); and this may very well be enough for your gaming needs, as many popular titles from 2016/2017 list 8GB as the minimum required RAM that a laptop needs.
But my ASUS came with 16GB, and like I said, the RAM ultimately was the Tie-Breaker deal for me when it came to deciding between the Dell or the ASUS laptops.
“We consider 16GB to be a nice sweet spot for a solid gaming system. It should be more than enough to run your games and multitask as needed. You’ll also want at least 16GB if livestreaming is a priority for you. The ability to run and stream a game on one monitor while responding to chat questions, playing music, and doing whatever else in another is definitely the kind of task list that would benefit from an extra bit of RAM headroom.” – Source: PCGamer http://www.pcgamer.com/how-much-ram-do-you-really-need-for-gaming/
Some, but not many, games are also now starting to launch while recommending more than the “standard” 8GB of RAM. For example Quantum Break (recommends 16GB), Batman Arkham Knight (recommends 12GB), and Star Citizen (recommends 16GB). These certainly won’t be the last games to recommend an increased amount of RAM. So if you don’t know how, or just don’t want to, install more RAM yourself later, you may want to consider opting for 16GB now to help “future-proof” your laptop.
Having the laptop now for the past 2 days, and trying some of my own games in high settings, I am very happy with my purchase, especially at just $711 (almost 50% off the retail suggested price of $1159.)
I did a lot of research prior to, and after, purchasing my ASUS ROG Strix 15.6 Inch Gaming Laptop. Here are some interesting reviews. Please note some of these reviews reference different configurations than the one I reference in my own review. It is important to consider all of the above options: Graphics Card, RAM, and Processors when buying a gaming laptop. The most important thing to consider is the Graphics Card.
Asus ROG Strix Reviews
Best Buy’s reviews consistently mention “washed out” colors or “back light bleed” on the screen. In my opinion this is not true. To me, the colors look very vivid, bright, rich, and clear. There also a lot of reviews complaining about lack of an SSD (solid slate drive). I don’t mind waiting a few minutes for my PC to start, so I dunno if I’d really care whether it has an SSD or not. — On the other hand, Bestbuy’s reviews consistantly praise the performance, price, and gaming capabilities of this laptop. It currently has a 4.4 star rating out of more than 300 reviews. http://www.bestbuy.com/site/asus-rog-gl502vt-15-6-laptop-intel-core-i7-12gb-memory-1tb-hard-drive-black/5090905.p?skuId=5090905
Amazon User Reviews show 3.9 Stars out of over 400 Reviews once again complementing its powerful gaming performance. https://www.amazon.com/15-6-inch-GL502VM-GeForce…
Here is a Youtube User’s Review of the Asus ROG Strix:
Gadget Review has a nice in depth review of the Asus ROG Strix as well. The only things they critized were the “okay” speakers, and large bezels around the screen. (I do agree, it seems as if this laptop could actually fit a 17 inch screen in the amount of plastic used around the actual 15.6 inch one. Reducing this “edge” would make the laptop even more portable and lighter and less bulky. and it does seem like a poor design choice when many other competitors are offering edge to edge screens now. http://www.gadgetreview.com/asus-rog-strix-gl502vt-gaming-laptop-review
This is a paid review, however all opinions are 100% my own.
I’ve done a number of reviews for dealspotr, because it’s my favorite GPT (Get Paid To) website. I’ve been a member of dealspotr since May 2016. In the past 6 months I’ve received over $200 amazon gift cards. I’ve not found a faster or more fun way to earn money online.
Save big with dealspotr and earn cashback for sharing coupons online
The site is simple and easy to use. When you log on (assuming it’s not your first visit to the site) you’ll see a page with some hot deals that are currently trending. In the upper right hand side you’ll see your profile showing your dashboard with an orange bar indicating how close you are to your next gift card as well as showing a daily task list that you can optionally complete to score some free points each day. You’ll also see your accuracy score in green.
Accuracy score is super important on dealspotr. When it is low you will be limited in how many deals you can post or validate each day. Make sure you are only posting valid deals and assigning them to the correct sections of the site. As your accuracy score increases, you will soon reach a point where you can post and validate unlimited deals which means there’s no limit to how much you can earn using the site.
On the left hand side, you’ll see a big blue button that says +Add a Deal – This is where you go to share your own deals. You’ll be asked a series of questions to get information about the deal such as if it requires a coupon code, if it’s sitewide or applies only to specific items, and the expiration date. You can share all kinds of deals from printable coupons, to online sales, or even “matchup deals” demonstrating how to use multiple deals to maximize your discounts.
Based on the types of deals you add and the information you provide, you’ll earn varying amounts of points typically around 50 points per deal. Every 10,000 points you earn will give you another gift card. They are a tiny bit slow in sending the gift cards out. Typically it only takes 2-3 days but I’ve had it take up to 10-12 days before. This is normal, so don’t get nervous if your reward takes awhile to arrive – and be sure to check your junk and spam folders as well.
Not only do you earn money, but you can save a ton of money on things you already buy, ranging from food, dining out, groceries, clothing, baby items, household goods, toys, video games, electronics, and much more. dealspotr has dozens of deals for your favorite stores and brands.
Need cookies for that office Christmas party? dealspotr’s got you covered:
Yep, another Black Friday Sale Announcement, this one is for everyone’s favorite digital game retailer, Steam. We can also expect their “Holiday Sale” in just a few short weeks, which begs the question, which sale will have the best deals? Traditionally in years past, the Holiday Sale was the biggest sale of the year unlike most retailers who put their best sales on Black Friday / Cyber Monday.
Steam’s Autumn Sale Begins now and Runs through November 29th, 2016. It features hundreds of games on sale, some as much as 75% off and new games go on sale each day.
My friend advised me that Undertale was just $4.99 – I’d been wanting it for a long time so I picked it up 🙂 I hear it’s quite a bit like Earthbound, which I also love.
A quick look at my wishlist reveals these other titles are on sale today (and new games will go on sale each day of the sale as well)
Witcher 3 – $19.99 (God really tempted now to get this lol. It’s number 1 on my wishlist right now… But I am saving for a trip and some other things at the moment.)
Tales of Zestria – $16.99 (Why you doing this to me Steam… lol. The game in my number 2 wishlist slot is almost 70% off lol).
I am Setsuna – $26.79 (not a huge savings, but still)
Sunrider Accademy – $3.99
Tokyo School Life – $5.99
Akiba’s Trip – $14.99
Littlewitch Romanesque – $17.49
The Way We All Go – $1.49
Way of the Samurai 4 – $12.49
If My Heart had Wings $4.94
Fault – Milestone One – $3.74
Manga Maker Comipo – $9.99
Child of Light – $7.49
Most of the Y’s Series is 70% off Making each title around $4 to $5 now
Hunie Pop – $2.49
Baulder’s Gate 1 and 2 are both $7.99
Magical Diary Horse Hall (I’ve played this but wanted it for Steam as I like having all my games in one place — It is an amazing Otome Game ❤ And perfect if you like Harry Potter) – It’s on sale for just $5.99
Ticket to Ride – $2.49
Shelter is just $1.09 – I played it (via Utomik) last week and it’s fun — Shelter 2 is infinitely better and more emotional than Shelter 1 though.
Octodad – $2.99 (been on my wish list awhile)
Planetarian – $4.99
Gods will be watching – $2.49
Civ Beyond Earth – $9.99 – a huge savings as it’s usually around $40
Vanishing of Ethan Carter $3.99
Fahrenheit – from the makers of Heavy Rain is just $2.49
Remember Me – $5.99
Last Inua – $1.99
An Octave Higher – $2.99
Oceanhorn – $8.99 (not sure why this is on my wishlist cuz I know for a fact I have a steam key for it from a humble bundle lol)
Code of Princess – $8.99
World’s Dawn – $5.19
Disgaeia – $9.99
Club Life – $6.99
Strawberry Vinegar $2.49
Animal Complex $6.39
Secrets of Me $7.99
Dangerous Relationship $2.39
Fairy Fencer F – $8.99
200% Mixed Juice – $3.49
My Secret Pets is just $2.39 – I really want this one! It reminds me of Dandelion
Walmart just released their ad for black friday 2016. Select deals are available already online at walmart.com and the deals will begin in store at 6PM on November 24th.
This year Walmart is offering some amazing deals on TVs including a 55″ 4k HDTV for $298 and a 40″ HDTV (NOT 4k though) for just $125.
The Iphone 5S is also under $100
PS4 is just $249 and comes with a $30 Walmart gift card which, as long as you can get use of the gift card (and who can’t I mean, Walmart has EVERYTHING lol) — That brings your total cost down to just $219. Almost as good as the deal Target is running right now.
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Many other items are on sell from Clothing to Jewelry, to Toys, Electronics, Tools, Games, and more. Check out Walmart.com every day for new flash sales leading up to Black Friday and Cyber Monday.
Best Buy’s ad has been released for Black Friday; and not only that, they are letting you shop early online by taking advantage of some of the ads in their flyer. These deals span a wide range of tech offerings from HDTVs to appliances, smartphones, movies, games, accessories, peripherals, even laptops and PCs. Check out Best Buy’s Black Friday Presale below:
This means effectively that (as long as you can get use out of the giftcard for other purchases at Target) your out of pocket cost is just $209 for the system + game – In the ad it mentions specifically Minecraft or Battlefield 1 but the ad does say the offer is good on ANY Xbone S bundle.
This may quite possibly be the best price we see on an Xbox One this holiday season!
Bundle Stars just announced a big sale on Anime RPGs which seems to focus mostly on Idea Factory’s Hyperdimension Neptunia series with the largest discount being 70% off Hyperdevotion Noire and 50% off Hyperdevotion Noire DLC. Other titles also have 50-70% off in the Anime RPG sale which include Hyperdimension Neptunia Rebirth 1, 2, and 3, Megadimension Neptunia VII, and Hyperdimension NeptuniaU Action Unleashed.
I’m unsure on the dates for this promotion so if you’re looking to get some cheap anime PC games, here’s your chance!
Hyper Dimension Neptunia isn’t the only Idea Factory title on sale either! Amnesia Memories is also 70% Off, and Fairy Fencer F is 65% Off right now. Disgaea PC is also 25% off. You can see all the Idea Factory International titles below:
Amazon is having a sweet deal as part of their build up to Black Friday (read more here about their Black Friday Presale). Today I spotted this deal for 31% off a brand new – not refurbished – Asus Rog Gaming Laptop PC with Nvidia Graphics. I’m unsure when this sale ends – It may only be a “deal of the day”, Flash sale (for a few hours), or it may be up until Black Friday or Cyber Monday – but one thing’s for sure, this deal won’t last long! Originally priced at $2599, this gaming rig is now just $1799.99 – a savings of almost $800! Click here to grab this deal.
kawaiifluff 