Mazda Protege Owners: Protege Posse

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Comments

  • chikoochikoo Member Posts: 3,008
    where were you?

    Dinu...i might go with a turban(made from muffler) instead of a tuque??? ;)

    for sore throats, the best medicine is gargle with warm salty water the very day u get the sore throat...if you take it easy, then antiB is the only option.

    Dinu, i don't mean to sound derogatory, but why the heck are you hell bent upon building up your own machine when you are not quite the genius with PCs???? Just go with standard gameboxes

    check out WWW.tigerdirect.com for great deals on super hardware
    for eg:
    Compaq W4000 / Pentium 4 2.4 GHz / 512MB DDR ECC RAM / 40 GB / CDRW / Workstation for $849.99

    http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.- asp?sku=C170-1540%20P
  • ashutoshsmashutoshsm Member Posts: 1,007
    Yeah, Nick - not been checking in regularly at edmunds for a while now! And when the number of unread messages crosses into that dreaded realm of 3-figure numbers, its just too overwhelming to even consider catching up ;)

    Dinu - that does, indeed, sound like a good deal. However, often you have to watch out for what motherboard and case these deals use - if its a standard, reasonably upgradable (can you add your own AGP video card, more memory, more drives and some devices in PCI slots and USB ports) system - then it might be worthwhile!

    For somewhat higher end gaming systems, go with alienware.com. You can play with and configure it at a local Best Buy (if that exists in Canada) or build it online at their website. At work, our PCs are used for heavy graphics and other source code development work, and we found AlienWare to have some of the best deals and packages to handle this! I haven't really tried to play any games on my office PC, but it is certainly a pretty kickass config ;) (dual CPU Athlon MP 1700+, 1GB RAM, ~100Gig SCSI, DVD, CDRW, GeForce4 4600, dual monitor with one 19" LCD flatscreen, one 21" CRT, Dolby sound card and 5.1 speakers etc etc!)

    In fact I love their cases so much, that I bought the same brand and similar design for my home PC - antec.com (or chieftec.com, they make cases for antec, antec puts in a high quality power supply and charges a massive markup!) I bought it from newegg.com as well :)
  • protege_fanprotege_fan Member Posts: 2,405
    They aren't out West yet, but they did take over Futureshop and I know there are some BestBuy stores out East.
  • chicagoprochicagopro Member Posts: 1,009
    I wonder if there is something about driving a Protege that makes one a computer geek.
  • protege_fanprotege_fan Member Posts: 2,405
    I mean..take your computer "expertise" for example... :P
  • dinu01dinu01 Member Posts: 2,586
    Today is "Help Dinu configure a PC day".

    We may return to yesterday's "Make fun of Dale day" as of tomorow.

    J/k - Go ahead Mike :)

    Dale: I know, I know: this is also going to come back to haunt me :)

    Dinu
  • chikoochikoo Member Posts: 3,008
    to look under the wraps of a good alienware PC

    Check out which
    1. Motherboard was used
    2. CPU
    3. Memory size and type
    4. HDD
    5. Power supply

    and then try to get those components at bargain prices at e-tailers like newegg.com or tigerdirect.com

    or why not check out Ubid.com for real crazy closeout deals
  • dinu01dinu01 Member Posts: 2,586
    but the computer store did not exist anymore.

    Did spend a few minutes clearing some snow off the PRO - it snowed a bit this morning > 3/4".

    So after driving to the now defunct store, I got tired and decided to come back home. I'm working at 5PM so I thought I might want an afternoon nap now that I have this week off from school.

    Yes we have Best Buy here - there's actually one VERY close to my house. Went yesterday: they don't sell CPUs and MBs separately - just complete systems and individual CD-RW drives, keyboards and mice, etc... so they're no good.

    There are a few small comp stores I need to check out (as soon as I can figure out what I want).

    Dinu
  • chikoochikoo Member Posts: 3,008
    and ask for the details of the computer as if ur an interested customer...he will surely oblige....and u will get to know what u need....and then just go out and buy it....
  • meinradmeinrad Member Posts: 820
    "So after driving to the now defunct store, I got tired and decided to come back home."

    Hate to see what happens when you actually have to shop when you get there! Probably collapse going out the door or something.....
  • chicagoprochicagopro Member Posts: 1,009
    Do y'all have MicroCenter in Toronto?

    Oh, and Mike....you know what to do...
  • dinu01dinu01 Member Posts: 2,586
    Is that they don't ship to Canada and if I can find one that does I'll end-up with the same price as if I buy from here.

    I do have in mind keystroke.ca > they're better than small retailers for certain components.

    Ok so I'll need to make some decisions:

    Athlon XP 2100+ $167 CAD
    ASUS A7N8X Deluxe $245 CAD
    512 MB $175 CAD

    or

    Intel P4 1.8GHZ $249 CAD
    ASUS P4B or Gigabyte GA 8PE667 Ultra

    I've been looking at http://www.keystroke.ca
     for ideas since they have ok prices and are close by so I can go and pick the parts off myself instead of paying for shipping.

    Dinu

    PS: The confusion slowly clears up. Very slowly that is...
  • chikoochikoo Member Posts: 3,008
    u will the local EXPERT.......just make sure that ur build up cost(inc. s&h) does not exceed the readymade boxes...
  • dinu01dinu01 Member Posts: 2,586
    Dale: No we don't have Micro Center

    Ray: Collapse? HA HA! You know, when you sit home with nothing to do, you get tired. I get tired from doing nothing. By Friday I'll take care of this computer thingie.

    I'll actually drop-by the keystroke place on my way to work today.

    Dinu
  • ashutoshsmashutoshsm Member Posts: 1,007
    I recommend the AMD - from a bang-for-buck perspective, as well as (possibly) an upgradability point of view.

    The new versions of the Athlon XP chip (the Barton's) with more cache (don't bother with the details - trust me, they're more than merely incrementally better) will also work on the newest motherboards, such as the Asus A7N8X deluxe. Also, that particular motherboard uses the most kickass bang-for-buck chipset - the nVidia nForce2 - has onboard Dolby digital input/output sound (need a small $15 addon device to enable it) and two built in network cards, loads of USB 2.0 (6) ports, and two firewire (IEEE 1394A) ports as well. You get pretty future proofed with something like that! There is also a competitive Gigabyte mothoerboard, and a couple of others (Abit, Chaintech etc). If you pick a motherboard based on this chipset, you may want to check out
    - discussion fora at anandtech.com, under 'motherbords' (duh)
    - www.nforcershq.com

    Enjoy the upgrade! And the process! If you give it a bit of effort, get lucky and get all-non-faulty parts (odds are stacked in your favor on this, and most places have acceptable return policies on FAULTY stuff) you will have the pleasure of building a more powerful system for less money, which is more future-proofed and of higher quality than anything Gateway/Dell etc. can possibly provide, and will also learn the basics of maintaining your own PC. I recommend it to everyone (if you have the inclination and time, of course!)
  • dinu01dinu01 Member Posts: 2,586
    I went over prices at a few online stores and AMD does seem a better deal overall. This is the reason my current system is running on a Duron CPU.

    I might be able to get the auto show and the computer shopping done tomorow - will report tomorow nite how both went. Will take pics, but since I don't have a digital camera it will take a while for me to develop them, scan and post. Maybe I'll ask for the pics to be put on a disk.

    Just like you I like learning new things so this is why I want to do this system myself, instead of buying one with many extras (video+sound cars, CR drives, etc) that I don't want/need.

    Dinu
  • chicagoprochicagopro Member Posts: 1,009
    Stopped by the auto show on my way home from work tonight (I pass right by the convention center, plus today girls were half off :).

    Mazda exhibit: 4 6's (red, yellow, blue, black), a couple of Proteges, a P5, one Mazdaspeed Protege in Scary Yellow Mica or something (sorry I can't remember the correct color name, but no, it wasn't orange or black--it was a special edition, and it was LOCKED >:-[ ), three Miatas, and of course, the RX-8 (red) spinning around on a platform.

    Me: So how come we can't get in it?

    Mazda Boy: Well, we let the people at the L.A. and Detroit shows get in the RX, and it was getting pretty beat. We were afraid it wouldn't last through the car show circuit.

    Sat in a 6...nice roomy car, but I think it would be too big for me to drive here in the city. Liked it without the spoiler.

    Other stuff I saw:

    --a whole bunch of Mustangs
    --a whole bunch of Minis (sat in one...nearly knocked my head on the door frame)
    --a Honda Element, with a bunch of kids crawling all over it
    --some woman who was probably older than I was, dressed up as Trixie and trying to sell Speed Racer videotapes
    --The Tonymobile or whatever it's called...truck with Tony the Tiger, Toucan Sam, etc. on the back. Tony was there, too...he waved at me!

    Lots more spokesmodel boys this year...it was gratifying to note that they sounded like they didn't know any more about cars than the spokesmodel girls.

    Total time spent looking at cars: one hour.

    Total time spent parking, walking through giant parking lot, walking to coat check, eating overpriced piece of pizza, walking back to coat check, back to car, etc., etc....one and a half hours.

    Glad it was only five dollars!
  • meinradmeinrad Member Posts: 820
    "...I pass right by the convention center, plus today girls were half off :)......"

    Cool, how many did you get. I'm always looking for a good price on girls!
  • dinu01dinu01 Member Posts: 2,586
    I just woke up and I am gettng ready to head out. I'm going at 10.30 when it opens and hopefully I'll be back by 4PM or so.

    Our tickets are $18 plus parking will cost $10-15, so I beter spend more than one hour :) Of course I could take the bus, bus that costs $2 each way and it's not as fun as driving. And unlike downtown Detroit, it's actually safe to go in downtown TO.

    Will report back this afternoon.

    Ashu/Mike/Nick/Ray: The PC is most likely getting upgraded today after the show and I am about 80% sure I will go the Athlon route if I can find a good motherboard with expandable capabilities (like the one mentionned here ASUS A7N8X deluxe), so if you don't see me posting for a while I either didn't find the motherboard or I won an RX-8 or 6 at the show and I'm driving it (what are the odds)...

    TTYL,
    Dinu
  • dinu01dinu01 Member Posts: 2,586
    Yeah, that did sound like a good deal, but just like with computers you pay less for clones, so who knows if they were really girls or just pretenting to be one. Did you have a chance to check that out for us Dale? :)

    Dinu
  • chicagoprochicagopro Member Posts: 1,009
    The ADMISSION CHARGE was reduced for females. Instead of paying $10, women had to pay only $5.

    Sheesh.

    There...all better now?

    Have fun, Dinu!
  • meinradmeinrad Member Posts: 820
    is discrimination. I'm calling Johnnie Cochran!
  • krotinekrotine Member Posts: 93
    did you make it to the Pittsburgh Auto Show last Saturday?

    Jason
  • meinradmeinrad Member Posts: 820
    Spent about 3 or so hours there.

    Wrote a littel review on Meadeballs site if you want to check it out.

    Looks like my wife is now getting an Element. We were in, out, and all over that thing.

    Loved the RX-8, just wish I could have sat in it.

    The actual show areas are pretty good, but the lobby just doens't accomodate that amount of people very well. Pain in the butt to get to coat check.

    Had your picture with me, but no one matched the photo, lol.....
  • maltbmaltb Member Posts: 3,572
    What's a coat check?

    :-)
  • meinradmeinrad Member Posts: 820
    you wear coats in California, you smarty pants....
  • mazdafunmazdafun Member Posts: 2,329
    ;)
  • maltbmaltb Member Posts: 3,572
    you're right, but I took it off and left it in the trunk before I came into work with my short sleeve shirt.
  • chicagoprochicagopro Member Posts: 1,009
    they need to take a little zoom out of the "zoom zoom."

    I just got another speeding ticket.

    :(
  • protege_fanprotege_fan Member Posts: 2,405
    Back to traffic school you go!
  • maltbmaltb Member Posts: 3,572
    You go dale!

    You are going to fight it right?
  • mazdafunmazdafun Member Posts: 2,329
    Tell them Hello Kitty made you do it. ;)

    Seriously, bummer. :(
  • chicagoprochicagopro Member Posts: 1,009
    bummer. :(

    No, Malt, I'm not going to fight it. He's got me on radar, blah blah blah.

    Mike had it right...back to traffic school.

    Oh, and Mike...you know what to do. :P
  • meinradmeinrad Member Posts: 820
    Just tell them you had to drive that fast to dry out your car after going through the carwash!

    Glad to hear you are not fighting it too! If you're speeding you're speeding, just take responsiblity and move on.......
  • protege_fanprotege_fan Member Posts: 2,405
    Is there a limit to the number of times you can attend traffic school? We dont have that option out here. Just pay your fine and get your demerits..unless you can go to the court house and beg for just the fine.
  • krotinekrotine Member Posts: 93
    Speeding through a school zone?

    ; )
  • maltbmaltb Member Posts: 3,572
    Glad to hear you are not fighting it too! If you're speeding you're speeding, just take responsibility and move on.......

    You've got to be kidding me?!? With as artificially low as speed limits are on many streets, you are just agreeing to more taxation. You can at least plead not guilty and then have the D.A. strike a plea with you for a more reasonable fine.

    Malt
    (who is going in March to strike a deal with the DA on a very similar matter)
  • dsm6dsm6 Member Posts: 813
    My most recent was 60 in a 45. Deserted country road and the speed limit is 45. Silliness. A good money maker for good ol' Sheriff Roscoe P. Coltrain. Deputy Fife had to do about 80 to catch up and give me a ticket for 60.
  • chicagoprochicagopro Member Posts: 1,009
    I was doing 53 in a zone that's normally posted at 45 (you're absolutely right, Malt...that's WAY too low for that road); the kicker is, it's under construction right now, so it's currently posted at 35.

    It's a speed trap that's a big money-maker for the city...unfortunately, I have to travel through there on my way to and from work.

    But at 8:30 at night, with no construction, light traffic, good visibility, and OTHER CARS GOING 50 OR MORE, I don't see what the big deal is.

    The thing is, if I plead guilty, then I have a conviction on my record...won't that raise my insurance? I can avoid that with traffic school.

    As to how many times I can go....I think I'm good for at least one more round. There's a chance it might be 8 hours <gasp!> this time instead of the standard 4...I'll have to check that out.
  • protege_fanprotege_fan Member Posts: 2,405
    Has a nice ring to it.
  • chicagoprochicagopro Member Posts: 1,009
    Sounds even better.

    :P
  • protege_fanprotege_fan Member Posts: 2,405
    Both are true, so I have no problems with that.
  • meinradmeinrad Member Posts: 820
    Dale the convict sounds better.

    Where's Thelma?
  • maltbmaltb Member Posts: 3,572
    but there's no way I was going that fast....
  • protege_fanprotege_fan Member Posts: 2,405
    Strap that into the passenger seat and you're all set.
  • protege_fanprotege_fan Member Posts: 2,405
    What car were you driving?
  • mdaffronmdaffron Member Posts: 4,421
    Just not good enough to see that big Crown Vic Police Interceptor huh?

    Uh-oh, time to change the group's home page pic again ...

    Meade
  • mdaffronmdaffron Member Posts: 4,421
    To everything - turn, turn, turn
    There is a season - turn, turn, turn
    And a time for every purpose under heaven

    A time to be born, a time to die
    A time to plant, a time to reap
    A time to kill, a time to heal
    A time to ZOOM, a time to CREEP!!!

    :D

    Meadeball
  • ashutoshsmashutoshsm Member Posts: 1,007
    that sucks. Sorry to hear about it Dale.

    Won't join in the To Fight Or Not To Fight debate - enough's been said about it already.
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