Josh

Josh

Looking to upgrade to 4K? Worried about Atmos and DTSX support?  Look no further!

Denon AVR-S710W – $349, Amazon

Denon has a very good reputation when it comes to their audio products, especially their home theater receivers.  These typically feature very strong performances in the home theater setting, but also are very musical and easy to listen to.  The price of $349 is a solid bargain for this type of model.  Even though it is rated at 75 watts, Denon uses higher amperage amps that can really drive most speakers.  The 4K and 3D pass through are a must for anyone looking to upgrade their TV to 4K.  The addition of Atmos support, as well as updating to DTSX through a firmware upgrade, makes this a must have for any home theater enthusiast.

Thrustmaster T300 Alcantara Edition Wheel – $469, Amazon

Seems like all I can talk about anymore is about wheels!  I have been on a racing kick as of late, and a lot of it has been due to the outstanding DiRT Rally title as well as upgrading myself to a TX F458 wheel from Thrustmaster.  Happily, excess is never enough.  If I were to do it over again and buy a serious wheel for the first time, I would choose the T300 Aclantara Edition.  This wheel supposedly feels better than some actual, professional racing wheels from Momo or Sparko.  It is hand stitched and features the same alcantara leather that Ferrari features on their cars.  This is probably C or D grade leather from that factory, but what do you care?  It is supposed to feel great.  I am testing the T300 servo base right now and it is a fantastic addition to any racing setup.

Asus R9 390X STRIX – $389, Newegg

In terms of price/performance not much matches up well against the 390X.  For $358 after rebate, this is a fantastic upgrade for anyone not wanting to spend a small fortune on better performance in the latest 3D games.  The 8 GB of memory should allow a user to play the very latest games at moderate to high resolutions.  This also seems like a good solution as a single card pushing Eyefinity resolutions.  It pulls more power and runs hotter than the GTX 980, but it runs just as fast and for a lot cheaper.

Samsung 850 EVO 500 GB – $147, Amazon

These things just keep getting cheaper and cheaper.  We love that.  This is an extremely fast and competent drive that can just be plugged into any modern system and take away most I/O bottlenecks.  It is large enough for some games and plenty of productivity apps, but the speed really spoils a person when running day to day programs that just seamlessly start up and allow work or play to happen.

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