So I’m at a local computer warehouse-store just looking around, oggling the wares. The sound card in my desktop is long overdue for an upgrade – I’m still using a Sound Blaster Live! Value I bought refurbed in 1999. I really wanted a Sound Blaster X-Fi, but I only had money for an Audigy 2 (around $50).

As you can see, one can easily blow $200 on an X-Fi, which is something I really wanted to avoid. However, I know all of the super-fabulous features of this awesome sound card (24-bit crystallizer, 51 mil. processors, hardware acceleration, etc), and I consider it a worthy upgrade considering an amazing live music scene here in Austin AND the possibility of recording a demo here or there.

So I walked up to one of the salesmen and asked to look at one of the refurbished X-Fi’s they had. “We don’t have any“, he said, effectively calling me on my bullshit. “Guys in video said you did“, I pushed on. “Let me check“, he said and disappeared.

While I was playing with the newest GPS navigation toys (they are awesome!), he came back and put my last name and phone on the warehouse order. He then asked to go to the checkout and present the papers to one of the cashiers.

After doing just that, I walked out of the store 75 bucks lighter, but with an X-Fi in my hand.

It’s an “ask and ye shall receive” type of thing. Sure I was full of crap when asking for the card. However, I thought logically – they are a big store with large volume of sales and a compyter repair shop. They HAVE TO HAVE used parts. Also, because it was a store and not some dude off Craigslist, I felt absolutely no problem buying a refurb item.  Damn, it feels good to save $150.