Sweet merciful Crap

This week on Bargain Corner, we have the ultimate in gaming audio goodness: the Logitech Z-5500 speaker system. Some of you may be familiar with Snuffy D's and even my own heart-stopping Z-560 THX-rated computer speaker systems. This is that system's big brother.

This bad boy ups the ante from 400 watts to a ridiculous (for a computer speaker) 500 watts nominal power output. The subwoofer gets an upgrade from 8" to a massive 10". Speakers also increase, this time in number: the z5500 is a true 5.1 speaker system, meaning it has a proper center channel. Add a nice optical toslink input, fancy LCD control pod and a wireless remote, and you've got the makings of something beautiful in your private gaming dugout.

But the best part is the price. While most stores sell these for $500, Dell has the Z-5500 on sale until the end of the month for just $279. That's about what I paid for my Z-560's. Shrewd shoppers among you will notice that the huge price difference at Future Shop and Best Buy ($499) creates a decent price-matching opportunity. If you can find a willing cashier, it works out to another $22 off (10% of the difference) for a total of $257.