Monitor Suggestions?

Dave · Post by **Dave** » Wed Mar 23, 2005 7:12 pm

I estimate I stare at a Dell 2001fp roughly 12 hours a day. No complaints, although the color could use some extra vivid. I like vivid. If i ever have a pet, i would name it vivid.

quantus · Post by **quantus** » Tue Apr 05, 2005 8:13 am

I like the 915N. It looks very pretty. The colors are nice, but almost too bright and vivid. It's better than the CRT I use at work and way better than the crappy lcd on the laptop I use at work.

Post by **Jonathan** » Tue Apr 05, 2005 3:50 pm

Vinny, what did you get?

Dave · Post by **Dave** » Tue Apr 05, 2005 4:41 pm

level 73

VLSmooth · Post by **VLSmooth** » Tue Jun 14, 2005 5:35 pm

Still haven't bought yet, but this is VERY enticing:

Dell Widescreen UltraSharp 2405FPW
http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,1759,1774272,00.asp
http://www.extremetech.com/article2/0,1 ... 465,00.asp

My new officemate recently bought this after extensive research and loves the display. I'll try to check it out myself before making a final decision.

If I get this, I'll definitely need a better video card though.

He got it for ~$1017 after tax and free shipping directly from Dell.

Ordered Friday last week; delivered Monday (yesterday).

VLSmooth · Post by **VLSmooth** » Tue Jun 14, 2005 5:47 pm

Speaking of video cards, what are the thoughts on this

eVGA 256-A8-N344-AX Geforce 6800GT 256MB 256-bit GDDR3 AGP 4X/8X
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6814130203

VLSmooth · Post by **VLSmooth** » Tue Jun 14, 2005 5:50 pm

I'm thinking about combining them with this, but a 6800GT might throw away any sound benefits:

Shuttle SN25P Socket 939 AMD Athlon 64 FX/Athlon 64/Sempron nVIDIA nForce4 2x 184Pin Barebone
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6856101468

Yes, I could go Intel as well, provided I have good reason to.

quantus · Post by **quantus** » Tue Jun 14, 2005 5:54 pm

Samsung 915N-Black 19" 8ms response LCD Monitor 300 cd/m2 700:1 contrast ratio $309 After Rebates @ newegg... Not as good as the Dell monitor, but also not as pricey.

Post by **Jonathan** » Tue Jun 14, 2005 5:55 pm

I have almost the exact same card. It is loud, I think. I haven't investigated to make sure the case noise is due to the video card, but it's the only thing that comes to mind. I guess I have a couple case fans which came with the case.

Peijen · Post by **Peijen** » Tue Jun 14, 2005 6:35 pm

the video card you listed is agp, the system is pci-e. other than that I dont see why not. maybe wait for the price of dual core to come down?

VLSmooth · Post by **VLSmooth** » Wed Jun 15, 2005 1:16 am

Peijen wrote:the video card you listed is agp, the system is pci-e. other than that I dont see why not. maybe wait for the price of dual core to come down?

Good catch. This one then if I get the SN25P:

eVGA 256-P2-N376-AX Geforce 6800GT 256MB 256-bit GDDR3 PCI-Express x16
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6814130215

VLSmooth · Post by **VLSmooth** » Wed Jun 15, 2005 1:24 am

quantus wrote:Samsung 915N-Black 19" 8ms response LCD Monitor 300 cd/m2 700:1 contrast ratio $309 After Rebates @ newegg... Not as good as the Dell monitor, but also not as pricey.

Looks enticing, but the sale ends today and it doesn't have a DVI input :/

Post by **Jonathan** » Wed Jun 15, 2005 1:30 am

Quick and easy method to figure out when the dual-core processor you want buy will be cheap enough!

1. Pick the model number that has the price you want to pay.
2. Find the number of different models between the model number you chose in (1) and the model number you want to buy.
3. Multiply your answer for (2) by three months.

George · Post by **George** » Wed Jun 15, 2005 1:45 am

Is anyone other than me shocked to hear Vinny talking about buying a top of the line video card? Think of all the Radeon LEs you could buy for that price.

So with that level of video card, you must be planning to replace your main system. What are you going to do with all your hard drives if you switch that box to an SFF? As I recall you had, what, four drives in there?

VLSmooth · Post by **VLSmooth** » Wed Jun 15, 2005 1:52 am

If (note the if), I go through with this, I'll be getting 1-2 new SATA drives for the SFF. My current 4 drives will stay in the Antec Sonata.

Regarding the video card, I still have my doubts. On one hand, I need a better video card to even handle 1920x1200. On the other hand, one of the main reasons I want an SFF to be my next PC is lower noise.

I seem stuck in a contradiction...

Anyone else have recommendations for an video card powerful enough to run 1920x1200 natively, yet quiet enough to put in an SFF?

George · Post by **George** » Wed Jun 15, 2005 2:00 am

What are you trying to do at that resoultion? If you're just doing 2d, then you don't need the high power cards. There are some mid-range cards with passive cooling options. You only need the cutting edge cards if you're trying to do 3d stuff like games at that resolution. I think even my old GeForce 3 was theoretically capable of running a 1920x1200 desktop (or something close, probably only at 60Hz); but it would have exploded if I'd tried to run any game more complex than Quake 2 at that resolution.

George · Post by **George** » Wed Jun 15, 2005 2:02 am

Well, actually, my monitor would have exploded just trying to run a desktop at that resolution.

VLSmooth · Post by **VLSmooth** » Fri Jun 17, 2005 12:08 am

Random:

I played Half-Life 2 on that 24" Widescreen LCD yesterday... it was very very very nice.
Also opened the computer and listened to a 6800 Ultra. It didn't seem too loud surprisingly, however the stock Athlon64 HSF was loud imho.
Seems some (most?) 6800s have variable-speed fans
The LCD still had slight color changes based on angle; vertical change was significantly worse that horizontal.
Despite the above, it's still probably the best LCD I've ever seen
Handled video gorgeously; great viewing angle; zero lcd tearing (DVD drive hiccuped a little though).
Constrast between pure black and white was very good (tested with paint). The NVIDIA calibration image (lots of lines, etc) was also impressive.
Putting this lcd in portrait mode is ridiculous (yet it can).
It has picture-by-picture for viewing 2 inputs at once

Still very tempted. Guess I'll wait for the next Dell sale.

quantus · Post by **quantus** » Fri Jun 17, 2005 6:11 am

Courtesy of Techbargains:
25% off Dell 2405FPW (24”) flat panel 12ms response, 1920x1200, 1000:1 contrast for $899.25 free shipping after 25%: $?JSFR8X2349BV Exp Sa 6/18 5:59am CT or after 500 uses

Post by **Jonathan** » Fri Jun 17, 2005 3:57 pm

I should open up my computer and see what the hell is so loud in there. Because it's really bloody loud.