Full 1080p on PC

[rudreshsj]

Well, I have been scouring the web for a guide which informs PC users as to how they can get the power of Full HD (1080p) on their PC screens.

I want to be able to view full HD on my monitor but dont know how to go about getting there.
If im not mistaken there are hardware as well as software requirements.

I currently have

Dell 2007WFP monitor,
Nvidia 7600GS GPU,
AMD 3500+(AM2) CPU and
ASUS M2n32SLI Deluxe MOBO.
Soundblaster X-Fi Xtreme Music Sound Card


I know its not possible to get anything close to HD output on this config and thats why i am looking for an upgrade.

Please Help me.

ThanQ.

 

[ViRGE]

If you don't care about gaming, a Radeon 3450 would do the trick. Otherwise you can move up from there, any of the higher Radeon HD3000 parts, the GeForce 8800GT, any GeForce 9000 parts, etc all do full offloading.

 

[rudreshsj]

oh gr8 thanks ... but what about the remaining requirements ... ?

And as for the gaming bit, im just an average gamer who does not look to excellent quality ... i probably just play counter strike or WOW for maybe a few hours a week. I think the GPU u mentioned ought to be more than enough for these games ...

 

[Chosonman]

You will probably need a AMD HD 2k or 3k card or 8 or 9 series nVidia card and 2GB of system RAM.

 

[rudreshsj]

yes im currently running 2gb of Corsair RAM...

 

[BurnItDwn]

You'll also need a monitor that supports 1900x1080 (or 1900x1200 since most PC monitors are 16:10) in order to view anything at that resolution.

 

[rudreshsj]

would the Dell 2408 WFP do the trick or would you recommend something else?

My main usage will be for multimedia viewing(heavily) and a little gaming with some media editing (photoshop etc)

 

[BurnItDwn]

Originally posted by: rudreshsj
would the Dell 2408 WFP do the trick or would you recommend something else?

My main usage will be for multimedia viewing(heavily) and a little gaming with some media editing (photoshop etc)

The Dell 2408 does 1900x1200 so it can display full 1080P without any compression. I don't know what people like to recommend these days as far as specific monitors are concerned, but the 2408 or something similar to it would be capable of meeting those needs.

 

[Woofmeister]

What kind of 1080p content are you planning to display? You will obviously need the appropriate optical drive if you are planning on running either Blu-ray or HD DVD.

Also, make sure both your graphics card and monitor are HCDP certified since lack of HDCP support will prevent full 1080p resolution with some sources.

 

[bob4432]

Originally posted by: Woofmeister
What kind of 1080p content are you planning to display? You will obviously need the appropriate optical drive if you are planning on running either Blu-ray or HD DVD.

Also, make sure both your graphics card and monitor are HCDP certified since lack of HDCP support will prevent full 1080p resolution with some sources.

Remedy

 

[chizow]

Originally posted by: BurnItDwn

Originally posted by: rudreshsj
would the Dell 2408 WFP do the trick or would you recommend something else?

My main usage will be for multimedia viewing(heavily) and a little gaming with some media editing (photoshop etc)

The Dell 2408 does 1900x1200 so it can display full 1080P without any compression. I don't know what people like to recommend these days as far as specific monitors are concerned, but the 2408 or something similar to it would be capable of meeting those needs.

Yep something like the 2408 is perfect for 1080p on a PC as it has HDCP, 1080p, and a multitude of HDCP compliant inputs like HDMI, DVI, component and even Display Port I think.

Also, if you're going to get a new monitor for this application I'd definitely make sure its HDCP. Relying on something like SlySoft AnyDVD isn't a great idea as there have been problems with HD playback on some of the other programs.

As others said, the other main component you'll need to upgrade is the video card. Any of the newer cards (RV6XX or G9X-based) will handle decoding and offload it from the CPU. Even some onboard solutions can handle it now.

Last thing if you want to play Blu-Ray would be a Blu-Ray optical drive. Try and get one with a bundled player included as that will save you a few bucks.