Good monitor vs Uber good Computer Parts ?

[TequilaKat]

Well it's that time of year for an upgrade and I have 2 different ideas. Please help me decide on which one.

Either Idea # 1

Opteron 165
DFI Lanparty Ultra-D Mobo
Sapphire X1900XT
G.Skill HZ PC4000 2x1GB
Samsung 712N 12 MS Response time, analog ( my current monitor )

Or Idea # 2

AMD 3800+ ( Current ) Would this CPU be a bottleneck for the GPU ?
Cheapo 100 dollar mobo
Sapphire X1900XT
Infieon Valueram 2x512 ( Current )
BIGGIE > Dell 2005FPW Monitor

Both comes to around $1200.

Please help, and thanks alot !

 

[i1o0i]

I would go with 1st choice.

 

[dalearyous]

i'd go with idea # 1 and save up a bit more for new screen no seriously thats a tough one. you could have the best hardware in the world and it would look like crap due to a pathetic monitor. however, this is what i would do, honestly

i would keep amd 3800
get new decent mobo to OC the 3800
1900xt
ram
and then the dell monitor

don't know exactly where this would put you but its the best of both and rpobably end up just a bit over 1200

 

[remagavon]

I think it's pretty good advice to say that you should spend the most money on the stuff that you use the most, i.e. interact with daily. Get a good keyboard, mouse, monitor, and speakers, because these are things that usually will outlast your pc as far as the lifecycle is concerned. I've seen monster pc's being used with horrid monitors, and it just doesn't make a lot of sense to me personally. Ultimately you have to make the decision for yourself.

 

[bamacre]

#1. Wait until next year for a new LCD, prices will be falling through the roof by then.

 

[dalearyous]

Originally posted by: bamacre
#1. Wait until next year for a new LCD, prices will be falling through the roof by then.

yeah he doesn't have bad idea either. i currently own fp2141sb crt and i almost went with dell 2405 but lcds still aren't where i want them to be to spend 900 on one.

 

[TequilaKat]

Hmm, yeah, thanx for the quick replies, I saw one of those Dell monitors at the mall at some ksoisk. Pretty tempting.

 

[TequilaKat]

Originally posted by: dalearyous
i'd go with idea # 1 and save up a bit more for new screen no seriously thats a tough one. you could have the best hardware in the world and it would look like crap due to a pathetic monitor. however, this is what i would do, honestly

i would keep amd 3800
get new decent mobo to OC the 3800
1900xt
ram
and then the dell monitor

don't know exactly where this would put you but its the best of both and rpobably end up just a bit over 1200

His idea sounds pretty good. I'm just a bit worried the 3800 whould bottleneck the x1900xt. May cause performance issues. What do you guys think ?

 

[LOUISSSSS]

how would an x2 3800 cause problems with a 1900xt?

 

[xtknight]

Originally posted by: LOUISSSSS
how would an x2 3800 cause problems with a 1900xt?

It wouldn't with any of today's games. And with new SMP-aware games coming out the GPU will have even less of a bottleneck on it. Don't worry about it.

 

[bamacre]

Originally posted by: TequilaKat

Originally posted by: dalearyous
i'd go with idea # 1 and save up a bit more for new screen no seriously thats a tough one. you could have the best hardware in the world and it would look like crap due to a pathetic monitor. however, this is what i would do, honestly

i would keep amd 3800
get new decent mobo to OC the 3800
1900xt
ram
and then the dell monitor

don't know exactly where this would put you but its the best of both and rpobably end up just a bit over 1200

His idea sounds pretty good. I'm just a bit worried the 3800 whould bottleneck the x1900xt. May cause performance issues. What do you guys think ?

I think you're wrong. Heck, Pentium 630 here with a 7800 GTX. Forget the word bottleneck exists when you're talking about new cpu's and new gpu's.

 

[Tostada]

Both of them seem like bad ideas.

As someone who's been running 1600x1200 for the last six years, I guess I'd have to go with idea #2 ... but the 2005FPW is 1680x1050. Widescreen is cool, but I wouldn't be getting the the the Dell when a slightly bigger, better 1600x1200 screen like the Samsung 204T is the same price.

I certainly can't see the prices of 20" LCDs coming down very quickly when it's already down to $500 for a quality one. Where are you guys getting that idea? The 24" widescreen 1920x1200 LCDs might have some room to come down significantly in the next year, but the 20" ones are already a pretty reasonable price.

Anyway, you already have a pretty decent 17" LCD. I would upgrade the LCD, but that's because I like a lot of desktop space (make note that I didn't say "real estate," because it's just not clever anymore). From the looks of things, you're pretty into gaming performance, though, so the LCD probably isn't that big a deal.

"Upgrading" the CPU from an X2 3800+ to an Opteron 165 seems pretty pointless, too. The Opteron has twice the cache, but the 3800+ has a higher multiplier. So, for example, if you're running the PC4000 (DDR500) at the speed it's supposed to run at, you could overclock your X2 up to 2.50 GHz and keep the RAM synchronous. You could only overclock the Opteron up to 2.25 GHz. You can can argue that the Opteron is better, and you're probably right, but it's certainly not worth it if you've already got the X2.

I'm just thinking that there's an Idea #3 out there that you'd be much happier with, but it depends on your priorities.

 

[Boztech]

Seriously, matching an X1900XT to a 17" analog LCD is not only wasteful, but a damn travesty.

Think about it this way, what part of your computer are you experiencing the most when you use it? Obviously, your monitor.. so don't be afraid to spring for the best you can get. Which is why I didn't hesitate to pick up my 20" Apple LCD, it's beautiful to look at on or off and gives me plenty of screen space. It's the first and last thing other people notice and comment on when they see my workstation.

 

[Rumple]

Do you game alot? I have read so many bad reviews on the Dell monitors for gaming. They all say the same things they are pretty much the best monitors for anything and everything except gaming.

I personally just went with the samsung 940b. Possibly the best gaming LCD 19" monitor and it comes in at a very nice price of 329.99 shipped from zipzoomfly.com

Like the others said that processor is plenty for just about anything right now. I would buy a new mobo. DFI or Epox. The x1900xt. And the ram really doesnt make much of a difference either. Except maybe up it to 2gb of value ram. But definitly get an LCD with DVI instead of analog. That is such a waste of an LCD.

So go with option 1 but dont buy a new CPU and instead buy yourself a nice LCD.

 

[essasin]

Id get option #1 if you want to play around with your systen and overclock. But, I would personally would choose option #2 because in reality you will not notice the difference between computer #1 and computer #2 unless you are benchmarking. However, you will notice a huge difference from a 20 and a 17 in anything you do, from emailing, web surfing and gaming.

 

[frogger9]

Always go monitor first. That's what you stare at all day after all...

 

[TecHNooB]

Go with the first option and wait until Vista comes and find out what's going on with this HDCP crap.

 

[letstalkcisco]

I'd recommend splurging on the monitor. Those viewsonic 19" 2ms make me drool...$360 or something on newegg.

I read a very convincing article a while back stating that your monitor should be about the highest priority when figuring out what to splurge on (except maybe PSU). A 19" 2ms LCD is going to be a great thing to have for probably a good five years. Can you say the same about the opteron?

 

[alimoalem]

keep the cpu
get the x1900xt
get 2gigs of VALUE ram
get the dfi board
get a good 19" monitor

 

[One43637]

i'm a firm believer that a good monitor will outlast the components inside your tower. so if you can get a good deal on that Dell, and you usually can with the coupons they release periodically, i would get that monitor. lowest i've seen that 2005fpw was under 400 USD shipped.

 

[TequilaKat]

Hey guys, sorry I haven't posted too much, but I had to go. Anyway, some of you kinda misread my 3800+. Its not dual core :-(. Thats why I wanted to upgrade CPU. Yeah, my 17 inch is gettin old so thats whats gettin me. Someone talked about a samsung monitor for less the price. I'll look into that too. Also, so do you think my cpu is a bottleneck Now ?

 

[TequilaKat]

Originally posted by: TequilaKat
Hey guys, sorry I haven't posted too much, but I had to go. Anyway, some of you kinda misread my 3800+. Its not dual core :-(. Thats why I wanted to upgrade CPU. Yeah, my 17 inch is gettin old so thats whats gettin me. Someone talked about a samsung monitor for less the price. I'll look into that too. Also, so do you think my cpu is a bottleneck Now ?

3800+ Non Dual Core Bottle Neck for X1900XT ? Yes or No ?

 

[Bobthelost]

A single core 3800 is still more than fast enough. You might see some improvement if you were to upgrade, but it would be a tiny difference especially compared to the difference you'd see with a new monitor.

 

[cKGunslinger]

Just to throw another option out there: 22" CRT

It's never easy, is it?

 

[cKGunslinger]

Originally posted by: TequilaKat

Originally posted by: TequilaKat
Hey guys, sorry I haven't posted too much, but I had to go. Anyway, some of you kinda misread my 3800+. Its not dual core :-(. Thats why I wanted to upgrade CPU. Yeah, my 17 inch is gettin old so thats whats gettin me. Someone talked about a samsung monitor for less the price. I'll look into that too. Also, so do you think my cpu is a bottleneck Now ?

3800+ Non Dual Core Bottle Neck for X1900XT ? Yes or No ?

Would you see faster performance with the D/C Opteron? Yes.
Would it be worth several hundreds of dollars? Probalby not.

Get a new display and your graphics card, IMO.