Help with budget video solution

[asdftt123]

I'm trying to decide between the following two setups:

20 or 22" LCD @ 1680x1050 Native resolution + 8800GTX
or
24" LCD @ 1920x1200 Native resolution + X1950XT (or equivalent)

These two setups will cost be about the same (give or take a bit). Either way, I plan on upgrading to a next generation video card in 2008, either Nvidia or ATI. Obviously, I won't be able to do as much gaming with the 24" LCD in the meantime, but would getting a 24" and *settling* for a less powerful video card be worth it? There is definitely an obvious price difference between the 22" and 24" displays. As for 24", I have my eyes on the LG L245WP-BN Black 24" 8ms on Newegg. As for 20" or 22", I really have no clue. :/ Could someone give me some input or perhaps another setup suggestion? I don't plan to use this rig just for gaming, but I plan to do a lot of multitasking and this computer is *hopefully* going to be mainly for school work. The rest of my build will consist of X38 (DDR2 edition), Q6600, and 4GB DDR2 800. Thanks!

 

[MarcVenice]

I find 1680*1050 pretty big allready and can easily handle 2/3 windows open at the same time. If you will be upgrading to a new card in 2008, I would go with the bigger screen, because a screen will last you several years and wont nearly degrade in money as fast as videocards do. Then pair it with a 8800gts 320mb instead of a 1950xt. That way you can still game pretty well and enjoy the bigger screen.

 

[asdftt123]

Okay, I just gave it some thought and I realized that LCD monitors are more future proof than video cards that will have a lifespan of only 2-3 years max so I'm leaning towards the weaker GPU + larger LCD. Is the resolution difference of a 20/22" to a 24" very noticeable and can increase productivity and make a huge difference in games? Those with 24" LCD's, please let me know!