New Gaming/Work PC

[mfenn]

1. Because of issues with upload speeds, I do have a 1080p sreen atm that I am happy with and am wondering if it would cause any issues to have it as a third monitor, stream games on that, play games on one of the bigger screens and have the third for browsing or whatnot.

For streaming, you're going to be streaming out the game at the same resolution that you're playing. So if you're wanting to stream at 1080p, you're going to be playing the game at 1080p. It's totally fine to stick with 1080p if that's where you're comfortable and it's what your upload will support.

2. Is there any particular reason why you have gone with those monitors? I only ask out of curiosity for i have absolutely no idea about monitors.

Dell UltraSharps are my go-to monitors for extremely high quality without leaping into the crazy-expensive professional realm. They don't necessarily have all the "tweaker" features like overclocking, etc. but they use good panels, amazing stands, and have a very polished OSD.

 

[Cerb]

- To minimize fan noise I'll probably try to hide the computer away from my microphone and what not anyway.

Good idea, for recording. An Asus Strix, MSI Gaming, or Gigabyte G1 will be pretty quiet all the time, though (Aus GB G1 prices seemed kind of high, to me, though). If you haven't built a PC in several years, while load noise is not going to be whisper level out of the box, I think you will be quite surprised at what it how quiet it will be, with only the most minimal configuration efforts. My Core 2 system took work to quiet. My Xeon E3 system took good parts selection, a little cable management time, and time fiddling with Speedfan...and I get eye-twitches if I can hear anything from my PC, if it's not under a heavy load :twisted:.

My or mfenn's builds aren't going into any extremes for quietness, but will have no problem, with just some minor playing around with settings, getting to the noise levels of major OEM desktops (basically, setting the minimum fan speeds, around idle temps, lower than defaults, and maybe using the voltage switch in the case for the case fans). The Fractal Design Define cases are good all-around values for getting things quiet, with options to improve performance instead, if desired, and are very easy to build in for quiet cases (I like some of Silverstone's, for example, but you really have to plan out your cabling, and then still spend some time tucking it away, even in their roomier cases, like FT02).

- Most people say it's best to go for a big PSU for safety, but I see you've gone for something a bit more reasonable. I'd just like to hear your thoughts on why if at all possible.

It's not really any different. At stock speeds, with a MSI GTX 970, which is one of the highest-power stock 970s*, you will be unlikely to be able to exceed 300W from the PSU. But, around 200W of that will be the video card. Overclocking, or adding a second card, can greatly increase that. You'd actually be able to use around 500W with 2 stock MSI or GB GTX 970s, so a 600W might not be so good a choice for a long PSU life, if you did that.

2. Is there any particular reason why you have gone with those monitors? I only ask out of curiosity for i have absolutely no idea about monitors.

To add to mfenn's bit: for gaming, you want low total input lag. That is, how long it takes for the monitor to show the frame, once it is sent (pixel response time plus monitor processing time, basically). For doing video or photo editing, you want good color range and accuracy. For looking at for a long time, you want a good coating, so you won't get reflections easily, nor see every spec of dust, but you don't want it to look hazy, or like it's covered with cloth or water droplets (or any other ways to describe subpar matte finishes ). Regardless, you want a minimum of artifacts from the panel trying to respond quickly, as well.

The fastest monitors either lack in color, shift a lot by viewing angle (including straight on, since different parts of the display are at different angles to your eyes), both, or are quite expensive. So, if you're going to spend a decent bit of time doing work that isn't gaming, you might want to find a compromise of performance metrics, and general panel quality, rather than just going for the fastest you can get. While they make some duds here and there, the Ultrasharp line is generally good enough in all those areas that matter, and not overly expensive for what they do offer.

The 24" that I chose, to shave some costs off, the P2414H, are 99% as good as the U2414H, if you just use sRGB (the Ultrasharps do Adobe RGB alright, but that's basically useless unless you do pro photo/print work) (technically, the UXX14H match sRGB better, too, but it's way too close for your eyes/brain to tell). You'll find any video game that uses darks a lot, or has gamma and contrast intro to adjust your monitor with, and basically all modern video content, is targeted to sRGB, so being very near sRGB makes it a lot easier to deal with color and gamma (set your brightness to something comfortable, and then...that was it; all done). All this only applies to the P2214H through P2414H, for apples to apples, as the P2714H is 1080P. The Ultrasharps have thin bezels, though, if spacing between monitors bugs you.

The main negative to any of the new AH-IPS panels from LG, though (Dell, LG, BenQ...anybody's monitor using them), is wide glow coming from a corner, though it's not too intense. With some ambient light, it's all good. I use a 40W incan lamp, pointed away from me, and a bit less light I think would do fine.

* the 980s use a bit less power, and Gigabyte's efficient VRMs make theirs slightly more power efficient, though it is capable of being pushed higher than most, with overclocking.