Upgrade - A year later in my computer building life

[Nietzsche-san]

Hello, again, everyone!

Last year around this time I received help from you wonderful people on building my own rig; as a result, I've learned much more about computers, yet I still value the advice from this community.

That being said, I want to upgrade the following parts:

Hard Drive
Monitor
Speakers

Hard drive - problem is pretty simple - except all the 1 TB HDDs I had my eyes on are now twice as much as they used to be. Am I crazy or? http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16822148697

This shit was 50 dollars only a month or so ago Should I just wait out the inflation or?

Monitor http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16824236059

Right now I'm running BF3 at a decent FPS, everything on Ultra, on my Dynex LCD TV, but I'm afraid that if I upgrade to a resolution like the monitor above, my gtx470 won't be able to run BF3 as smoothly. Or will my beast hold up? Also, what is the "best" resolution to play at? I understand the subjectivity of that question, but I'm sure someone has a good understanding of the range of resolutions. Back home I have an older monitor that runs at 1600x900 - I like it, but I feel like 1920x1080 will definitely kick ass.

As for price, I want to stay under $200.

Speakers

I'm not exactly an audiophile, but I find myself wishing my old ass Compaq speakers would sporadically evolve into slick motherfucking speakers who's bass forces premature ejaculation from across the street.

But at a decent price.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16836116043
I was thinking something like this would satisfy my mid-ranged needs Any suggestions/criticisms?



I think I've clearly outlined my needs and questions, but if I was unclear at all, just let me know! I love all of you and can't wait to benefit from your wisdom!


(fingers crossed for David and Mfenn)

 

[Ken g6]

HDDs are going to be expensive for 6 months to a year, I'd say. http://forums.anandtech.com/showthread.php?t=2198560

Why do you want a new hard drive now? What do you have currently? (It's not in your sig.)

1920x1080 is the most common current resolution. A GTX 470 is still quite decent these days, except for all the power it uses and heat it puts out. Should you choose to get a new GPU, I'd wait until the 28nm versions come out in a few months.

I'll let someone else comment on monitors.

 

[Nietzsche-san]

HDDs are going to be expensive for 6 months to a year, I'd say. http://forums.anandtech.com/showthread.php?t=2198560

Why do you want a new hard drive now? What do you have currently? (It's not in your sig.)

1920x1080 is the most common current resolution. A GTX 470 is still quite decent these days, except for all the power it uses and heat it puts out. Should you choose to get a new GPU, I'd wait until the 28nm versions come out in a few months.

I'll let someone else comment on monitors.

Oh shit, that's sad Hmmm, maybe giving up a few more shells will help the situation and restore their fiscal balance - that's if they're a cool company, pay their workers well, and aren't the Monsanto of Hard-Drives Haha. I'll look into it.

Sorry for not providing that information, haha! I currently have a 150gb 7200 Seagate Barracuda, but it's almost 5 years old and I am almost out of room. I was hoping a new HDD would improve game load times and I could finally store my Death Metal, Progressive Rock, and Electronica music kingdom on mah compooter. I have considered an SSD boot drive, but might wait until X-mas for that.

I saw that they recently stopped manufacturing the 470 line, or at least the EVGA one. It's served me well so far! As for a new GPU, I'll take your advice and wait for the new models.

 

[lehtv]

ncix still seems to have the 1TB 7200.12 barracudas in stock for $100 http://us.ncix.com/products/?sku=587...acture=Seagate. Not a terrible price, given how in lots of places you have to pay $150+ for a 1TB drive, and that prices are probably only going to increase as the rest of the stocks dry up.

If you want a speaker set with any decent degree of bass reproduction I'd recommend a set with a subwoofer. E.g. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16836121048

GTX 470 should handle 1080p fine on high settings in most games. I'd regard monitor resolution more important than other image quality settings anyway

 

[Nietzsche-san]

ncix still seems to have the 1TB 7200.12 barracudas in stock for $100 http://us.ncix.com/products/?sku=587...acture=Seagate. Not a terrible price, given how in lots of places you have to pay $150+ for a 1TB drive, and that prices are probably only going to increase as the rest of the stocks dry up.

If you want a speaker set with any decent degree of bass reproduction I'd recommend a set with a subwoofer. E.g. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16836121048

GTX 470 should handle 1080p fine on high settings in most games. I'd regard monitor resolution more important than other image quality settings anyway

I think I'll have to decide whether or not to pick the HDD up within the next few days, since good BlackFriday deals for HDDs...will probably not exist.

The comments for those speakers already have me salivating. I think I will pick up those suckers around BlackFriday time

As for my GPU, YAY! So that confusion should be settled; now I just need to pick the right monitor. Would you say this would fit my needs? It's slightly better than the original monitor I posted, for the same price.

 

[Ken g6]

Huh, I expected lehtv to throw out a monitor. But I see you picked two good monitors. The new one is actually $40 more than the old one AR, After Promo with shipping.

The difference between them is that the new one uses a dynamic LED backlight, which makes areas of black really black, and saves power. (25W vs. 55W!)

 

[lehtv]

@Ken g6

Well I think the VH236H is already a great choice for what it costs . VH238H is good too. Another option: VH242H is the same price as 238H, but it's 23.6" instead of 23". The LED backlight of 238H might be worth it though.

 

[Nietzsche-san]

Huh, I expected lehtv to throw out a monitor. But I see you picked two good monitors. The new one is actually $40 more than the old one AR, After Promo with shipping.

The difference between them is that the new one uses a dynamic LED backlight, which makes areas of black really black, and saves power. (25W vs. 55W!)

So in the long run do you view the difference worth it (Maybe the power saved will pay for the difference in the long run)? I have read that ASCR is a big deal, but also read that it's just an ego war between manufacturers. 50,000,000 looks badass and should improve color refinement, but I doubt it's as dramatic as a manufacturer would make it seem.


Random question: Of course even the most knowledgeable of this community sometimes need advice and criticism from others, but do the prominent members ever find themselves stuck with the technicality of some of their questions? I ask this, because I want to expand my knowledge. For instance, I've learned that arbitrary number/letter designations like "VH238H" are just to distinguish models - it's the "250cd/m2" (Seen in the newer monitor description) that trips me up. Of course all I need to do is look up what that means, but I seek a well of information maybe you or someone else has accessed for years to attain technical information. Of course, most may have just randomly gathered knowledge by roaming the forums. I'm just curious if you know of concise and informative sites that you've found useful?

 

[Nietzsche-san]

@Ken g6

Well I think the VH236H is already a great choice for what it costs . VH238H is good too. Another option: VH242H is the same price as 238H, but it's 23.6" instead of 23". The LED backlight of 238H might be worth it though.

Haha, my responsible brain leans towards the cheaper VH236H, but my enthusiast and curious brain, even though aware of the possible shallowness of the ASCR muscle flexing, wants the satisfaction of the "ooh, I have backlighting" feeling.

 

[lehtv]

You have two brains...? Wowwww

BTW, I think Dynamic Contrast is completely worthless. All it does is distract you with the sudden changes in contrast and make your eyes tired because it's way too bright most of the time. It's much better to find brightness/contrast values that are comfortable in long-term use.

 

[Nietzsche-san]

You have two brains...? Wowwww

You don't SO WEEARDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDD


So will this abundance of ASCR, in fact, degrade the quality of the monitor?

 

[mfenn]

(fingers crossed for David and Mfenn)

Howdy!

So will this abundance of ASCR, in fact, degrade the quality of the monitor?

IMHO yes. A well-implemented dynamic backlight system can theoretically improve contrast ratios. A poorly-implemented one will just look like crap because you'll be able to see the brightness scaling up and down.

As for the particular monitor, the VH242H is a pretty decent monitor for the price. The extra inch of screen size translates to about 9% more area for 12% more cost, which I think is worth it.

As for the HDD, yeah prices suck right now. The Seagate that lehtv recommended is fine.

Also, those creative speakers actually sound quite good for their size. They are more tuned to music listening though, so you might find their bass lacking for games and movies.

 

[mfenn]

Random question: Of course even the most knowledgeable of this community sometimes need advice and criticism from others, but do the prominent members ever find themselves stuck with the technicality of some of their questions? I ask this, because I want to expand my knowledge. For instance, I've learned that arbitrary number/letter designations like "VH238H" are just to distinguish models - it's the "250cd/m2" (Seen in the newer monitor description) that trips me up. Of course all I need to do is look up what that means, but I seek a well of information maybe you or someone else has accessed for years to attain technical information. Of course, most may have just randomly gathered knowledge by roaming the forums. I'm just curious if you know of concise and informative sites that you've found useful?

I wish there was some "look up anything" site, but there isn't. Wikipedia comes close though. Mostly the knowledge comes constantly reading reviews and forums posts about anything and everything computer related. Pretty soon, you'll be able to synthesize all of those disparate pieces of information into a cohesive view of what's good and what isn't.

 

[Nietzsche-san]

Howdy!



IMHO yes. A well-implemented dynamic backlight system can theoretically improve contrast ratios. A poorly-implemented one will just look like crap because you'll be able to see the brightness scaling up and down.

As for the particular monitor, the VH242H is a pretty decent monitor for the price. The extra inch of screen size translates to about 9% more area for 12% more cost, which I think is worth it.

As for the HDD, yeah prices suck right now. The Seagate that lehtv recommended is fine.

Also, those creative speakers actually sound quite good for their size. They are more tuned to music listening though, so you might find their bass lacking for games and movies.

Hmm...then maybe I will go for the VH242H. Like I said, the big numbers look nice, but you're right, it may just backfire. So if you had to choose between the 3, you'd go for the 242H?

I actually will probably not being buying an HDD until x-mas, now. I really want to focus on aesthetics, so I'll just endure longer load times and pay more attention to what I save and what's necessary.

As for the speakers, I would think good for music bass would be overkill for movie/gaming bass? Maybe my logic is off. If yes, then would a good set covering all 3 areas be more expensive?

 

[Nietzsche-san]

I wish there was some "look up anything" site, but there isn't. Wikipedia comes close though. Mostly the knowledge comes constantly reading reviews and forums posts about anything and everything computer related. Pretty soon, you'll be able to synthesize all of those disparate pieces of information into a cohesive view of what's good and what isn't.

Nicely said I presumed this would be the answer, but hoped for some obscure, yet quality site that would satisfy my curiosity - Wikipedia does do this, in a way, you're right. Thank you for the cogent response.

Just curious, how long did it take you to become "knowledgeable"?

Edit: I'm a philosophy major and it took me until now to realize I'm asking a question that penetrates more than just technical knowledge haha. I'm sure none of you is/ever will be satisfied with how much you know I'm excited for more insight that might arise from my question - your answer certainly did remind me of my own understanding of the nature of knowledge, in so far that de-compartmentalization can form a unity of knowledge.

 

[lehtv]

As for the speakers, I would think good for music bass would be overkill for movie/gaming bass? Maybe my logic is off. If yes, then would a good set covering all 3 areas be more expensive?

2.1 sets (i.e. 2 speakers + 1 subwoofer) usually allow a pretty broad range for adjusting the bass so that it sounds right in every situation. If you buy a sound card, you can adjust bass as well as mid-tone and treble levels with the equalizer to your liking, but of course with lower end speakers you'll quickly find the limits of useful equalizer tweaking.

There are cheaper 2.1 sets than the one I linked, e.g. Logitech Z523. These are only 40W, the others are 200W and THX-certified.

 

[mfenn]

Just curious, how long did it take you to become "knowledgeable"?

15 years or so of closely following computers and I still don't know everything :awe: I think that you could become fairly knowledgeable by hanging around guys like Ken, lehtv, mnewsham, David, and fffblackmage for a while though.

Hmm...then maybe I will go for the VH242H. Like I said, the big numbers look nice, but you're right, it may just backfire. So if you had to choose between the 3, you'd go for the 242H?

Yep.

As for the speakers, I would think good for music bass would be overkill for movie/gaming bass? Maybe my logic is off. If yes, then would a good set covering all 3 areas be more expensive?

Generally speaking, yes to both. A speaker manufacturer trying to hit a given price point has to make certain trade-offs in design. Spending more on a more powerful subwoofer design leaves the less to spend on the midrange and tweeters, which generally results in poor clarity. Flaws such as these will quickly become apparent when you try to tweak the bass to be less overpowering for music. This is pretty much lehtv's point below.

2.1 sets (i.e. 2 speakers + 1 subwoofer) usually allow a pretty broad range for adjusting the bass so that it sounds right in every situation. If you buy a sound card, you can adjust bass as well as mid-tone and treble levels with the equalizer to your liking, but of course with lower end speakers you'll quickly find the limits of useful equalizer tweaking.

There are cheaper 2.1 sets than the one I linked, e.g. Logitech Z523. These are only 40W, the others are 200W and THX-certified.

 

[Nietzsche-san]

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...dex-_-36121044

Hey, are these nicer than the 2.1 Logitechs we've been discussing?

http://www.klipsch.com/promedia-2-1-computer-speakers


Edit: This is a very nice deal, but someone in the comments made a pretty good argument that its OverDrive Feature that enables 2m/s response time, but causes ghosting, makes the VH242H a superior monitor. The deal ends today, so if for some reason one of you guys really recommends it, hopefully you respond, soon

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...scrollFullInfo

 

[mfenn]

Yes, the Klipsch are better speakers.

As for the monitor, looks fine to me. I would disable overdrive though because it generally makes things look like ass. You most likely won't notice a difference in pixel responsiveness anyway.

 

[Nietzsche-san]

Yes, the Klipsch are better speakers.

As for the monitor, looks fine to me. I would disable overdrive though because it generally makes things look like ass. You most likely won't notice a difference in pixel responsiveness anyway.

Hmm, well the review said it's very annoying that you have to turn it off every time you turn it on, change resolution, etc. But that 30% is pretty fucking great...hmm..

 

[mfenn]

Hmm, well the review said it's very annoying that you have to turn it off every time you turn it on, change resolution, etc. But that 30% is pretty fucking great...hmm..

Hmm, maybe we now know why it's 30% off. I guess it comes down to how much the annoyance is worth to you, personally I wouldn't go for it (then again I am the type of person who buys a $500 monitor).

 

[Nietzsche-san]

Hmm, maybe we now know why it's 30% off. I guess it comes down to how much the annoyance is worth to you, personally I wouldn't go for it (then again I am the type of person who buys a $500 monitor).

Yeah, you're probably right! And wtf! What monitor do you have?!

 

[mfenn]

Dell U2410. It is quite pretty to look at. I use a 30" at work though, and I am getting kind of jealous. I hope that I don't end up having to spend $1100 on a monitor and god knows how much on the GPU upgrades to go with it.

 

[Nietzsche-san]

Dell U2410. It is quite pretty to look at. I use a 30" at work though, and I am getting kind of jealous. I hope that I don't end up having to spend $1100 on a monitor and god knows how much on the GPU upgrades to go with it.

Wow, Dell actually makes nice products...holy shit that's sweet. So expensive, though =/

 

[coolpurplefan]

I know you're going to have a hard time believing me but I think the Creative T12 sounds better than the T20 partly because the frequencies go lower (more base) and lower high frequency as well which I find softer on the ears. I'm talking about the wired ones because I never tried the wireless ones. I think the wired ones were on amazon.com for $50 (or the Dell website). Yeah, smaller, less expensive and somewhat less powerful but in my opinion, still superior. (I have both the T20 and T12.)