WOO-HOO!!! company coughs up $1,000 bonus... upgrade time!!

[KDOG]

Ok so it will be between 7-800 after tax. I have been looking into possibly getting a flat panel monitor and a good video card to match it. Whats a good one? Should I go DVI or VGA? I saw a 17" flat panel in Staples the other day that looked good. It was $549 though. Can't remember the brand. I've also been eyeballin' that Radeon All In Wonder 7500 - anyone know anything about it?

 

[MichaelD]

From what I've read, it's best to use a DVI-out if you're using a LCD monitor. No tech data to back it up...just rehashing what I've read. Congrats on your bonus!!! Blow the whole damn thing; that's what windfalls are for, ya'know!

 

[Willoughbyva]

I can't help much on the flat panel, but can on the AIW 7500. I just got it this week. I am not much of a gamer, so I don't know how that is. I had a gf 2mx and I like the AIW 7500 because the 2d is much crisper. I am using it with a 19'' no name crt monitor. (it is a microsystems monitor)

I used to use a Hauppage WinTV GO card, but the drivers with windowsxp were terriable. The drivers for the AIW7500 are pretty good and there are new beta drivers that were released this week. I like the bundelded multimedia programs that come with the card. One program called "guide plus" gives me the TV programming for my area which is really nice. The bundle also comes with Ulead Visual Studio 5 ( I had bought the retail version to use with the Hauppage card, but it didn't work well. With the AIW it does work well (after 2 patches for the program) I can capture at high resolutions (now if only I had a dvd-rw). The bundle comes with a game, but the game was released in 99 so I am not certain how much of a benchmark that would be if I installed it.

One thing that I did have trouble installing was the drivers for the AIW 7500. Make sure you uninstall the drivers for your current card before attempting to install the new drivers. I finally found the problem with mine, I had to go into display properties and uncheck write combining, and then uninstall the old card from device manager (in windows xp). I havent tried installing the thing for the remote yet.

So far I am happy with the AIW 7500. I would have liked to gotten the 8500, but it was just to much money. These graphics seem crisp and clear and I like the way the tv software works.

There were a couple of threads in the video forum about the radeon family of cards.

Will

 

[Beatnik]

My plan is to go RADEON VE and do
dual DVI to 2 1280x1024 panels.

Let me get my calculator... let's see ...
thats 2560x2048... yeah... that's the ticket.

Read the LCD reviews at Tom's Hardware
It's a tough market right now. There are some 17" panels that do 1280x1024.
The newest NEC stuff looks like it might be OK. The EIZO stuff looks a little spendy.
SAMSUNG would be OK.

 

[Beatnik]

Duh-oh. I mean 1280x1024 + 1280x1024 = 2560x1024.

Wow it's late.

 

[Paladin]

<< Ok so it will be between 7-800 after tax. >>



20% after tax?? LOL! get ready for a shock. The government taxes to the max on bonuses, it's not based on salary. I live in CA and it's more like 40%+.

Good job on the bonus though.

 

[HouRman]

549 is cheap for a 17" LCD what brand was it.. I saw that most of the 1280x1024 capable LCDs cost at least $700

I like the radeon 8500 for gaming and u could use the DVI out for a monitor. An OEM 8500 starts at $165, retail at $200.

Didn't see many digital compatable monitors because most of them are analog.
I'd check out the Sony SDM-M61 (DVI)
If you could settle for 1024x768 15" there's the Samsung 150MB (DVI)
hehe, if you have $3000+ you could get a giant flat panel Samsung 210T, NEC LCD2110, or Viewsonic VP230MB
errr why not get a CRT, you could get a better performing 19"-21" CRT and save money.

 

[Vegito]

yeah, i got hit around 45%

 

[Paladin]

<< yeah, i got hit around 45% >>



yep, should be about 27% fed, +SSecurity, +Medicare, + State.

 

[KDOG]

Well it was actually $1060... so I have a little more to work with... .... hmmm... maybe I'll go back to staple and take another look at that monitor....

 

[saltedeggman]

lucky bastard!!