At 6/8/09 12:57 PM, TheWolfe wrote: There's thousands of deprived idiots out there who buy whole systems.

But that's how I make my commission at FutureShop.

i realized i am to koolfor this thread so i shall stop posting

At 6/8/09 07:16 PM, TacoFreak wrote: i realized i am to koolfor this thread so i shall stop posting

/troll

You do realize that no one in this thread shall care, right?

At 6/9/09 10:00 AM, SuperFlonic wrote:

At 6/8/09 07:16 PM, TacoFreak wrote: i realized i am to koolfor this thread so i shall stop posting

/troll

You do realize that no one in this thread shall care, right?

He's right though. Once I discovered overclockers.net, i pretty much stopped coming to the thread

I built this computer last year, and I am thinking about making upgrades.

I have a(n)

Intel Core 2 Duo Processor E4700 (clock speed 2.6 ghz front side buss 800 mhz)
Windows 7
Intel D945GCNL motherboard (built in GMA 950 graphics card with 256 mb graphics memory max resolution is 2048X1536)
2 GB DDR2 SDRAM

Obviously the graphics card is the worst part of the computer. I am thinking about making the switch to dual screen. I currently have a 15'' 1024x768 monitor. The computer has only one video output port. The graphics can handle twice the resolution. Should I get a second 1024x768 monitor and use a video splitter or should I get a new graphics card? If so, what graphics card would be recommended?

At 6/9/09 04:20 PM, Conspiracy3 wrote: Last post.

That's a terrible resolution, and it's probably a really old and small monitor if it got a resolution like that, so I suggest getting a 22" or 24" LCD such as the . About the graphics department, my personal suggestion would be to get something in the area of $150~200. If you like Nvidia, get a EVGA GeForce GTS 250 1GB or a Sapphire Radeon HD 4870 512MB if you like ATI.

Sorry for the double post. Here are the links to the Nvidia card and monitor.
EVGA GeForce GTS 250 1GB
ASUS VW246H Black 24" 2ms

To be honest, if he's getting by on an Intel IGP, he probably doesn't need a gaming card. However, getting a single, high-res monitor would definitely be a more sound investment, since he wouldn't have to alter his PC to do so.

At 6/9/09 05:48 PM, PolishMatt wrote: Sorry for the double post. Here are the links to the Nvidia card and monitor.
EVGA GeForce GTS 250 1GB
ASUS VW246H Black 24" 2ms

Are you sure that the graphics card is compatible with my motherboard?

At 6/9/09 07:11 PM, ThoseSneakyFrench wrote: To be honest, if he's getting by on an Intel IGP, he probably doesn't need a gaming card. However, getting a single, high-res monitor would definitely be a more sound investment, since he wouldn't have to alter his PC to do so.

I would probably rather have two low/medium resolution monitors than one high res monitor. I used dual monitor setups before and it seems to work very well.

$150+ on a GPU?
I don't think so man. Unless he plans to be gaming a lot, an $80 GPU will suit him just fine.
I mean hell, I got mine for $110.

This monitor is 280 dollars, and provides you with 2,304,000 pixels. A dual monitor setup like what you're looking for would only give you 1,572,864.

If you were to go the dual monitor path, you would first need an add-in video card. For $50 (40 MIR), you can get this light gaming card, which will handle two monitors fine, and future proof you something decent, too. Don't forget you would also need another monitor, which is $100 at it's cheapest.

I think you should get a shiny, expensive monitor. It's a less cost efficient upgrade, but future proofing is always an issue. What happens when you want to upgrade your resolution again? You can't easily add a third monitor, so you would have to sell both to buy a new one, or something of the sort. Also, since you probably read a lot of text, being a decent forum-goer, vertical pixels = less scrolling. The big ass monitor has 1200 vertical pixels, as opposed to your dual monitors...768. In the end, it's your choice, but I've given you clear options and my opinion.

THE POWER IS YOURS!

I disagree with Frenchie...
The question is, as I see it:
Spend a ton on one, kickass monitor
or
Spend a decent amount on 2 monitors
(Note than in the end, you're still spending a lot. A $100 monitor is cheaper than a kick ass $180, but not when you buy 2 of them)

The pros for buying a single monitor, according to Frenchie are:
It's sweet
Future proof

First of all, you can get a pretty nice monitor for under 200 bucks, let alone 280. And that monitor he chose is expensive because it has a BUILT IN WEBCAM and BUILT IN SPEAKERS, both of which are low quality, and jack up the price unnecessarily.

My tip is to buy a monitor that is barebone, no speakers, no webcam. That way you can upgrade to better ones, without being stuck with the first pair that came with it. Eg, lets say that you're tired of that 1.3mega pixel camera 2 years from now, and want something better? Have fun spending more money on another webcam, that you attach over the built in one....same for speakers.

Also, getting a dual monitor set up is always a great, productive choice. It offers way more room, and great for multitasking...take it from me =D

You can take frenchies advice and buy a single 24" monitor for $280, or:
Dual Monitors: $189each

Never buy an 800W PSU.

At 6/10/09 06:25 AM, ThoseSneakyFrench wrote: Never buy an 800W PSU.

Good god. And to think I have a 700watt for a E7400 and a 9800GTX+

Good thing I got it on sale for about a hundred bucks =D

I'm not really looking to construct a computer from scratch, but can someone recommend me a good starter desktop, not too pricey, which I can upgrade over time? I'll be working on flash and photoshop and play a few games occasionally. It's not crysis or anything, just counterstrike source and tf2. heck, I played them just fine on my laptop, so I don't think a new PC will have a suckier graphics card than that.

how much would you ideally like to spend and does that include a mointor, keyboard and mouse?

At 6/11/09 04:30 PM, steveo1259 wrote: how much would you ideally like to spend and does that include a mointor, keyboard and mouse?

maybe under $300 or $400 but it's just a desktop. I already have a monitor and could easily get a keyboard and mouse.

i found this online but its in english pounds and you would need to upgrade the graphics soon as that one only has intergrated but otherwise its fine

linky

At 6/11/09 05:12 PM, steveo1259 wrote: i found this online but its in english pounds and you would need to upgrade the graphics soon as that one only has intergrated but otherwise its fine

linky

isn't that like 800 bucks?

At 6/11/09 05:41 PM, Fleshlight wrote:

At 6/11/09 05:12 PM, steveo1259 wrote: i found this online but its in english pounds and you would need to upgrade the graphics soon as that one only has intergrated but otherwise its fine

linky

isn't that like 800 bucks?

God no. A year ago, maybe. Now that's like ~$600 probably

At 6/11/09 06:20 PM, BananaBreadMuffin wrote:

At 6/11/09 05:41 PM, Fleshlight wrote:

At 6/11/09 05:12 PM, steveo1259 wrote: i found this online but its in english pounds and you would need to upgrade the graphics soon as that one only has intergrated but otherwise its fine

linky

isn't that like 800 bucks?

God no. A year ago, maybe. Now that's like ~$600 probably

yeah I don't keep up with the currency, but that's still a little pricey.

What about PCs on this site: http://www.pricewatch.com/computer_syste ms_no_os/
This specific page says the PCs have no OS, but my brother can hook me up with one. Just don't know which specs are best for what I want

This one can be custom made, but that might end up costing too much.

It's understandable that you just want a baseline computer to add on to, but the fact is, building from scratch is the way to go. You will get your baseline computer for cheaper, have more reliable parts installed, and have an unlocked bios, giving you much more freedom in upgrades/Overclocking.

If you really don't want to be bothered with building your own computer, try to find someone who will, even if you have to pay them, it will probably still be much cheaper.

On another note,

NOT RMA!

How much do you think I'll have to pay to get a decent PC? How long does this usually take (including shipping time)? My brother can probably build one, but he says I should just buy something with a good motherboard and a graphics card then go on from there.

At 6/11/09 08:18 PM, Fleshlight wrote: How much do you think I'll have to pay to get a decent PC?

Depends what you want to do with it. I say 600$ without the monitor.

At 6/11/09 09:01 PM, PolishMatt wrote:

At 6/11/09 08:18 PM, Fleshlight wrote: How much do you think I'll have to pay to get a decent PC?

Depends what you want to do with it. I say 600$ without the monitor.

fuck that, I'll just order the $200 starter PC

At 6/11/09 09:07 PM, Fleshlight wrote: fuck that, I'll just order the $200 starter PC

You will get nothing but trash for 200$ if your intetions are to play a few modern games or want to upgrade it at all in the future.

So I decided to mod my 7750/9600gt rig on the side so I have something to do while I'm at my dad's. I put new thermal paste on my GPU. It's running 9C lower now. This is good to know because now that my gaming rig is up again, my 280 has been loading 86C, AT STOCK!

At 6/12/09 06:27 PM, ThoseSneakyFrench wrote: So I decided to mod my 7750/9600gt rig on the side so I have something to do while I'm at my dad's. I put new thermal paste on my GPU. It's running 9C lower now. This is good to know because now that my gaming rig is up again, my 280 has been loading 86C, AT STOCK!

Just made like 500$ from selling some of my musical instruments that I don't use anymore and can't take with me when I move back to Europe later this month. Just a bit more added on top of that and what I got now and I might soon be to build a rig that will have the up coming Six-core Intel Nahalem processors that should be in stores by fourth quarter this year. Poor days for AMD, at least they're winning with prices.

At 6/12/09 09:07 PM, PolishMatt wrote:

At 6/12/09 06:27 PM, ThoseSneakyFrench wrote: So I decided to mod my 7750/9600gt rig on the side so I have something to do while I'm at my dad's. I put new thermal paste on my GPU. It's running 9C lower now. This is good to know because now that my gaming rig is up again, my 280 has been loading 86C, AT STOCK!

Just made like 500$ from selling some of my musical instruments that I don't use anymore and can't take with me when I move back to Europe later this month. Just a bit more added on top of that and what I got now and I might soon be to build a rig that will have the up coming Six-core Intel Nahalem processors that should be in stores by fourth quarter this year. Poor days for AMD, at least they're winning with prices.

Intel's been doing a lot of shifty stuff with their whole two socket deal, I don't like it. Not to say they don't make good CPUs, but from a price and logical standpoint, their marketing department must of gotten a hold of some shrooms. You said you do a lot of heavy CPU stuff, so you'd probably be happy with i7/i5/lynnfield/OH FUCK WHATS IT CALLED.

Anyways, matte > gloss.