[pterodactilo]

Mine's: DELL Precision M4500 (bought on August 2010)
 
 
-> CPU: intel Core i5 2.4 GHz
-> RAM: 2 GB 1333 MHz DDR3 RAM
-> Hard Disk: 320 7200 rpm
-> VGA: Nvidia FX1800M
-> Onboard sound: IDT "high definition " CODEC ( nothing spectacular but it sounds pretty decent out of the headphone jack though)
-> Screen: 1600x900 White LED
 
Planning to upgrade RAM right now and to replace the whole system when second iteration of Sandy Bridge arrives (or maybe the next architecture).

 

[ccbass]

Quote:

Mine's: DELL Precision M4500 (bought on August 2010)
 
 
-> CPU: intel Core i5 2.4 GHz
-> RAM: 2 GB 1333 MHz DDR3 RAM
-> Hard Disk: 320 7200 rpm
-> VGA: Nvidia FX1800M
-> Onboard sound: IDT "high definition " CODEC ( nothing spectacular but it sounds pretty decent out of the headphone jack though)
-> Screen: 1600x900 White LED
 
Planning to upgrade RAM right now and to replace the whole system when second iteration of Sandy Bridge arrives (or maybe the next architecture).

Sandy Bride is the next tech to arrive.  Then it's something like Ivy Bridge. 
 
Either way, SB is the next tech launching from Intel in Q1 2011.

 

[Somnambulist]

Mainstream Sandy Bridge Q1, Enthusiast SB Q3 I think. The latter should be the one to get if you're interested in overclocking or high-end performance, although I imagine even the mainstream parts will be very good for everything an average home user would throw at it.

 

[Somnambulist]

Quote:

Quote:

I've seen it explained on OCUK before, it's basically something to do with how they share what you see on screen, and that essentially the tech used has a ton of room for improvement but nothing much has changed over the last few years, although scaling on multiple cards has improved a lot, so it's there's way less diminishing returns there.
 
Not sure what card I'll get myself but it'll probably be either a 6950 or 570 overclocked to 6970 or 580 speeds, depending on price and which overclocks best. If an OC'ed 6950 comes within 5-10% of a stock 6970, then it should hit that sweet spot of giving you lasting high performance but without paying full wack every time you need to upgrade (which should be when you can't max a game you like, not every time new cards come out!).
 
Nice monitor btw, I'm torn between that and the new BenQ EW2420 in the 'quality for a guy on a budget' price for the Mac Mini I want to get. Different panel tech but neither is TN and they both seem very, very good for the price. I'd love the Dell Ultrasharp 24" but it's rather expensive!

Yeah, the last time I heard complaints about micro stuttering was in the 9800gx2, lol.
 
I'm probably just going to stick to my current card(5850) for a few years, but if the price is right I may do the same thing you're planning on doing.
 
Thanks, I can't help you too much with your decision since I don't know anything about the BenQ, but I'll give you some impressions of the u2311h.
 
The colors on the display are beautiful and accurate like you've read, I'm sure. The only complaint I have with the u2311h is the fact that it can only run 1080@60Hz. I don't know how much you care about monitor Hz for gaming(if you game at all), but I got used to it and I also want to point out that the response time isn't really that slow. I did notice ghosting when I first got it, but after a week it didn't bother me at all anymore. Hope this helps you in your decision between the two.
 
The build quality of the monitor is superb, aswell. The screen only wobbles a bit if you like, say, bump the table by accident. It also has a ton of adjustment options.
 
The OSD is easy to navigate for adjustment of the colors, brightness, and so on.
 
I just can't say enough good things about this monitor. If you ever see the deal for it again, don't hesitate to pick one up...I didn't

Hope helps you make your decision.

 
If the 5850 isn't hindering your gaming experience in any way, then there's no need to upgrade. At the end of the day there's a massive amount of willy-wagging with graphics cards. I've seen people running 580 TriSLI already, just for a single monitor. Utter madness!
 
I intend on running two separate monitors, one for gaming and GPU intensive stuff like the odd bit of 3D modelling which will be a 120hz display (I'm not fussed about playing games in 3D, I just want the increased hz for a more CRT-like experience), the other for internet/iTunes and stuff that's more suited to an IPS or similar panel's strengths, which is where the U2311h might come in. Thanks for the review!
 

 

[Somnambulist]

Quote:

 
Quote:

Quote:

x2
 
I will probably never spend that much on a computer part...a ~$300 card is more than sufficient.

Not strictly true. If you have say, a 30" monitor at 2560 res, or are playing on an Eyefinity multi-monitor setup and want all you game graphics maxxed out, a single high-power card is better than a multi-card set up in terms of noise, heat and power consumption and therefore things like a 580 are attractive. Some people don't have a case or mobo that's compatible with multiple GPUs either. There's also issues with micro-stutter (subjective) and some games not supporting multiple GPUs, although that's less of an issue these days.
 
Generally if you're gaming on a single monitor at 1920x1080/1200 and below, you don't need the 'best of the best' these days, the upper midrange cards are perfectly adequate and better value for money in the long run, especially if you can overclock them yourself.

I agree. That's the exact situation I'm in. I have a 2560x1600 monitor, but I don't want to SLI due to power consumption and space. However, buying early isn't very wise anyways. Once the Cayman 69XX cards are released, the price wars will begin and I can find a better deal on a 580.

Same. I'm kinda leaning towards the green side purely because some of the CUDA and other features would be of use to me. Btw Cayman has been delayed a week or two, and I believe it's purely because the release of the 580 surprised them, they weren't ready, and now they're tinkering with the cards to make them a bit faster. According to the original leaked roadmap a 6970 should be just below the 5970 (which is the dual card), with the dual card 6990 being the crown jewel in the line up and being the fastest thing you can get. The 580 trades blows with the 5970 but at a cheaper price point, so you'd imagine that AMD are now trying to bump the card up a fraction so it's roughly in the same ballpark.
 
There's also a 570 coming out, which will be basically as good as a 480 but quieter and cooler. If it overclocks well I might well get that, since I imagine that would come within about 5-10% of a 580 at stock, but for a fair bit less cash.

 

[fenixdown110]

Quote:

Quote:

 
Quote:

Quote:

x2
 
I will probably never spend that much on a computer part...a ~$300 card is more than sufficient.

Not strictly true. If you have say, a 30" monitor at 2560 res, or are playing on an Eyefinity multi-monitor setup and want all you game graphics maxxed out, a single high-power card is better than a multi-card set up in terms of noise, heat and power consumption and therefore things like a 580 are attractive. Some people don't have a case or mobo that's compatible with multiple GPUs either. There's also issues with micro-stutter (subjective) and some games not supporting multiple GPUs, although that's less of an issue these days.
 
Generally if you're gaming on a single monitor at 1920x1080/1200 and below, you don't need the 'best of the best' these days, the upper midrange cards are perfectly adequate and better value for money in the long run, especially if you can overclock them yourself.

I agree. That's the exact situation I'm in. I have a 2560x1600 monitor, but I don't want to SLI due to power consumption and space. However, buying early isn't very wise anyways. Once the Cayman 69XX cards are released, the price wars will begin and I can find a better deal on a 580.

Same. I'm kinda leaning towards the green side purely because some of the CUDA and other features would be of use to me. Btw Cayman has been delayed a week or two, and I believe it's purely because the release of the 580 surprised them, they weren't ready, and now they're tinkering with the cards to make them a bit faster. According to the original leaked roadmap a 6970 should be just below the 5970 (which is the dual card), with the dual card 6990 being the crown jewel in the line up and being the fastest thing you can get. The 580 trades blows with the 5970 but at a cheaper price point, so you'd imagine that AMD are now trying to bump the card up a fraction so it's roughly in the same ballpark.
 
There's also a 570 coming out, which will be basically as good as a 480 but quieter and cooler. If it overclocks well I might well get that, since I imagine that would come within about 5-10% of a 580 at stock, but for a fair bit less cash.

That's good to know. I think the 570 would be the most ideal card for me then. However, I'll have to look at the comparing benchmarks to decide for sure. I might have to go with the 580 after all then.

 

[Jodiuh]

As a self confessed Nvidia fan boy, this REALLY pissed me off.
 
Oddly enough the fix still hasn't been rolled in after 8 months. Even more ridiculous, I fixed my problem by upgrading from a Q9550 @ 3.6 Ghz to an i5 760 @ 2.8 Ghz. Meanwhile a friend on a 4850/phenom triple had a better gameplay experience than myself and a fat headed fermi flop.
 
Still can't get myself to cross to the other side, we'll see about the new stuff. Bummer about the delays. I agree w/ above that it probably didn't outperform the 580 by as much as they'd of liked. Back in the oven! How bout a new heatsink fan unit ATI!

 

[ohaider]

Quote:

Quote:

Quote:

I've seen it explained on OCUK before, it's basically something to do with how they share what you see on screen, and that essentially the tech used has a ton of room for improvement but nothing much has changed over the last few years, although scaling on multiple cards has improved a lot, so it's there's way less diminishing returns there.
 
Not sure what card I'll get myself but it'll probably be either a 6950 or 570 overclocked to 6970 or 580 speeds, depending on price and which overclocks best. If an OC'ed 6950 comes within 5-10% of a stock 6970, then it should hit that sweet spot of giving you lasting high performance but without paying full wack every time you need to upgrade (which should be when you can't max a game you like, not every time new cards come out!).
 
Nice monitor btw, I'm torn between that and the new BenQ EW2420 in the 'quality for a guy on a budget' price for the Mac Mini I want to get. Different panel tech but neither is TN and they both seem very, very good for the price. I'd love the Dell Ultrasharp 24" but it's rather expensive!

Yeah, the last time I heard complaints about micro stuttering was in the 9800gx2, lol.
 
I'm probably just going to stick to my current card(5850) for a few years, but if the price is right I may do the same thing you're planning on doing.
 
Thanks, I can't help you too much with your decision since I don't know anything about the BenQ, but I'll give you some impressions of the u2311h.
 
The colors on the display are beautiful and accurate like you've read, I'm sure. The only complaint I have with the u2311h is the fact that it can only run 1080@60Hz. I don't know how much you care about monitor Hz for gaming(if you game at all), but I got used to it and I also want to point out that the response time isn't really that slow. I did notice ghosting when I first got it, but after a week it didn't bother me at all anymore. Hope this helps you in your decision between the two.
 
The build quality of the monitor is superb, aswell. The screen only wobbles a bit if you like, say, bump the table by accident. It also has a ton of adjustment options.
 
The OSD is easy to navigate for adjustment of the colors, brightness, and so on.
 
I just can't say enough good things about this monitor. If you ever see the deal for it again, don't hesitate to pick one up...I didn't

Hope helps you make your decision.

 
If the 5850 isn't hindering your gaming experience in any way, then there's no need to upgrade. At the end of the day there's a massive amount of willy-wagging with graphics cards. I've seen people running 580 TriSLI already, just for a single monitor. Utter madness!
 
I intend on running two separate monitors, one for gaming and GPU intensive stuff like the odd bit of 3D modelling which will be a 120hz display (I'm not fussed about playing games in 3D, I just want the increased hz for a more CRT-like experience), the other for internet/iTunes and stuff that's more suited to an IPS or similar panel's strengths, which is where the U2311h might come in. Thanks for the review!
 

Yeah, I've seen that already, too. Pretty crazy if you ask me...I looked at the prices and the 580's are going for $579 a piece.
 
That would be a really productive setup, I think. I'll probably do something along those lines in the future. You're welcome, haha.

 

[Mdraluck23]

Whoaaaa we have some crazy quotations on this thread... five deep!

 

[rhythmdevils]

I have 32 GB ram in my Macpro.  I think that might make me pretty cool.  Got the Ram for free, so I just filled her up

  Also have 2 2.66 GHz 6 core processor.  And with Raided 4TB internal drives, it runs Adobe Lightroom pretttty quick

 

[revolink24]

Quote:

I have 32 GB ram in my Macpro.  I think that might make me pretty cool.  Got the Ram for free, so I just filled her up

  Also have 2 2.66 GHz 6 core processor.  And with Raided 4TB internal drives, it runs Adobe Lightroom pretttty quick

I hope you have a job that makes use of the $10000 desktop there.

 

[rhythmdevils]

Definitely. But I wouldn't buy such a beast, I have a nice hand me down /trade arrangement with a client.

 

[mralexosborn]

I got the Deathadder. I am not sure how I feel about it. Drivers seem...finicky? It works though. It's cool and blue. 

 

[revolink24]

Quote:

Definitely. But I wouldn't buy such a beast, I have a nice hand me down /trade arrangement with a client.

Sounds good, one hell of a computer you've got out of it.

 

[Somnambulist]

rhythmdevils I take it you're running the AMD hexcore, as if that was the i7 980 and you weren't pushing it to 4gz and beyond... well, they'd be stern words said!
 
And lol@32GB RAM. I think I'd struggle to even think of a use for even half that.