[brunk]

Quote:

You need some Nvidia 3D surround action. 2x GTX 690 anyone?

Yea if I cared about gaming that much currently. I'm patient and will eventually either get a second 7970, 690 or a future dual GPU card. Just not any time soon, which doesn't bother me.

 

[Tilpo]

You need some Nvidia 3D surround action. 2x GTX 690 anyone?

I would love to get 3 monitors, but my console gaming doesn't mesh well with the idea. Maybe next gen will let you game with multiple screens? I doubt it.

Ah well, I don't really game at all so I'm fine with me trustworthy HD5770 (which is already overkill, actually).

 

[Rebel975]

I had a single GTX 580, and got a second with 1440p in mind. The rumors of the GTX680 were saying that it's a midrange card (meaning that it should of been the GTX 660 of this generation) that turned out to fair well against AMD's top of the line, so I think I'm going to wait until the 685, 780, or whatever it is comes out next.
 
The only annoying thing in my set up at the moment is the fact that my GPU's don't have displayport outputs and my monitor has limited inputs (only 1 dual-link DVI and 1 displayport!). This means that I have to share the dual-link DVI with my xbox and PC - aka, I have to constantly swap cables.

 

[Tilpo]

I had a single GTX 580, and got a second with 1440p in mind. The rumors of the GTX680 were saying that it's a midrange card (meaning that it should of been the GTX 660 of this generation) that turned out to fair well against AMD's top of the line, so I think I'm going to wait until the 685, 780, or whatever it is comes out next.

The only annoying thing in my set up at the moment is the fact that my GPU's don't have displayport outputs and my monitor has limited inputs (only 1 dual-link DVI and 1 displayport!). This means that I have to share the dual-link DVI with my xbox and PC - aka, I have to constantly swap cables.

My bro had a similar predicament and solved it by buying one of these, and it works really well. I can't find a DVI one, but I'm sure there are some.

 

[Rebel975]

Yeah, I have one of those. I run the Xbox's output to a HDMI switch, and then convert it to single link DVI for the monitor. The problem is that the PC is doing 1440p via dual-link DVI, and HDMI doesn't support resolution that high. So I'm pretty much stuck switching cables until I get a GPU with displayport, at which point I'll be able to run all HDMI sources > switch > DVI and PC > displayport.

 

[devouringone3]

I still never took time to read to find out about the best monitors, cases, and PC components. I feel like it's going to take my perfectionist self years of time, planning and energy, and many ten of thousands of dollars... and I'm not even playing current gen video games yet, I've stopped at Unreal Tournament 99 and Diablo II LoD.
 
17" WXGA+ 1440 × 900 resolution Dell Inspiron 1720 (Christmas 2007)
Intel Mobile Core 2 Duo T7250 (2 X 2 GHz)
NVIDIA GeForce 8600M GT (256 MB)
 
2 X 2 GB Crucial DDR2 RAM (266⅔ MHz)
160 GB Hitachi Travelstar
320 GB Western Digital Scorpio
8X tray-load dual-layer DVD+/-RW
5 USB 2.0
2 USB 3.0
SPDIF out
 
BUT
 
Topre Realforce 87U Silent, I have a really nice keyboard
 
Which is decent to play Stepmania on (and with my Grados), the only video game I still play (casually).

 

[Wirbel]

Quote:

and I'm not even playing current gen video games yet, I've stopped at Unreal Tournament 99 and Diablo II LoD.
 

 
Sadly, you haven't missed much ... those games are still incredible compared to most games released since 2000

 

[lobotomizer]

Quote:

^Is all of that voltage on the CPU necessary? It seems excessive to begin with (wasn't the maximum recommended by Intel 1.52v?), but since it's only at 4.5GHz it seems really bad. When I had a 2600K it hit 4.5GHz (with Hyper Threading enabled) with only 1.32v. It ran Prime95 for 36 hours with those settings. Maybe I got lucky and got a really good chip, or perhaps you were unlucky?
 
How is that monitor? I was considering it, but I took it off my list after my s27a550h developed serious color issues after only 2 days of owning it. I ended up getting a HP ZR2740w, and I love it.

I copied some video on youtube to do the overclock when I first got it, I did try to lower the voltage and run prime but it failed overnight so I just went back to the old profile and left it 
 
The monitor is really nice for gaming, the colors are excellent, it has a bit of light leaking out of the bottom corner which seems to be a common problem but it doesnt bother me
I've only used 3D a couple of times on the PC  (cant figure it out with a PS3

) the 2D > 3D works great if you need a 3D fix at the push of a button
 
You made me go into my Bios I did the one button OC and ended up with 4.3GHz @ 1.3v I just ran prime for the last 24hrs with no problems and didnt hit 70°

 

[Sylverant]

Just built my first desktop 1 month ago:

Monitor: HP LCD w2207 @ 1680x1050 (recycled from my old Vista HP Elite from 2007)
mobo: Asrock z77 Extreme4
cpu: Intel Core i7 3770k
PSU: Corsair Builders Series CX600V2
gpu: Gigabyte HD6850 OC 1GB
Soundcard: Asus Xonar Essence STX (with stock drivers, Xonar Uni drivers are being difficult)
Heatsink: Cooler Master Hyper 212+
Ram: Corsair Vengeance 1600 2x4GB
Case: Cooler Master HAF912+200mm Cooler Master top fan
Disc Drives: 2 Samsung generic dvd/cd combo's
HDs: OCZ Vertex 4 128GB SATA III SSD in AHCI and Seagate 1TB Barracuda HD (installed seperately)
1983 IBM Model-M mechanical keyboard (given to me by a friend, and missing keycaps F12, keyboard 3, and numpad .)
 
Yes, I know I cheapened out on the gpu and psu, but I did still have a price limit and that card is probably the best deal on the market for $150, although I'll be upgrading it in a year with my psu. Running everything nice and cool and stock. I threw in the generic's burners becuase they were dirt cheap, but will replace them with a Bluray Drive (for the top slot) and a Wii-rip compatible DVD drive on the bottom.

This may sound a little strange, but rather than get an IPS, I'm hoping to upgrade to perhaps the best CRT Monitor ever made; the Sony FW900. The search has been long and treacherous, while rife with failure...but I will prevail! Won't mind sacrificing giving away my crap speakers at all 

 
Also, since no first build is without issues and mess-ups, I'll admit that my biggest mistake was breaking off the Barracuda's power pins and getting them stuck in the psu's SATA power cable. Works just fine due to the exactness of how the pins broke off, but I've included it in an image backup as I'll need to replace it alongside with my psu later down the road.

 

[DougofTheAbaci]

Why on earth would anyone ever get a CRT anymore? Better resolution? Nope. Better size? Nope. Better colors? Nope. Better power usage? Hahahahaha, nope.
 
You are literally choosing inferior technology over easier to find and likely cheaper technology. This isn't choosing vinyl over FLAC, it's choosing ether for your anesthetic instead of novocaine. Sure, it works, but not nearly as well and is actually bad for you.
 
 

 

[PFULMTL]

I have a build I'm currently modding, but I'm rarely home. I still have to order parts but will do later. If you want to see what I have done
http://forum.coolermaster.com/viewtopic.php?f=52&t=15631

Current specs:
-Asus PZ77-I? hell I forgot
-Intel 2500K with EVGA Superclock sink
-8GB Corsair Vengeance LP 1600mhz,( temporary)
-750W Silverstone Strider Gold Evolution
-640GB Caviar Black (temporary)
-Cooler Master Elite 120 case

Future parts will be a single large SSD, GTX 670 or 660Ti, and a desktop amp/DAC that will fit inside the middle gap. Surprisingly, I don't play games much anymore. I play ROMs mostly.

 

[Sylverant]

Quote:

Why on earth would anyone ever get a CRT anymore? Better resolution? Nope. Better size? Nope. Better colors? Nope. Better power usage? Hahahahaha, nope.
 
You are literally choosing inferior technology over easier to find and likely cheaper technology. This isn't choosing vinyl over FLAC, it's choosing ether for your anesthetic instead of novocaine. Sure, it works, but not nearly as well and is actually bad for you.

 
No need to be so serious, I was only playing. I know that any mid to high end $600 IPS panel will be better looking than even the best CRT, and that's being kind. I just kinda find the fact that the FW900 had features back in 2001 that LCD monitors didn't have till much later (2304x1440 resolution at 100Hrz) to be cool. It was my dream monitor for the longest time, and unless I can find it for around $100, I know it will stay that way. I'd probably just use it for games and DVD's at native res anyways since their are no drawbacks to lowering a crt's resolution.

In the end I'll just get the Dell U2410 when it goes down further in price.

 

[SoupRKnowva]

Quote:

Quote:
 
No need to be so serious, I was only playing. I know that any mid to high end $600 IPS panel will be better looking than even the best CRT, and that's being kind. I just kinda find the fact that the FW900 had features back in 2001 that LCD monitors didn't have till much later (2304x1440 resolution at 100Hrz) to be cool. It was my dream monitor for the longest time, and unless I can find it for around $100, I know it will stay that way. I'd probably just use it for games and DVD's at native res anyways since their are no drawbacks to lowering a crt's resolution.

In the end I'll just get the Dell U2410 when it goes down further in price.

Go get a shimian, 27inch IPS using the same panels that dell and apple use, with no bells and whistles for 280 bucks shipped. ive had mine for like 6 months now, and its one of the best computer decisions ive ever made. i cant hardly look at cheapo tft panels anymore.

 

[Sylverant]

Quote:

Go get a shimian, 27inch IPS using the same panels that dell and apple use, with no bells and whistles for 280 bucks shipped. ive had mine for like 6 months now, and its one of the best computer decisions ive ever made. i cant hardly look at cheapo tft panels anymore.

 
Thanks for the great advice. I would never have thought to consider barebones Korean monitors with Cinema/Thunderbolt displays. The HP w2207 was great for 2007, but after 5 years I do want to upgrade the monitor. Just wondering, but which model do you own, and where did you buy it? The most popular model seems to be the Achieva Shimian QH270-lite. Even at $330 for a perfect pixel model, that's a hell of a price.

 

[DefQon]

Updated spec's for me ignore my old one posted here.
 
 

Spoiler: Warning%3A%20Spoiler!

Main: i7 980x@4.3GHZ, 24GB Mushkin DDR3 2133 Black RidgeBack, Asus Rampage III Extreme, 3x GTX480's, X-Fi Titanium Pro Fatal1ty, 4x2TB Seagate LP, 2x2TB WD Black, 2x 640gb VelociRaptor, 2TB WD Green, 1.5TB WD Green, 2x120GB OCZ Vertex Plus SSD RAID 0 with TRIM, Enermax 1250Watt Revolution85+ PSU, Antec P280 Case.

 
 
Sadly no optical drive, need an external usb enclosure for my LG Blu-ray drive.