View Full Version : Help me spend $1000
dr.walrus
10-01-2010, 11:41 AM
Okay, £750. But it looks more dramatic in US dollars.
I want 3 new monitors. I have a hodgepodge of 24 and 22" monitors (much like x88x) and I'm finally bored of my messy desk. I have found buyers for the old 4 monitors who are willing to wait for me to get my new ones, so the hunt is on.
WHAT I WANT
Minimum requirements
At least 24", the bigger the better, would ideally like 26 or 27".
Minimum 1920 x 1080 res
VESA compatible (seriously, are they ever not these days?)
VGA + DVI input
HDCP compatible
All 3 must be identical 2+ yr warranty includedWishlist
All black
Minimal lights
Tactile buttons
Minimal backlight bleeding
VGA + DVI + HDMI (or two DVI inputs)
Displayport
Picture in picture (Hi Asus)
Convince me
1920 x 1080 or 1920 x 1200? The extra pixels are GREAT, but the letterbox/stretching effect on movies is very annoying. Also, harder to find wallpapers, less support from games, etc etc. Also 1920 x 1200 monitors are getting harder to find, limiting my future upgrade options.
Built in TV tuner? Hmm?DON'T WANT
Built in speakers. Ew. I suppose if I could get the same screens with TV tuners tossed in on top of everything else I'd consider it.The most helpful person recieves a small amount of kudos from your fellow TBCS members.
Luke122
10-01-2010, 11:43 AM
Asus VE276Q might be worth looking in to..
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16824236091&Tpk=VE276Q
Newegg has them for $329.99 each, so that will be *just* under your $1000 budget before tax/shipping. You might be able to source them for less though... At my old job, I had access to them at cost, so they were a bit cheaper still. (Ok, a decent amount cheaper).
dr.walrus
10-01-2010, 11:51 AM
Asus VE276Q might be worth looking in to..
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16824236091&Tpk=VE276Q
Newegg has them for $329.99 each, so that will be *just* under your $1000 budget before tax/shipping. You might be able to source them for less though... At my old job, I had access to them at cost, so they were a bit cheaper still. (Ok, a decent amount cheaper).
AWESOME this is what I'm talking about. Picture in picture, displayport support are massive pluses. Price is pushing the budget really hard as I can't find a UK supplier under £250 (http://www.google.co.uk/products?q=asus%20VE276Q&oe=utf-8&rls=org.mozilla:en-GB:official&client=firefox-a&um=1&ie=UTF-8&sa=N&hl=en&tab=wf) but this recieves a massive thumbs up so far.
Depending on how much that extra 3 inches is worth to you, these look to be similar panels, same resolution, similar stats, no Displayport though, but it is $110 cheaper per display.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16824236049
...I've just been unboxing some HP LP2475W (http://h10010.www1.hp.com/wwpc/us/en/sm/WF05a/382087-382087-64283-72270-3884471-3648442.html) panels the last week or so, and they are beautiful..expensive though ($600 MSRP). ...then I got to the ZR30W (http://h10010.www1.hp.com/wwpc/us/en/sm/WF05a/382087-382087-64283-72270-3884471-4194577.html) panels.. :eek: I think I'm in love.
..anyways, neither of those helps you with your search..
dr.walrus
10-01-2010, 04:29 PM
...I've just been unboxing some HP LP2475W (http://h10010.www1.hp.com/wwpc/us/en/sm/WF05a/382087-382087-64283-72270-3884471-3648442.html) panels the last week or so, and they are beautiful..expensive though ($600 MSRP). ...then I got to the ZR30W (http://h10010.www1.hp.com/wwpc/us/en/sm/WF05a/382087-382087-64283-72270-3884471-4194577.html) panels.. :eek: I think I'm in love.
:(
:(
Tell me about it...the worst part is that I have to box them up and send them out to a client in a few days. :(
BuzzKillington
10-01-2010, 05:13 PM
http://www.buy.com/prod/asus-ve276q-27-inch-widescreen-16-9-2ms-response-time-display-port-lcd/q/loc/101/216602054.html?listingid=-1
Cheaper here with free shipping.
dr.walrus
10-01-2010, 05:18 PM
Okay, truth is I have more to spend: another £450. With that I want a small Atom based PC for a HTTP/FTP/dev server, a second-hand hifi amp, and I'd love a triple stand for the screens....
dr.walrus
10-01-2010, 05:18 PM
http://www.buy.com/prod/asus-ve276q-27-inch-widescreen-16-9-2ms-response-time-display-port-lcd/q/loc/101/216602054.html?listingid=-1
Cheaper here with free shipping.
Sorry, I'm not in the US!
nevermind1534
10-01-2010, 05:41 PM
Sorry, I'm not in the US!
It might cost less to have them shipped to somebody in the US, then to you.
http://ircalc.usps.gov/?country=10150
It might cost less to have them shipped to somebody in the US, then to you.
I thought that too, so I looked into it, and...no. The problem is that monitors are friggin heavy...and big. Using the boxes the LP2475W's came in as a starting point, they weigh in at 12.6kg (28lb), and guessing some dimensions for the 27" monitors boxes (30"x20"x10" conservative estimate), the shipping comes out to $110 for priority mail. :eek: Up that to a weight of 32lbs (I'm guessing a better estimate for the larger monitors), and it tops $120!
dr.walrus
10-01-2010, 06:42 PM
I thought that too, so I looked into it, and...no. The problem is that monitors are friggin heavy...and big. Using the boxes the LP2475W's came in as a starting point, they weigh in at 12.6kg (28lb), and guessing some dimensions for the 27" monitors boxes (30"x20"x10" conservative estimate), the shipping comes out to $110 for priority mail. :eek: Up that to a weight of 32lbs (I'm guessing a better estimate for the larger monitors), and it tops $120!
It's awful - that's still probably cheaper than I can get them at a number of places here...
:eek: Yikes! ...that's..ouch.
EDIT:
Heheh, had an idea...do you know any US military personnel over there? I hear military shipping is dirt cheap.. :whistler:
dr.walrus
10-01-2010, 07:57 PM
And soldiers could get me a cheap 230 - 110 v transformer too, yeah?
nevermind1534
10-01-2010, 08:17 PM
And soldiers could get me a cheap 230 - 110 v transformer too, yeah?
Those monitors would probably take 100V-250V. If you want a cheap transformer, though, look at DealExtreme.
If you do want the monitors imported, I can do that for the cost of postage. Finding somebody in the military there would be the best way, though.
dr.walrus
10-01-2010, 09:42 PM
Those monitors would probably take 100V-250V. If you want a cheap transformer, though, look at DealExtreme.
If you do want the monitors imported, I can do that for the cost of postage. Finding somebody in the military there would be the best way, though.
True!
Thank you very much for the offer, it's very kind. There are a lot of things I would need to check first - warranty on imported goods etc, but it's very good of you to offer.
nevermind1534
10-01-2010, 10:35 PM
It very much depends on the company; out of companies that I have dealt with for warranties, OCZ and corsair let you choose which country it's sent to for RMA and where it's delivered (I once sent memory back to corsair in the US, and had the replacement sent to Russia). Sapphire requires that it be the same address. I don't have any experience with monitors yet, though. If they're like sapphire and give RMA contracts out for different regions, you'd be paying a little (lot) more to get it replaced. If they're more like OCZ or Corsair, there would be no difference, but me writing this paragraph probably does you no good, as it doesn't relate to the monitors and their warranties.
Good luck with your search. I hope you find something.
dr.walrus
10-02-2010, 02:13 PM
Okay, new task:
What's the catch?!
http://digital-switch.com/index.php?dispatch=products.view&product_id=2497¤cy=gbp
dr.walrus
10-02-2010, 02:27 PM
Other than it's blatantly a scam
nevermind1534
10-02-2010, 05:37 PM
I wonder if it's new or used/refurbished. Maybe it has dead pixels?
dr.walrus
10-02-2010, 08:52 PM
had a look round the rest of the site. Something is very wrong there.
Hmmm...an Asus K52F-A2 for 6 pounds? :P
http://digital-switch.com/index.php?dispatch=products.view&product_id=2429
dr.walrus
10-03-2010, 06:58 AM
ooh i'll have three
dr.walrus
11-01-2010, 11:54 AM
SO...
I've found people to buy all my crap, re-jigged my budget, and now I have £1200 to spend. That's about $1900. I've found the right monitors at the right price:
http://www.aria.co.uk/Products/Monitors/24+Inch+LCD/BenQ+G2420HDBL+24%22+Widescreen+LED+Monitor+-+Black+?productId=39706
A bit cheap and a bit low on the spec side, but they're LED backlit. Once I factor some discounts and stuff like that, i've got about £700-750 left to spend, so it's new computer time...
The Question
AMD
Processor - 3.20Ghz Phenom 2 X6 1090T (http://www.aria.co.uk/Products/Components/CPUs+%2F+Processors/AMD+Phenom+II/AMD+Phenom+II+X6+1090T+3.20GHz+Black+Edition+%28So cket+AM3%29+Processor+-+Retail+?productId=40096)
Mobo - ASUS Crosshair Formula IV (http://www.aria.co.uk/Products/Components/Motherboards/AMD+Socket+AM3/Asus+Crosshair+IV+Formula+AMD+890FX+%28Socket+AM3% 29+DDR3+PCI-Express+Motherboard+?productId=40210)
RAM - Corsair XMS3 8GB 1666mhz (http://www.aria.co.uk/Products/Components/Memory/DDR3+Dual+Channel+%E2%80%93+1600MHz+%2F+PC3-12800/Corsair+XMS3+4GB+%282x2GB%29+DDR3+PC3-12800C9+1600MHz+Dual+Channel+Kit+%28CMX4GX3M2A1600 C9%29+?productId=37570)
OR
Intel
Processor - Core i7 950 3.06Ghz (http://www.aria.co.uk/Products/Components/CPUs+%2F+Processors/Intel+Core+i7/Intel+Core+i7+950+3.06Ghz+%28Nehalem%29+%28Socket+ LGA1366%29+Processor+-+Retail+?productId=39341)
Mobo - Asus Sabertooth X58 (http://www.aria.co.uk/Products/Components/Motherboards/Intel+Socket+1366/Asus+Sabertooth+X58+TUF+Intel+X58+%28Socket+1366%2 9+Motherboard+?productId=41976)
RAM - 6GB Corsair XMS3 2000mhz (http://www.aria.co.uk/Products/Components/Memory/DDR3+Tri-Channel+%E2%80%93+2000MHz%2B+%2F+PC316000%2B/Corsair+XMS3+6GB+%283x2GB%29+DDR3+PC3-16000+C9+2000MHz+Triple+Channel+Kit+%28CMX6GX3M3A2 000C9%29+?productId=41317)
The GPU will be a Sapphire Radeon 4870X2, the power supply a Corsair HX1000, the case an NZXT Phantom, the hard drive a 120GB Velociraptor with a 320GB 2.5" backup drive (I have very low storage requirements). Other than the case, these are, to cut a long story short, things I already have lying around or have just been sold at knock-down prices, so they're not up for discussion. The case has been a pipe dream for the last few months and I'm very unlikely to change my mind on.
The cooler will *probably* be a Corsair H50 or H70. Depends on what suits the case best. You can pick me a nice cooler too if you want, just needs to not be insanely large as I'll be fitting the optional 200mm side fan on the case...
Blibbax
11-01-2010, 12:14 PM
The i7 solution will be the better performer, I am suprised these two solutions are so close in price. They quite recently would have been worlds apart.
dr.walrus
11-01-2010, 12:20 PM
Truth is, I haven't seen a benchmark where there's been a considerable difference either way. The motherboard is fugly and it has less pci express slots on, less features and costs more.
The RAM is an issue I'm also torn on. Higher speed would be nice, but so would the extra space. This is an issue that may or may not become a problem, since I'll be running photoshop, illustrator, visual studio and a whole load of browser windows over the time I own this.
Are the multipliers on the 950 locked?
According to this chart, the 950 will outperform the 1090T...though not by much (6,291 vs 6,074 PassMark score). It will have triple-channel memory support though, which may or may not be a deal-breaker for you. The memory capacity you could always upgrade later if you need it; that MBB does have 6 RAM slots, so you could just drop in another 6GB RAM set later if you need it (or now, for that matter, both are well within your budget).
Really though, it comes down to what you're doing with it, mainly if it will benefit from the additional memory bandwidth and if it plays happy with hyperthreading (if it doesn't, the 1090T will multitask much better than the 950, and it might outperform each thread as well).
Personally I would go with the 1090T, but mainly because I don't think anything I do would benefit much from the additional memory bandwidth and both CPUs are overkill for most of the stuff I do at home anyway. ..also completely non-technical reasons, but I'll leave those out of this. :P
According to this article (http://ixbtlabs.com/articles3/cpu/intel-ci7-950-p1.html), yes, the multipliers are locked on the 950.
dr.walrus
11-01-2010, 01:41 PM
According to this article (http://ixbtlabs.com/articles3/cpu/intel-ci7-950-p1.html), yes, the multipliers are locked on the 1090T.
They're definitely unlocked on the AMD (they're always unlocked on the Black editions), I just don't know how much of a pain it'd be to OC on the Intel.
I'm unlikely to need more than 6GB - I rarely push 4, but when I do, it's annoying, because I'm always in the middle of a hefty bit of design/dev work, and it's a real ballace to rationalise what applications I need to close..
In all honesty, the only rational reason for that much horsepower is just gaming. And wanting a new toy.
They're definitely unlocked on the AMD (they're always unlocked on the Black editions), I just don't know how much of a pain it'd be to OC on the Intel.
Doh! Sorry, that was supposed to say the 750 (fixed now). :facepalm:
dr.walrus
11-01-2010, 01:51 PM
Doh! Sorry, that was supposed to say the 750 (fixed now). :facepalm:
shame, cuz i'm looking at the 950 :whistler:
shame, cuz i'm looking at the 950 :whistler:
Wow, I really can't write today...fixed (for reals this time).. :facepalm:
dr.walrus
11-02-2010, 04:57 PM
OH HAI (http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=BU-029-OB&groupid=43&catid=339&subcat=)
Mobo meets my required specs and everything, the overclock itself is covered under warranty...
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