(*) only vote for this if you really don't have any views/tips/advice so no real votes are lost.

 

I'm an un-employed Uni student (yes, I am trying to get a job around Uni) and currently have $1200 AU. Firstly to put the value into perspective/currencies, it's enough to buy a current "upgrade pack" of an AMD X2 3800+, a suitable midprice mobo like Gigabyte K8N Pro SLI, and an nVidia 7900GT.

 

For a long time while I've been/still saving saying I'll use this as the upgrade fund for next year or whenver the comp gets too slow (so not the above parts); but recently I've been thinking about getting a new 20" Widescreen LCD for about $650 AU instead (so just over half), because unlike parts I can't imagine an LCD somehow slowing down and not being able to get the job done, thus, even though they lose value like all tech stuff, they lose it the slowest and in some cases it doesn't matter cos I'll never buy say a 24" (too big) display anyway.

 

BUT, my 17" LCD is not doing a bad job at the moment either and I don't have any major beefs with it. At first I thought that was enough to settle it; since there's no need to change, but I dunno . Here are some of my convoluted thoughts:

- by the time I need to upgrade parts I hopefully would've gotten a casual/part-time job, thus making up the spent part already. After buying the screen I still have enough for a cpu/mobo upgrade but I probably won't ever upgrade unless it's the full combo.

- It's a brand new purchase $640 from eBay. Regular price from Dell is $999 and cheapest ever with the opening promotion is $677. Dell are sometimes negotiable so I might make them an offer of like $650 or $670 with some tweaks. It's predecessor 20" model never went below $800 so I'm sensing a rare bargain

- even though I have no probs with my 17", it doesn't mean I won't enjoy the 20" Dell 2007WFP any less.

- but then I could end up with it and somehow get bored with it and then find myself thinking I could've got this (whatever) instead. For instance my G15/G5 mouse; canes my old set but the unique gimmick wearing off

- as you can tell, I am very indecisive/anxious about spending money at all

 

heh, that's probably enough to work with. I think I'll go hide now :ph34r: - feel free to call me weird/loner, etc too!

 

NOTE: I don't have any other costs to save up for like bills, petrol, fees, etc.

I would upgrade and then go for a monitor down the road. They are getting cheaper

 

And, try looking at some cheaper monitors. This is the one I just bought. But as mentioned in a review you need a good machine to take advantage of the monitor.

 

linky

 

reviews

review 1

 

review 2

 

it's pretty much a gaming monitor, better are out there, but its real fast. You also loser an inch but its cheaper

Edited May 31, 200619 yr by Ellester

No point in having a big monitor without the graphics card to power it ... unless you are just talking about using it for spreadsheets. even the most powerful (single) GPUs have trouble running the latest games (like FEAR and Quake 4) at resolutions at or above 1600 x 1200.

 

Monitor tech is almost the same pace as all other computer components, i.e. subject to advancement proportial to Moore's law and costs dictated as per supply and demand.

LCD monitors display clearest picture at their native resolution. That 20" Dell monitor has a native resolution of 1680x1050. That's insane. Good luck trying to play games at that resolution with old hardware. You badly need an upgrade first.

 

To be honest i'd stick with a lower resolution monitor instead cause there simply is no hardware around that can play a lot of newest games smoothly at that resolution unless you sacrifice some eyecandy. Being forced to lower graphics settings would make such a big screen pretty pointless though.

^ Yeah!

LCD monitors display clearest picture at their native resolution. That 20" Dell monitor has a native resolution of 1680x1050. That's insane. Good luck trying to play games at that resolution with old hardware. You badly need an upgrade first.

/seconded. (third-ed?)

 

This is a very noticeable issue that you just cannot ignore. My LCD looks seriously craptacular at any resolution other than Native. I had to buy a new keyboard when I was trying out all the resolutions the day my monitor arrived, because I puked all over it. It's a damn good panel otherwise.

Yes on Whirlpool AU forums this was brought up as well but then I got more specs and pics/feedback from owners and had 2 main points:

 

1. The 20" Wide is the same physical height as the 17" and in the end, practically just an extension of the 17", and resolutions are similar (except the width). I've got an P4 3.0GHz/X800XL which granted is slowing down, but nowhere near "upgrade needed" stage yet (quite a long way actually I think)

So if my g-card couldn't hack the extra res...which it won't , I can first try turning it down to a lower widescreen res with monitor scaling it up (which I've usually found fine; not especially blocky), and if that still is too slow, I can revert to my current res settings which I know are fine and just stick to those. ie. I don't gain anything but don't lose anything either.

 

2. In general I'm finding myself more and more busy so even if I have to resort playing games at same state as before (so black bars on the side = 17"), there will still be a lot of "monitor time" spent using the full area.

 

LOL, sounds like I've already made up my mind, but believe me, I haven't :">

1680 x 1050 is playable.

It sounds like you really like the monitor ... and when I upgraded from a 17" to a 19", I couldn't believe the difference (granted, it's a 1280x1024 res, so the detail is not as fine as a 1600x1050, but it is beautiful).

 

I also kept my 17" for some dual screen action (I disable it to play games ... while I look forward to the day when decent games support multiple monitors easily, it ain't here yet) ... the extra desktop space makes a world of difference in productivity. Referring to one document and working on another, for example, is a breeze. People who "pooh pooh" it have never tried it.

 

Newer mobo chipsets (975 and nf5) just hit the market, and CPU prices seem to be dropping almost daily. Your current rig should be enough to play even the newest games (albeit at lower detail settings) at least until DX10 hits the streets.

 

I'm going to have to go against the grain on this one ... the parts of your computer that will have the most effect on your experience are those that directly relate to your input and output (monitor, keyboard, mouse, speakers, etc.) and should not be skimped on (and generally, will outlast your PC's internals) ... my vote is for the monitor.

... the parts of your computer that will have the most effect on your experience are those that directly relate to your input and output (monitor, keyboard, mouse, speakers, etc.) and should not be skimped on (and generally, will outlast your PC's internals) ... my vote is for the monitor.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

That's not as controversial as you make out.

 

Certainly there is going to be a LOT of CPU/GPU/Motherboard releases in the next six months ... more than the GPUs released in the last 12 months, by some accounts ...

After dealing with many salesmen and stuff I've gone with buying the monitor.

Lol, first was a salesman, then the manager, then another salesman, then the manager, then I asked about a "refurbished" one that some guy on eBay was selling (but essentially each eBay buyer still dealt with Dell), which the first manager referred to another manager. Then I get an email from the 2nd salesman saying his manager (the 2nd one, not the first one) and upper management approved a deal which I've accepted.

hehe, yeh I've deliberately left it a bit ambigious for the hectic feel.

 

Anyway my final reasoning was that if I couldn't get some sort of job by the end of next year I'd have bigger problems then just a slow comp - final year of Uni and no noteable work experience = not good future