250 bucks for an upgrade...so what to get?

[bpgt64]

Birthday is coming up, and I am debating if there is anything I should upgrade on my computer. Since I added the SSD drives and have been using Windows 7(which fixes the shudder for the most part). I have been really happy with the performance I get out of the machine.

My current rig is as follows;

Antec 300 Case
Xigmatec 750W PSU
Intel E8400 OCed at 4.0 ghz
2x G.SKILL FM-25S2S-64GB 2.5" 64GB SATA II MLC Internal Solid state disk
500gb Seagate Barracuda 7200.11
1TB Phantom Data External Drive
4x2gb of G.Skill DDR2 1066
Sapphire HD 4870 X2 (Only have one PCI-Express slot)
Asus P5Q SE/R
1 generic DVD drive reader/writer (no need for Blue Ray)
Sound Blaster X-Fi XtremeGamer
SENNHEISER HD 280PRO Head Phones
Logitech G15 keyboard and G5 Mouse
Acer 22inch 1680x1050 monitor.


I am leaning towards getting a second monitor. The only problem with getting another one is my old one will be set at lower resolution which will be a tad annoying. I'd like to avoid changing out any major components specifically motherboards. Mainly because I plan on building an i7 based rig within a year and something like that just won't be that big a difference performance wise I don't think.

I am considering this..

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16824001317
or
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16824236049

 

[Kursah]

I'd say get a new monitor tbh, my Asus 246H 24" @ 1920x1080 makes games look a bit nicer and sharper than my old Acer 22" 1680x1050. I got it open box at about half price on newegg (showed up new/unopened/complete tho, still get Asus warranty, no Newegg RMA tho...). You have all that power and not nearly enough resolution to work it hard enough imo. That or get a monitor that does 1920x1200.

I'm not seeing it open box atm, it was $150 open box, it's about $230 new as you can see in your second link. I love this monitor, all my games run great with maxxed settings, AF and AA going. Your rig should kick some serious ass with that monitor, so one vote for the Asus!

 

[Altered]

I am partial to the SAMSUNG but what do I know.

 

[CStylen]

get a really confortable chair or nice computer desk...not sure what you currently have

 

[Assassin48]

save it

Put it in the bank for the i7
250 could mean a better CPU , mobo , GPU

Trust me
bank it and forget about it

 

[aCid888*]

Dell has some amazing deals on screens at the moment, you can get a 24" monitor for around $200.



But...you said you will be building an i7 rig pretty soon...your rig isn't bad by any means so in all honesty I wouldn't update a thing..you can manage with a 1680x1050 monitor for now.

What I would do is sit on the $250 for now until the next build so you have a little extra to spend when you upgrade again.

 

[Binge]

Save it and buy my i7 stuff xD Really though... save for the meat and bones of your PC. For a monitor I'm waiting for OLED screens to become mainstream/large. The tech is there but it's just got to drop in price... just like the SSDs.

 

[tzitzibp]

save it

Put it in the bank for the i7
250 could mean a better CPU , mobo , GPU

Trust me
bank it and forget about it

I couldn't agree more...

SAVE YOUR MONEY FOR LATER!

 

[afw]

You r just another $300 away from an i7 rig ... ...

as some said here .... save it and go for an i7 ....

 

[kurosagi01]

buy a big fat leather chair then save the rest of the money or if your wrist hurts buy one of these lmao!:
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Sexy-Anime-Co...66:2|39:1|72:1683|240:1318|301:1|293:1|294:50

 

[bpgt64]

The one thing I am really regretting is the HD 4870 X2... At 1680x1050 in most games you don't see to much of a difference between it and like a 216 or even a single HD 4870. There does seem to be a bigger difference at the 1980x1080 resolutions. Which is whats tempting me, that and I am planning on upgrading my monitor when I upgrade to an i7. But that could be a year from now, and honestly in the games I play, there's no reason to get something that powerful. So I might even wait till the next round of chips becomes a bit more mainstream.

 

[tzitzibp]

The one thing I am really regretting is the HD 4870 X2... At 1680x1050 in most games you don't see to much of a difference between it and like a 216 or even a single HD 4870. There does seem to be a bigger difference at the 1980x1080 resolutions. Which is whats tempting me, that and I am planning on upgrading my monitor when I upgrade to an i7. But that could be a year from now, and honestly in the games I play, there's no reason to get something that powerful. So I might even wait till the next round of chips becomes a bit more mainstream.

What you are saying is true..... the 4870x2 really shows its teeth at Full HD resolutions + , however it would be wise to wait until prices drop, and then you could sell 775 hardware for the extra cash as well as your monitor..... and move on!

Unless you are a hardware junkie (I know I am), hold back and save for now (I know I am). lol

 

[Binge]

The one thing I am really regretting is the HD 4870 X2... At 1680x1050 in most games you don't see to much of a difference between it and like a 216 or even a single HD 4870. There does seem to be a bigger difference at the 1980x1080 resolutions. Which is whats tempting me, that and I am planning on upgrading my monitor when I upgrade to an i7. But that could be a year from now, and honestly in the games I play, there's no reason to get something that powerful. So I might even wait till the next round of chips becomes a bit more mainstream.

I saw a huge difference between the 4870 when I owned one but not the GTX series. Don't forget they're planning on taking out the "high end" 920 to make room for more mainstream chips that are actually less powerful with less OC headroom. Getting one within the year you'll have a powerful CPU for some time.

 

[bpgt64]

The general plan is;

New rig;
i7 based+ SSD drives, HD 4870 X2, Keyboard/Mouse and the Sound card

Wife's Rig; All old hardware, has her own Keyboard/Mouse + a 216 or even a regular GTX 260(plenty of power).

HTPC; Gutting the AMD 3700 and mobo from her old pc(new project). Going to do some slight upgrading there just to beef it up a tad. Still debating whether or not to drop 500 bucks and just build it with ultra budget parts or to try and get the extra life out of the old parts

So a 24inch moniter would be somewhat future proof, and is a planned upgrade. But I think I am going to follow ya'lls advice and wait till I am ready to do a complete upgrade.

 

[Geofrancis]

get another monitor even if its lower resolution its perfect for all the stuff you want to keep an eye on like msn/xfire/bit torrentor watching videos while you mess about on the net.

i have a 21" crt monitor @ 2056x1536 and a secondary monitor @ 1200x1024 lots of desktop space!

once you go dual monitor you will wonder how you ever done without it.

 

[bpgt64]

I broke down...

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16824236048

I got rejected about 3 years ago when I signed up for a newegg preferred account, gave it a go round this time and did 6 months bill you later. My credit apparently has gotten alot better, because I was able to get a nice credit line. One thing I'd like to know is.... I have 3 moniters. An Acer 22inch, the Asus 24inch, and a Spectre 32inch LCDTV(does 1080p). What I want to do is duplicate the signal from the GPU to the Asus and the Spectre, that is I want them to be the exact same, and I want to extend the display to the old 22 inch. So I was wondering if something like,

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16812214014

would work?

 

[crazy pyro]

You should be able to mirror the display I think, despite having 4 or 5 monitors in the house (depends on if you count my telly) I only have 2 graphics cards and one's AGP so I can't test it for you.