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Is this a good time to buy a $1k PC monitor?


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Economically, in the US, on the verge of a stock market collapse? Ehhh, let's look at the spec. :p

 

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16824113013

 

Highlights

  • 2560x1600, 'nuff said.
  • DVI, VGA, HDMI, Component, RCA Video, S-video inputs
  • RCA audio inputs, DVI and VGA headphone inputs, RCA audio output, S/PIDF toslink out, S/PIDF coaxial out, detachable speaker bar
  • 6-port USB hub (4 rear, 2 side)
  • Every seam of the monitor is electrically sealed with awesome and magnetically filled with win

 

It's basically a TV without the tuner. I plan to hook up my PC to DVI-D port, the Xbox 360 to the Component input, my Wii to the Composite input, my DVD/VCR to the S-video input (and use the VCR's built in tuner to watch TV channels on it, this is KEY to the plan), and potentially, in some future, a Blu-ray player in the HDMI port.

 

I promised myself that I would play FEAR 2: Project Origin at 2560x1600 a long time ago. It comes out in 8 days. I have enough money for it, and enough beyond that for a semester of school, so I feel like I'm financially okay... if it weren't for the economy. I wanna know whether this scare is worth losing something this awesome, or if something this awesome is worth the potential scare.

 

Opinions, plskthx.

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At that price point, why not buy a very large hdtv or even an HD projector and tie it into your computer?

 

An HDTV gets up to 1080p at its best (and most expensive). That's 1920x1080. This monitor, in HD terms is 1600p, or 2560x1600. Besides, my PC is having a **** ton of trouble trying to use an actual LCD TV as a monitor. Refuses to center the screen.

 

That said, could your graphics card handle it at 2560x1600?

 

Yes, indeed. Geforce GTX 280! Unfortunately, my ASUS one is kind of defective, so I might have to buy a new one and return it to ASUS at the same time (Or eBay it). But that's another matter completely.

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Well then, get it on it right now, man. I hear Alma is a fickle bitch now and is not to be trifled with.

 

You can always whore yourself or sell heroin if you 're short on cash later on.

 

I already do something analogous to both of those in the same business. I'm a sandwich artist. I sell bread-addictive foods by whoring my personality out to filthy ingrates.

 

Well, I'd still appreciate more pro, con, subjective opinions if anyone else wants input, but I get the feeling I'll have either ordered it or not ordered it by the end of the night.

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Don't order it. Seriously, you can't think of anything better to spend 1k on?

 

I rarely ever spend my money. Like ever. Maybe twice a year I'll buy a TV series on DVD for maybe up to $50 each. Besides gasoline and insurance, I have very little expenses. I also have enough money AFTER buying this monitor for Fall 2009 tuition. So, my question is, I don't know, what else do you suggest?

 

@RoxStar: I'm using an old 1600x1200 capable monitor. If I'm going to spend money on another, I might as well go as high as is supported. 1920x1200 is an extra 320 on top of what I have now.

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I dunno man - I personally couldn't get myself to blow $1000 on a monitor. I wouldn't have spent too much more than the $379 I spent on my 1920x1200 monitor for the same resolution.

 

Oh, and while the GTX 280 is a good card, it WILL struggle at higher resolutions like that. You'd be better off with an HD 4870 X2 or a GTX 295 (yet the HD 4870 X2 still prevails at that resolution, as it has double 1 GB of GDDR RAM, rather than double 768 MB of GDDR RAM, and is GDDR5, rather than GDDR3).

 

This is, of course, unless you are playing extremely easy games to run, such as Dead Space, WoW, or anything released two years or more ago.

 

If you can settle with 1920x1080 or 1920x1200, the prices are magnificent on Newegg right now - plus, you can watch your 1080p videos with the entire (or most of, in the case of 1920x1200) screen filled up - 2560x1600 will either leave a 1080p video in the middle with much extra space, or stretch it nastily. That's no good when you break 1080p. Kind of a feat - being able to pixelate a 1080p video.

 

I'd try to conserve as much of the money as I could for the top-of-the-line DirectX 11 GPUs - ATI's is expected this summer sometime, I believe (the "HD 5870 X2?") and nVidia's is expected in the beginning-to-end of Q3 2009 ("GTX 380?").

 

- PR-0927

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I've already looked over the benchmarks for my card at 2560x1600, and I am satisfied. But since I need to return the card anyway... maybe I'll pick up a GTX 295, since they're not absurdly expensive for what I'll get back.

 

However, let me make clear that 2560x1600 is a spec of DIRE necessity. :p

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Newegg is not a good place to buy an LCD. Check out their LCD return policy.

 

About a month ago, the Dell outlet was selling 3007WFP-HCs for ~$625 if you had the right coupons. They were refurbs, but they were like new and came with a full 3-year warranty. Needless to say that these sold out very quickly, but they might have more of these in the near future. That's got to be the best 30" IPS panel deal in recent memory.

 

Whatever you get, make sure it is an IPS panel. When you look at the specs, you'll be able to tell by the viewing angle. It should be 178° for both vertical and horizontal. If it isn't, then it isn't an IPS and it's more than likely a piece of crap.

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I don't plan on returning it unless it's defective. And if it is defective out-of-box, I have the standard 30 days. If it develops a defect after 30 days, I will use Gateway's craptastic one-year warranty. If it develops a defect after the one-year mark, I will send it to Newegg, via Newegg's 2 year extended warranty plan that begins after Gateway's expires.

 

And the viewing angle is 178 degrees both ways, or so it claims.

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I'd recommend reading the reviews of that on Newegg - I didn't, but the few I saw seem to make me wary of this product.

 

 

I've been studying this monitor for months. I've seen the reviews and cross-checked prices all over. This one is the least expensive with the most features. The few quirks that people listed in the reviews wouldn't bother me to any crippling degree. Also, it's an S-PVA type panel, which, I believe is the next-best, though fairly standard. S-IPS is really-really expensive, so I wasn't expecting to get one, anyway. Keep in mind that this monitor used to be a couple hundred bucks more than the competition monitors by HP, Dell, and Samsung.

 

This image aptly describes my contentedness:

 

0,1425,sz=1&i=171467,00.jpg

 

So, yeah, I don't mean to shoot down the people who might dissuade me from buying this monitor specifically, but I'm really more interested in knowing whether or not I should be doing this at all.

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What's the monitor you're currently using? This upgrade would be a fairly good idea if it's like the monitor Tie's trying to con upon you because he's a bad, bad person. Otherwise, if your monitor simply lacks an ungodly resolution and awesome magnetic seals, then you're better off putting it aside until economically friendlier times.

 

Another point to take into consideration: do you have any current income, or is this money you've mostly gotten from aid/parents/past jobs, ect.? If the money you have right now has to last you through another semester, you're wiser to just store it up.

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Another point to take into consideration: do you have any current income, or is this money you've mostly gotten from aid/parents/past jobs, ect.? If the money you have right now has to last you through another semester, you're wiser to just store it up.

 

I have the money for the monitor, plus whatever I'll be required to pay for tuition in the fall, plus an insurance deductible if I get into a major car accident, plus a little bit of pocket cash left over. I also have a job. Not a real job, but a few hours a week at a Subway fast food joint will be well enough to earn Spring 2010's tuition, plus some very modest amount of pocket cash by the time Fall 2009 semester begins, and so on in that manner. I feel reasonably secure with this.

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So go ahead and do it, Kojo.

 

But make me a roast beef sammich first, extra mayo, kthnx.

 

Did you know that our roast beef is made up mostly of Chihuahua?

 

And I am very much on the verge of simply ordering it without any further thought.

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You're right, it is an IPS, and it's got connectivity out the ass. ;)

 

Newegg seems to have the best price on it right now, too.

 

Go ahead and get it, but before you do, sign up for Live.com's cashback program and purchase it through that. It'll save you an extra ~$25.00 (2.75%) for the cost of jumping through a couple of hoops. That should help cover the shipping costs.

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You're right, it is an IPS, and it's got connectivity out the ass. ;)

 

Newegg seems to have the best price on it right now, too.

 

Go ahead and get it, but before you do, sign up for Live.com's cashback program and purchase it through that. It'll save you an extra ~$25.00 (2.75%) for the cost of jumping through a couple of hoops. That should help cover the shipping costs.

 

Hey, thanks, that's fairly simple. Of course, I'm assuming I have to jump through the hoops to get the $25 back AFTER I order it (via email promotion). However, if it works out, that's still $25 off shipping. Gracias.

 

I'm postponing my psychological spending crash until tomorrow so I can sleep. Night all.

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