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Mad Cow's Build a Killer Gaming Rig on a Budget Thread (2 Viewers)

I just bought a 22 inch LCD monitor from overstock for $128.94 with shipping.

SPECS:

# Manufacturer: LG Electronics

# Manufacturer Part Number: L226WTQ-BF

# Manufacturer Website Address: www.lge.com

# Product Name: Flatron L226WTQ-BF Widescreen LCD Monitor

# Product Type: LCD Monitor

# Actual Screen Size: 22", 22"

# Widescreen: Yes

# Screen Technology: Active Matrix TFT

# Pixel Pitch: 0.282mm, 0.282mm

# Maximum Response Time: 2ms, 2ms

# Aspect Ratio: 16:10

# Horizontal Viewing Angle: 170°

# Vertical Viewing Angle: 160°

# Maximum Resolution: 1680 x 1050

# Aspect Ratio: 16:10

# Brightness: 300 Nit

# Aspect Ratio: 16:10

# Brightness: 300 Nit

# Ports: 1 x DVI-D-HDCP

# Color: Black

# Dimensions: 16.7" Height x 19.8" Width x 9.2" Depth, 16.7" Height x 19.8" Width x 9.2" Depth

# Weight: 12.5 lb

# Package Contents:

# Flatron L226WTQ-BF Widescreen LCD Monitor

# Power Cord

# D-Sub Cable

# Platform Support: PC

What do you think?

 
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Flying Spaghetti Monster said:
I just bought a 22 inch LCD monitor from overstock for $128.94 with shipping.SPECS:# Screen Technology: Active Matrix TFT
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I imagine this is a TN panel (given the price). If you can live with the bad viewing angles, you're OK. But there is definitely a quality difference between a good (MVA/PVA) panel and these.
 
Zasada said:
Mad Cow said:
I have my eTailer rankings as such:

Newegg>>>ZZF=Mwave>>>>TD>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>eWiz

Adjust your cheatsheets accordingly.
Click to expand...
About the same for me except that I won't touch TD with a 10 foot pole. I find Amazon to be good with order fulfillment but their prices aren't always that great.A great little shop I use for heat sinks is jab-tech.com. Small outfit but they've always treated me well.
Click to expand...
Absolutely. I almost never get past #1 if prices are close. I have done occasional things with ZZF and MW and been happy with it all.
 
There is a 28" LCD from the Egg right now for $280 shipped that is tempting me like nobody's business.

 
TLEF316 said:
Mad Cow said:
Case and SSD in the house! :blackdot:
Click to expand...
pics with a penny in them or it didnt happen.
Click to expand...
I don't keep a digital camera at my office or I would. How is the tracking updater on Newegg?

10/14/2009 11:05:00 DELIVERED[D] LEHI, UT, US RECEIV. OFFICE

10/14/2009 07:17:00 OUT FOR DELIVERY OREM, UT, US

10/14/2009 01:08:00 ARRIVAL SCAN OREM, UT, US

10/14/2009 00:08:00 DEPARTURE SCAN SALT LAKE CITY, UT, US

10/13/2009 20:28:00 LOCATION SCAN SALT LAKE CITY, UT, US

10/13/2009 20:03:00 UNLOAD SCAN SALT LAKE CITY, UT, US

10/13/2009 17:12:00 ARRIVAL SCAN SALT LAKE CITY, UT, US

10/13/2009 08:58:00 DEPARTURE SCAN LAS VEGAS, NV, US

10/13/2009 05:20:00 ARRIVAL SCAN LAS VEGAS, NV, US

10/12/2009 23:35:00 DEPARTURE SCAN BALDWIN PARK, CA, US

10/12/2009 11:57:00 ORIGIN SCAN BALDWIN PARK, CA, US

10/12/2009 23:55:00 BILLING INFORMATION RECEIVED[M]

 
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Mad Cow said:
Combo deal came with the Icy Dock SSD converter as well, for $240. I am in the SSD club now fellas. :thumbdown:
Click to expand...
Just an FYI homie:That Icy Dock convertor combo is the same that I got, and the converter is why my SSD didn't show up when I first got it together. I ended up going with this:

Rosewill RX-C201 Dual-bay 2.5" SATA SSD/HDD to 3.5" SATA HDD JBOD Converter

It connects with a floppy power cord, of which my PSU had none, so I had to get this as well:

Cord

But, it works MUCH better than that Icy Dock converter.

 
SmoovySmoov said:
Mad Cow said:
Combo deal came with the Icy Dock SSD converter as well, for $240. I am in the SSD club now fellas. :goodposting:
Click to expand...
Just an FYI homie:That Icy Dock convertor combo is the same that I got, and the converter is why my SSD didn't show up when I first got it together. I ended up going with this:

Rosewill RX-C201 Dual-bay 2.5" SATA SSD/HDD to 3.5" SATA HDD JBOD Converter

It connects with a floppy power cord, of which my PSU had none, so I had to get this as well:

Cord

But, it works MUCH better than that Icy Dock converter.
Click to expand...
Zasada, have you seen anything like this before? The problem with the Icy Dock that is.
 
Mad Cow said:
SmoovySmoov said:
Mad Cow said:
Combo deal came with the Icy Dock SSD converter as well, for $240. I am in the SSD club now fellas. :shrug:
Click to expand...
Just an FYI homie:That Icy Dock convertor combo is the same that I got, and the converter is why my SSD didn't show up when I first got it together. I ended up going with this:

Rosewill RX-C201 Dual-bay 2.5" SATA SSD/HDD to 3.5" SATA HDD JBOD Converter

It connects with a floppy power cord, of which my PSU had none, so I had to get this as well:

Cord

But, it works MUCH better than that Icy Dock converter.
Click to expand...
Zasada, have you seen anything like this before? The problem with the Icy Dock that is.
Click to expand...
I may have just got a bad one, but as soon as I took the SSD out of it, it fired right up.
 
SmoovySmoov said:
Mad Cow said:
SmoovySmoov said:
Mad Cow said:
Combo deal came with the Icy Dock SSD converter as well, for $240. I am in the SSD club now fellas. :hifive:
Click to expand...
Just an FYI homie:That Icy Dock convertor combo is the same that I got, and the converter is why my SSD didn't show up when I first got it together. I ended up going with this:

Rosewill RX-C201 Dual-bay 2.5" SATA SSD/HDD to 3.5" SATA HDD JBOD Converter

It connects with a floppy power cord, of which my PSU had none, so I had to get this as well:

Cord

But, it works MUCH better than that Icy Dock converter.
Click to expand...
Zasada, have you seen anything like this before? The problem with the Icy Dock that is.
Click to expand...
I may have just got a bad one, but as soon as I took the SSD out of it, it fired right up.
Click to expand...
Luckily my SSD comes with a converter as well, so between the 2 I should have 1 good one.Gonna have to crack open the case and take a look here.

 
This is a NICE looking case. I currently have a great one in Thermaltake Armour one, but this Elements looks great and have some nice touches. I like the forward USB, eSATA, resets, etc on top vs mid top on the Armour. I like the cover for drive bays vs the Armour shielding element, as well. Sturdy and lighter as well. :confused:

ETA I like the fan on top vs the side as well to avoid running into wires and crap.

 
Last edited by a moderator:
Mad Cow said:
SmoovySmoov said:
Mad Cow said:
Combo deal came with the Icy Dock SSD converter as well, for $240. I am in the SSD club now fellas. :popcorn:
Click to expand...
Just an FYI homie:That Icy Dock convertor combo is the same that I got, and the converter is why my SSD didn't show up when I first got it together. I ended up going with this:

Rosewill RX-C201 Dual-bay 2.5" SATA SSD/HDD to 3.5" SATA HDD JBOD Converter

It connects with a floppy power cord, of which my PSU had none, so I had to get this as well:

Cord

But, it works MUCH better than that Icy Dock converter.
Click to expand...
Zasada, have you seen anything like this before? The problem with the Icy Dock that is.
Click to expand...
Nope, I'm using a random metal 2.5" to 3.5" bracket I got off ebay. The Vertex SSD just connects with a standard SATA power/data cables.
 
My son is getting his computer soon, as well. I have my HDTV that I never use except for a BD drive, so I might be considering getting a cheap BD for around $150 then gifting him the AMD X2 5000+, 2 GB RAM and 8800 GT system. Lucky him. :thumbup:

Of course, I will nab the Blu-Ray drive from it, put that in my new system and throw a basic DVD in there for him.

ETA 9.5 yrs old, so about time we start him on some basic gaming right? :lmao:

 
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Playing around with the Icy Dock dealio, it seems pretty slick. Hopefully no problems. :mellow:

 
Damn you Newegg for saying the rest of my system has shipped yet not giving me the tracking number yet to see when it gets in. :lmao: :lmao:

 
Mad Cow said:
My son is getting his computer soon, as well. I have my HDTV that I never use except for a BD drive, so I might be considering getting a cheap BD for around $150 then gifting him the AMD X2 5000+, 2 GB RAM and 8800 GT system. Lucky him. :lmao:

Of course, I will nab the Blu-Ray drive from it, put that in my new system and throw a basic DVD in there for him.

ETA 9.5 yrs old, so about time we start him on some basic gaming right? :lmao:
Click to expand...
Watch out, he'll be whipping up on you soon! :unsure:
 
zander_s said:
Mad Cow said:
My son is getting his computer soon, as well. I have my HDTV that I never use except for a BD drive, so I might be considering getting a cheap BD for around $150 then gifting him the AMD X2 5000+, 2 GB RAM and 8800 GT system. Lucky him. :lmao:

Of course, I will nab the Blu-Ray drive from it, put that in my new system and throw a basic DVD in there for him.

ETA 9.5 yrs old, so about time we start him on some basic gaming right? :lmao:
Click to expand...
Watch out, he'll be whipping up on you soon! :unsure:
Click to expand...
I think I might start him on BF2. I have about 11 licenses, so he could start his promotions right away.I have let him play LOTRO in the past, but I have gotten away from the MMO of late due to time commitments so we shall see.

 
Mad Cow said:
Nick Vermeil said:
Hey Cow, are you going to install 32 bit Windows 7 or 64? What are the benefits/drawbacks?
Click to expand...
64-bit Windows 7 Ultimate. Heck, if it is all free either way, why not shoot for the stars right?
Click to expand...
Unless you have some really unique/old hardware, there's no reason to go 32-bit any more. Driver support for 64-bit is great and you get to use all the memory you've installed (32-bit is limited to 4GB less your vidcard memory).
 
Hmm, that AMD 5850 is just looking better and better. :lmao:

Plus, Anandtech did an interesting test-run where it compared performance of Intel-Nvidia, Intel-AMD, AMD-AMD and AMD-Nvidia CPU-GPU combinations. Interestingly, the better performance was Intel-AMD and AMD-NVidia, as dumb as that sounds.

 
Mad Cow said:
Hmm, that AMD 5850 is just looking better and better. :shrug:Plus, Anandtech did an interesting test-run where it compared performance of Intel-Nvidia, Intel-AMD, AMD-AMD and AMD-Nvidia CPU-GPU combinations. Interestingly, the better performance was Intel-AMD and AMD-NVidia, as dumb as that sounds.
Click to expand...
I've decided on the 5870. I'm getting about two years out of every new machine so it's probably worth the extra bill. The 5850 is pretty compelling though.
 
Mad Cow said:
Hmm, that AMD 5850 is just looking better and better. :(
Click to expand...
If you're happy with the 260 you should stick with it for now. nVidia should have their DX11 parts out in 2/3 months. There is always something better "just 2/3 months away" so I'm not normally a proponent of waiting to upgrade. Unless you're happy with what you have now.That's the nut I'm in right now. I am really only playing WoW and my E4300 o/c to 3.0ghz with my GTX 260 is just fine for that. My inner :shrug: really wants to upgrade but I just can't find a reason to. Hence the SSD purchase, and the upcoming 2nd SSD purchase. It's the only upgrade I can do right now that will improve my PC experience meaningfully.
 
Nick Vermeil said:
Mad Cow said:
Hmm, that AMD 5850 is just looking better and better. :wall:Plus, Anandtech did an interesting test-run where it compared performance of Intel-Nvidia, Intel-AMD, AMD-AMD and AMD-Nvidia CPU-GPU combinations. Interestingly, the better performance was Intel-AMD and AMD-NVidia, as dumb as that sounds.
Click to expand...
I've decided on the 5870. I'm getting about two years out of every new machine so it's probably worth the extra bill. The 5850 is pretty compelling though.
Click to expand...
I read this on a MB this AM:
Additionally, the 5850 can have its voltages soft modded, and likely can be clocked to levels near or above the stock 5870 with ease. There's a growing body of evidence that given equal voltages, the 5850 can hit the 5870's 850mhz core speed. The memory in the 5850 and 5870 is IDENTICAL (except for the stock clocks, but the 5850 can easily achieve the same clocks). So the only true difference in the hardware is that the 5870 will always have 11% more shaders, and 11% TMU's. Exact same ROP's!
Click to expand...
Compelling to get the 5850 vs 5870 there.And yes, I will probably stick with the 260 for now. :popcorn:
 
So I had this crazy thought - SLI my 260 with a brother since my mobo is SLI ready. :nerd: :bag:

 
Mad Cow said:
So I had this crazy thought - SLI my 260 with a brother since my mobo is SLI ready. :nerd: :bag:
Click to expand...
Do you have to use precisely the same card or can you use anything based on the same chip? If the latter, find yourself a deal and go crazy!
 
So good news, my GTX260 is the old 192 core, not the new 216 core. However, after some research, it seems that the 2 cores are very much compatible in SLI mode and in fact there is next to no difference between that config and 2 216 cores. :yucky:

 
The real question is this - spend $150 and get another GTX260, OR spend $250 and get a single 5850 and sell the other GTX260 for roughly $100?

Hmmmm.

 
Mad Cow said:
The real question is this - spend $150 and get another GTX260, OR spend $250 and get a single 5850 and sell the other GTX260 for roughly $100?Hmmmm.
Click to expand...
I'd go with the latter. Some games don't take advantage of SLi very well, and you'll have lower power consumption with a single card.That said, if you're happy now, no need to go either route.
 
Stupid 6-yr old in a balloon story just totally wrecked 30 minutes of my day with no payoff.

So here is where I debate how much I want that new video card. :mellow:

Z, have you heard when the new NVidia cards to respond to the 5000 series will be out? I am guessing November-December?

 
Mad Cow said:
Z, have you heard when the new NVidia cards to respond to the 5000 series will be out? I am guessing November-December?
Click to expand...
According to this Anandtech article I'd plan on January 2010:
While NVIDIA won’t publicly admit defeat, AMD clearly won this round. Obviously it makes sense to ramp down the old product in expectation of Fermi, but I don’t see Fermi with any real availability this year. We may see a launch with performance data in 2009, but I’d expect availability in 2010.
Click to expand...
Since I'm happy with what I have now, the only upgrade I plan to do before now and the end of the year is the 2nd SSD (moving the first into my laptop). I'll probably do a full-system upgrade (including the vidcard) in January. Hoping then SC2 is out then and I can slaughter zerglings in all my 30" glory (at 60FPS). :thumbup:

 
Last edited by a moderator:
Zasada said:
Mad Cow said:
Z, have you heard when the new NVidia cards to respond to the 5000 series will be out? I am guessing November-December?
Click to expand...
According to this Anandtech article I'd plan on January 2010:
While NVIDIA won’t publicly admit defeat, AMD clearly won this round. Obviously it makes sense to ramp down the old product in expectation of Fermi, but I don’t see Fermi with any real availability this year. We may see a launch with performance data in 2009, but I’d expect availability in 2010.
Click to expand...
Since I'm happy with what I have now, the only upgrade I plan to do before now and the end of the year is the 2nd SSD (moving the first into my laptop). I'll probably do a full-system upgrade (including the vidcard) in January. Hoping then SC2 is out then and I can slaughter zerglings in all my 30" glory (at 60FPS). :thumbup:
Click to expand...
Looking to go to 120 gb?
 
Nick Vermeil said:
Looking to go to 120 gb?
Click to expand...
I think Mad Cow has it right by going 80GB. I feel like 60GB is just a touch too small. 120GB is going to be pricey. But for now I have my sights set on the 120GB version of the OCZ Colossus. It's actually two Vertexes with their own native RAID controller (so you get RAID performance while the PC thinks it's just one drive).It's been delayed forever and I'm not interested if the price is north of $400.

120GB would allow me to install a bunch of games with reckless abandon. 80GB would get me everything I want. At 60GB I find myself prioritizing. So it's all going to boil down to price.

The other reason for the 2nd SSD is that the 4800RPM HDD on my laptop is brutal. Now that I'm used to the responsiveness of the SSD on my desktop I can barely stand using my laptop. So getting the second SSD allows me to move my existing Vertex to the notebook.

 
Soooo, my big old package from Newegg arrived in SLC today, so while it is estimated for Monday, I very well might have it in hand tomorrow.

 
Mad Cow said:
Soooo, my big old package from Newegg arrived in SLC today, so while it is estimated for Monday, I very well might have it in hand tomorrow.
Click to expand...
I'm helping my boss put together his new rig this weekend too. It's geekgasm.After you get Win7 installed be sure to go check that the OS recognized the SSD and disabled scheduled defrag. Disabling the other stuff (SuperFetch, etc) isn't as important as being sure auto-Defrag is off.
 
Zasada said:
Mad Cow said:
Soooo, my big old package from Newegg arrived in SLC today, so while it is estimated for Monday, I very well might have it in hand tomorrow.
Click to expand...
I'm helping my boss put together his new rig this weekend too. It's geekgasm.After you get Win7 installed be sure to go check that the OS recognized the SSD and disabled scheduled defrag. Disabling the other stuff (SuperFetch, etc) isn't as important as being sure auto-Defrag is off.
Click to expand...
:lmao:Not coming today. UPS drug their feet and it is still in SLC.
 
Darn you people wanting your eyes checked and not leaving me time to get my :confused: on and build this system. :lmao:

 
Windows 7 Ultimate DVD and keys were shipped to me yesterday, so :D

I just about have power cords tied and pulled and the standoffs for the mobo are in place. Just need to throw down the RAM, CPU and heatsink and put that in. Trying to decide which way to go on opticals and such.

 
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