Getting ready for P4

[DukeIronHand]

Just got this for P4

 

http://www.viewsonic.com/products/desktop-monitors/lcd/x-series/vx2739wm.htm

 

And on a another note I also won a bet with the wife and now I get a new computer.

 

In the opinion of the tech pros here what would be the minimum Intel-brand CPU, Nvidia-brand graphics card, and amount of RAM I should have to (probably) run P4 at "maximum" settings?

[Burning Beard]

 

Beard

[Parky]

Hi Duke,

 

I'd probably go with one of the socket 1366 i7 series processors, preferably running @ 3 GHz-stock or higher (Unless you're into overclocking). The new Sandybridge is also an option you could look at, but don't go any lower than 3GHz.

 

With regard to the GPU, I wouldn't go any lower than the GTX 570....the 580 if you can afford it, or if you really wanted a divorce, grab the GTX590.

 

Depending on wether the motherboard you choose supports dual or triple channel memory configurations, I'd go with either 6 Gig triple channel or 8 Gig dual channel 1600Mhz (or higher) rated speeds.

 

Whatever you do, make sure you put all of that on a decent motherboard. I prefer Asus, but Gigabyte and EVGA also make some pretty outstanding products.Congrats on winning that bet with the wife. Last time I gambled with mine, I lost my shirt, most of my dignity and a wad of cash.

 

Cheers,

 

Parky

[DukeIronHand]

Excellent!

 

Thanks Parky. Now to shop!

[Parky]

Duke,

 

Maybe let us know what specific hardware you're looking at before you pull the trigger. I'm sure some of the others in here will offer additional and valuable input.

 

One thing you should know. If you're going to be using this rig almost exclusively to fly OFF, the GTX580 would be a better choice than the 590. The GTX590 is dual-GPU and will default to SLI when running games that support it, which improves performance significantly over the 580 under those conditions. The single GPU on the 580 is clocked quite a bit higher than those on the 590 though, so in terms of running OFF, you should see better performance with the 580.

 

Btw....that looks like an outstanding monitor you've chosen there. I took a quick look at it's specs and was unable to determine if it's strictly 60hz or if it's also capable of 120hz refresh rates. Any idea?? If not, I'll look into it a bit further and let you know.

 

Cheers,

 

Parky

[DukeIronHand]

Duke,

 

Maybe let us know what specific hardware you're looking at before you pull the trigger. I'm sure some of the others in here will offer additional and valuable input.

 

One thing you should know. If you're going to be using this rig almost exclusively to fly OFF, the GTX580 would be a better choice than the 590. The GTX590 is dual-GPU and will default to SLI when running games that support it, which improves performance significantly over the 580 under those conditions. The single GPU on the 580 is clocked quite a bit higher than those on the 590 though, so in terms of running OFF, you should see better performance with the 580.

 

Btw....that looks like an outstanding monitor you've chosen there. I took a quick look at it's specs and was unable to determine if it's strictly 60hz or if it's also capable of 120hz refresh rates. Any idea?? If not, I'll look into it a bit further and let you know.

 

Cheers,

 

Parky

 

Thanks for the additional considerations.

 

Reference the monitor its 60hz refresh only. That originally gave me a pause but reading up on the subject seemed to indicate it would not be an issue. After testing/playing all my sims on it that seems to be correct - I do not notice any kind of difference.

[Lewie]

Well from the specs it appears to be higher than 60hz

 

 

VIDEO INPUT

 

 

 

Analog

RGB analog (75 ohms, 0.7 Vp-p)

Digital

DVI-D (TMDS, 100 ohms with HDCP), HDMI 1.3

Frequency Fh: 24~83 Hz, Fv: 50~76Hz

[DukeIronHand]

Well from the specs it appears to be higher than 60hz

 

 

VIDEO INPUT

 

 

 

Analog

RGB analog (75 ohms, 0.7 Vp-p)

Digital

DVI-D (TMDS, 100 ohms with HDCP), HDMI 1.3

Frequency Fh: 24~83 Hz, Fv: 50~76Hz

 

I do not believe the above numbers reference monitor refresh rate directly but I am not a video expert by any stretch! "60" is all that's available via Window and Nvidia Control panels.

Some tweak program probably could run it up (maybe at the cost of damaging the monitor?) but, as stated previously, I am not seeing any kind of quality difference.

Edited April 28, 2011 by DukeIronHand

[Lewie]

I do not believe the above numbers reference monitor refresh rate directly but I am not a video expert by any stretch! "60" is all that's available via Window and Nvidia Control panels.

Some tweak program probably could run it up (maybe at the cost of damaging the monitor?) but, as stated previously, I am not seeing any kind of quality difference.

 

Well I'm going by the products spec sheet, but from my own Nvidia card's settings there is a choice of 60hz refresh rate, ( whether this is vertical or horizontal??..) up to 160 hz, although my own monitor is normally limited to 75hz. I notice a particularly bad flicker with lighter colored pages, with the frequency settings at 60hz.

Edited April 28, 2011 by Lewie

[Parky]

The 60hz refers to vertical refresh rates...not to be confused with horizontal scan rates.

 

Anyway....the only reason I asked was it's rare to see 120hz refresh rates on PC monitors. It's quite common on the larger HT LCD's and it's not uncommon to see 240hz on some of the newer products.

 

The 60hz refresh won't hinder your gaming exerience at all....or shouldn't. Would be nice though if you were to enable Vsync and get locked at 120fps as opposed to 60....lol.

 

Bottom line is, it ain't really gonna' matter too much where OFF is concerned. Still a very, very nice monitor.

 

Cheers,

 

Parky