Monitors

[HairyLips]

I am currently using an zillion year old SONY SDM-HS73 with a dead pixel, but I've not bothered getting a new one as my GPUs aren't fantastic anyway.
Fed up with modern games on low spec, I've ordered a 8800GT and eagerly awaiting it's arrival. I am a little hampered by my CPU/MOBO so I think the 8800GT is my best option.
Can any of you fine folk recommend a decent monitor to complement my new card, and my gaming needs.
I want to spend in the region of £150 - £200, which I know isn't a fortune nowadays, but hopefully I can get something worth while.

Your help is much appreciated

[DJT298]

Without knowing the other spec's in your computer that card should confortably run a 22" or 24" montior. If you can afford the extra I would recommend the 24" iiyama advertised on the Mesh Shop link above Mesh Computers Owners Club Shop - 24" Iiyama PLE2403WS-B1 LCD Widescreen TFT Monitor + built in speakers Details. This is quite a bit more than your budget though so an alternative would be a 22" model Mesh Computers Owners Club Shop - Hanns-G 22" Hi221D Widescreen TFT Digital Display, internal speakers, DVI, 5ms, 1680x1050 Details.

Although there isn't a great deal difference in size a 24" monitor will give a standard resolution of 1920 x 1200 (the amount of pixels on screen). A 22" will give a standard resolution of 1680 x 1050 which is the same as a 20" but stretched to the bigger screen. Theoretically this means the picture wouldn't be as good as on a 20" but in reality you don't really notice the difference.

[HairyLips]

Thanks for the reply.

If it helps to know what I've currently got in the box then -

(based on a MESH X-Treme GT purchased Mar06)

Asus A8N32-SLi Deluxe
Hiper Type-R Modular Blue Label 580W PSU
AMD Athlon 64 x2 Dual Core Processor 4800+ 2411MHz - Cooled by a Zalman CNPS9500A-LED Aero Flower Cooler
256MB 7800GT GPUs (SLi) - Cooled by Zalman VF900-Cu VGA coolers
Creative X-Fi XtremeGamer soundcard
Win XP 32-bit SP2
Coolermaster Praetorian 732 case
120mm front intake fan, 2 x 80mm Exhaust fans, 120mm side panel fan.
Logitech G5 laser mouse
Logitech G15 (Rev 2) Keyboard.

Being a fan of Zalman quiet cooling (and being too lazy to change the stock cooler again myself) the GPU is about to become a MSI 8800GT-ZILENT 512MB.

Also I'm not worried about built in speakers. I've got a Logitec 2.1 set up for day to day sound and use a pair of Speedlink Medusa 5.1 headphones for gaming.

[DJT298]

Thanks for the update. Those specs are fine and you should notice quite an improvement with the 8800GT.

Don't worry about the inbuilt speakers. To use them you would have to connect the speaker wire to the soundcard but if you leave that out you can continue using your existing settup. Most monitors these days come with built in speakers but unless you're short of space and aren't too worried about sound quality you're better off using seperates.

[HairyLips]

Thanks for your suggestions DJT298. I've got the 8800GT now - its fanbleedingtastic!

I've had a look about the t'interweb and I do quite fancy the Samsung SyncMaster 2253BW - anyone got any expereience with Samsungs monitors or even this one in particular?

[sloppyjoe]

i have a samsung 2232BW which i bought through PC world web site for £140 a little while ago. I'm no hardware expert but i must say i am very happy with this monitor. Call of Duty 4 and Crysis look great on it(nvidia 9600GT). The only thing that i can complain about is the stand. It is awkward to fit the monitor onto it. When i have my printer running the monitor tends to wobble a bit. But apart from that i love it. I have to say that the only reason i bought this monitor was that it was recommended on the PC Pro A-List a little while ago.

[Joblinho22]

W2261V Monitors IT Products

No beating this one.

Just ordered it with my new PC.

Can get it at amazon for £158.

Comes with HD and it is amazing spec for the money