Ideas for a new GPU/TFT combo

[AndrewJ]

Hi all.

I am in the market to replace both my Samsung 204BW, and 8800GTS G92.

I run a Q6600 OC'd at 3.6GHZ, 400x9 1.51v, MCH 1.29. with 4GB XMS 2 DDR2 on a Abit IP35 Pro motherboard, all powered by a Corsair HX620.

I game on most of today's demanding game, if it comes out and it's good I am playing it and as such I need something which eats games for breakfast.

As for my new TFT quality is my main importance over features, I would like 20' really as I am used to that, and it seems to land in a nice price bracket.

Overall would like to spend about £400 maybe £450 on the pair of upgrades... but I am stumped between a 4870 or GTX 280, as for TFT's I have my eye on a new Samsung or perhaps a nice Dell...

[crazyfool]

the gtx 280 is a better card afaik but at the res you would be gaming on that is overkill to say the least... even a gtx260 would be a monster at that res but i dont suppose you would get much more performance out of a 9800gtx compared to your current card so i would say a gtx260, as far as the screen goes i cant really recommend any 20 inchers as i use a 22 sorry

[Webby]

The 4870 is closer in performance and price to the GTX260. If you are staying at 1680*1050 (20" or 22" monitor) then either of these should do you fine if you want to go overkill then the GTX280 or the 4870X2 are faster (with 4870X2 being better than the GTX280) but you certainly pay for that extra speed!

Monitor wise what is the problem with your current one? Why do you want to change it? without knowing this it will be hard to recommend a replacement.

[AndrewJ]

One dead pixel and horrid backlight bleeding which seems to be getting worse with age.

I have given though to a GTX 260, one of these would be a good buy then for a 1680 by 1050 res gamer who plays a lot of Crysis Multi-Player, and likes his eye candy

[Webby]

According to Techpowerup the 4870 is slightly better at 1680*1050 than the GTX260 over their test suite http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/P...dition/26.html

Obviously if you play particular games then look for reviews comparing those games, so for example the 4870 is better in crysis but the GTX260 wins in unreal tournament 3 from the same link above.

So for your monitor dead pixels are a bit of a luck of the draw thing, backlight bleed though should be covered by any decent review, though bleed is normal from poor build quality so Dell, Samsung, BenQ and Viewsonic should all be all right but best to find a review for a particular monitor that takes your fancy.

[AndrewJ]

According to Techpowerup the 4870 is slightly better at 1680*1050 than the GTX260 over their test suite http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/P...dition/26.html

Obviously if you play particular games then look for reviews comparing those games, so for example the 4870 is better in crysis but the GTX260 wins in unreal tournament 3 from the same link above.

So for your monitor dead pixels are a bit of a luck of the draw thing, backlight bleed though should be covered by any decent review, though bleed is normal from poor build quality so Dell, Samsung, BenQ and Viewsonic should all be all right but best to find a review for a particular monitor that takes your fancy.

Would a GTX-260 be okay on my system with it's current power supply though? same question for a 4870.

[AdvWar]

Would a GTX-260 be okay on my system with it's current power supply though? same question for a 4870.

Your PSU has more than enough power for either of those cards.

[Webby]

Yeah plenty enough juice available there no need t worry about your PSU.

[Thorsson]

Think about 4850s in Xfire (see very recent article on HardOCP). If the games you like are supported by the drivers then it will beat either of the two standalone cards in the same price area. Otherwise get the "216" 260 and give it some OC.

[Pob255]

Would a GTX-260 be okay on my system with it's current power supply though? same question for a 4870.

more than enough

backlight bleed though should be covered by any decent review, though bleed is normal from poor build quality so Dell, Samsung, BenQ and Viewsonic should all be all right but best to find a review for a particular monitor that takes your fancy.

But he currently has a Samsung so that arguement falls over.
One thing to remember with ALL makes/brands is that they produce "budget" lines/models as well as "performance" lines/models, The Dell budget monitors are pritty bad (they don't tend to sell them seperately but only as part of there cheap pc packages)

Only thing you can do here is find a model that looks good, then check it out, try to find reviews and info about the pannel used.
I seem to remember that the Samsung 204BW was Very highly rated when it first came out, but later versions (same model number) had lower quality pannels.

If it's really that bad you might want to consider RMAing it, I cannot remember about Samsung warranty but most monitors come with 3year on-site warranty (basically a swap out)

[AndrewJ]

Was bought second hand for £149 a year ago from a local pc shop ( now gone under )

Had a fair use from it, and the faults have only really come recently... also it's getting DAMN hot... which is a cause for worry I think.