[Noraima Vega]

XD I just took a second to think about it and .. yeah. I changed it. I can go up a bit if necessary of course.

To what?

[Katharine Newton]

XD I just took a second to think about it and .. yeah. I changed it. I can go up a bit if necessary of course.

150-250 isn't much for a cheap netbook, let alone a laptop. Not sure on used prices though.

EDIT:

I found this in my internet musings, and it may be useful to people in this thread. Ars made a guide on building a computer (both hardware and software aspects):

Hardware:
http://arstechnica.com/ask-ars/2011/04/how-to-build-your-own-computer-ask-ars-diy-series-part-i.ars

Software:
http://arstechnica.com/software/guides/2011/04/ask-ars-computer-building-diy-series-part-ii-software.ars

[Killah Bee]

I changed it to 150-250 or 300USD. 300USD can do well for what I want for new notebooks. I'd be fine with something from 2007 or 2008 if needed, only running xubuntu and using for general use. I've a desktop for everything else.

[kat no x]

do larger monitors suffer from geometry problems? Something about the pixels drooping downwards at the center?

[Charlie Ramsden]

Well I know the Asus website advertises different things for different models. Like the "eco friendly" monitors that have only two LED backlights instead of four to save power. I'm sure they'd tell you if it was edge vs. back on there, if you wanted to brave their billion models of monitor.

Edit: Infact the Asus site says that ML239H is backlit.

Well, there's a difference between edge-lit vs. back-lit vs. local dimming. Local dimming back-lighting consists of an array of LEDs behind the LCD that can adjust their brightness (i.e., get dimmer in parts of the screen that are supposed to be dark) to provide a higher contrast ratio. It typically adds a significant amount to the price tag of the display. My living room TV has local dimming LED back-lights, and it was about 25% more expensive than the comparable models without that feature. It does make a difference, though. Blacks look a lot closer to black.

[FABIAN RUIZ]

I know the difference :facepalm: I ment the source that the ML239H is edge led, it doesn't say anything on ASUS's site.

P.S: Everywere it just says "LED Backlit LCD" which doesn't really show wheter it's edge led or local dimming. I mean you can assume that if they're not advertising local dimming it uses edge led but usually companeis say when it's edge lit :shrug:

You can pretty much assume any monitor is edge-lit.

[Ronald]

I changed it to 150-250 or 300USD. 300USD can do well for what I want for new notebooks. I'd be fine with something from 2007 or 2008 if needed, only running xubuntu and using for general use. I've a desktop for everything else.

That still puts you in the netbook territory for the most part with new products. Although Fry's right now has a nice deal for this Toshiba:
http://www.frys.com/product/6568093

Processor is only single-core (probably be enough for your purposes), but comes with decent battery life and a decent video chipset.


Otherwise, you're looking at refurbs:
http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=6663048&CatId=4947
http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=7220731&CatId=4947
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834200139

[roxanna matoorah]

That still puts you in the netbook territory for the most part with new products. Although Fry's right now has a nice deal for this Toshiba:
http://www.frys.com/product/6568093

Processor is only single-core (probably be enough for your purposes), but comes with decent battery life and a decent video chipset.


Otherwise, you're looking at refurbs:
http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=6663048&CatId=4947
http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=7220731&CatId=4947
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834200139

Refurbished doesn't bother me much. Also, the Fry offer isn't available for shipping. >.< Thanks, though.

[Agnieszka Bak]

Well, there's a difference between edge-lit vs. back-lit vs. local dimming. Local dimming back-lighting consists of an array of LEDs behind the LCD that can adjust their brightness (i.e., get dimmer in parts of the screen that are supposed to be dark) to provide a higher contrast ratio. It typically adds a significant amount to the price tag of the display. My living room TV has local dimming LED back-lights, and it was about 25% more expensive than the comparable models without that feature. It does make a difference, though. Blacks look a lot closer to black.

:yes: Even so the ASUS has a great image quality considering it's "low" price.

[Tom Flanagan]

Shame about your headphones. But if you can please post your personal review of those Snoy's once you get them

Well they came in today. They sound amazing! The bass is amazing. Overall I am very happy with them so far. There are a couple things that will take some getting used to on for me, there is no volume control on the actual cord (Though I use the controls on my keyboard) and the cord is a bit short at just under 4ft. But they sound so nice and I have been using them for only 3 hours.
The ear cushions are huge (in my opinion a good thing) but it may be a bit warm in there after a while. Very comfortable though.
And they were on a great sale! I may have to pick up a short cord extender though. 4 feet is a bit short even with my PC just sitting less then a foot away.

[Soraya Davy]

Well they came in today. They sound amazing! The bass is amazing. Overall I am very happy with them so far. There are a couple things that will take some getting used to on for me, there is no volume control on the actual cord (Though I use the controls on my keyboard) and the cord is a bit short at just under 4ft. But they sound so nice and I have been using them for only 3 hours.
The ear cushions are huge (in my opinion a good thing) but it may be a bit warm in there after a while. Very comfortable though.
And they were on a great sale! I may have to pick up a short cord extender though. 4 feet is a bit short even with my PC just sitting less then a foot away.

Cool. Originally I was asking about headsets that were comfortable with glasses since many aren't, so if you don't mind me asking: do you use glasses?

[Eric Hayes]

Cool. Originally I was asking about headsets that were comfortable with glasses since many aren't, so if you don't mind me asking: do you use glasses?

Ah yeah, I do. I am blind as a bat without them. There is no interference for my glasses at all.

[Veronica Martinez]

Cool. Originally I was asking about headsets that were comfortable with glasses since many aren't, so if you don't mind me asking: do you use glasses?

I wear glasses too, and they're fine with the headset I suggested. How would headsets be less comfortable with glasses though?

[Chantelle Walker]

Ah yeah, I do. I am blind as a bat without them. There is no interference for my glasses at all.

Great to know. EDIT: Not the blind as a bat part though

I wear glasses too, and they're fine with the headset I suggested. How would headsets be less comfortable with glasses though?

Some headsets I've used are too tight and smash my glasses against the side of my head which starts to really hurt after some time :sadvaultboy:

[Tyler F]

What are the current technical limitations of IPS and VA panels?

[Jason Rice]

Hey all, I'm wondering if you could give me some advice on either of these rigs. It's for a friend, since his computer is starting to die on him. He wants it mostly for gaming and multimedia, ect, and for around 400-500 USD (but he'll go up to 700). He mostly plays WoW and CoD, but I figure it should be future proof enough to run Skyrim and Battlefield 3 the best it can. Which build do you think is better out of these two? (Or recommend any modifications/ your own build):

Build 1:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811147023
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131402
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102913
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817153106
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103871
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820145345
Total: ~598 (658.94 before rebates and codes)

Build 2:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811119196
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813130235
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814161349
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817171052
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103886
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820145345
(Combo deals used: http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.634436 and http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.628128)
Total: ~486 (611.94 before rebates and codes)

[alyssa ALYSSA]

Hey all, I'm wondering if you could give me some advice on either of these rigs. It's for a friend, since his computer is starting to die on him. He wants it mostly for gaming and multimedia, ect, and for around 400-500 USD (but he'll go up to 700). He mostly plays WoW and CoD, but I figure it should be future proof enough to run Skyrim and Battlefield 3 the best it can. Which build do you think is better out of these two? (Or recommend any modifications/ your own build):

Build 1:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811147023
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131402
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102913
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817153106
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103871
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820145345
Total: ~598 (658.94 before rebates and codes)

Build 2:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811119196
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813130235
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814161349
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817171052
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103886
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820145345
(Combo deals used: http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.634436 and http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.628128)
Total: ~486 (611.94 before rebates and codes)

Personally I like the second build much better. A nicer case, the PSU is more reasonable (850W was just way more than he'd need), and a better make for the video card (HIS has better cooling than Sapphire in that particular case). You could probably find cheaper RAM than that, but not by much more than a few $10's.

Edit: And for what it's worth I'd switch to the quad core CPU over the Tripple core.

[kevin ball]

Hey all, I'm wondering if you could give me some advice on either of these rigs. It's for a friend, since his computer is starting to die on him. He wants it mostly for gaming and multimedia, ect, and for around 400-500 USD (but he'll go up to 700). He mostly plays WoW and CoD, but I figure it should be future proof enough to run Skyrim and Battlefield 3 the best it can. Which build do you think is better out of these two? (Or recommend any modifications/ your own build):

Build 1:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811147023
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131402
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102913
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817153106
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103871
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820145345
Total: ~598 (658.94 before rebates and codes)

Build 2:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811119196
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813130235
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814161349
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817171052
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103886
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820145345
(Combo deals used: http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.634436 and http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.628128)
Total: ~486 (611.94 before rebates and codes)

I've got the same CPU and mobo as the second build, I unlocked mine to 4 cores and it runs stable so its a good budget build. I've got a GTX 460 and I can play both those games on full settings so he'll be good. I'd go with some Mushkin RAM, just personal preference really, I'm sure Tig will tell ya Gskill , and go with sapphire/xfx 6950 instead of the 6850. They have a high rate of being able to unlock the shaders that are disabled turning it into a 6970.

That should come close to 700 before your rebates.

[Lucky Girl]

That should come close to 700 before your rebates.

You sure? Those 6950s aren't cheap, and the "high rate" of being able to unlock doesn't actually mean it will unlock. There's a chance it won't be able to and you'll end up making a huge mess and having to flash back to the original BIOS, bah, too much trouble for what it's worth. A 6950 alone will handle anything on the market, and so will a 6850 for that matter. Getting a 6970 for a few extra shaders isn't going to do that much, will it?

Also I'm a Corsair man myself.

[Scott]

You sure? Those 6950s aren't cheap, and the "high rate" of being able to unlock doesn't actually mean it will unlock. There's a chance it won't be able to and you'll end up making a huge mess and having to flash back to the original BIOS, bah, too much trouble for what it's worth. A 6950 alone will handle anything on the market, and so will a 6850 for that matter. Getting a 6970 for a few extra shaders isn't going to do that much, will it?

Also I'm a Corsair man myself.

They are going for around $274 on newegg, so that's an extra $74. You're going to want to read the customer reviews to make sure you're getting the reference card version with the dual BIOS switch, which makes flashing it a non issue since you've got an easy failsafe. This is the 2gb model I'm talking about, and while the 6950 is a great card by itself, and 6970 actually offers a respectable boost in performance that makes it worth it if it does pan out for you.

To each his own.

[Andrew Perry]

I've got the same CPU and mobo as the second build, I unlocked mine to 4 cores and it runs stable so its a good budget build. I've got a GTX 460 and I can play both those games on full settings so he'll be good. I'd go with some Mushkin RAM, just personal preference really, I'm sure Tig will tell ya Gskill , and go with sapphire/xfx 6950 instead of the 6850. They have a high rate of being able to unlock the shaders that are disabled turning it into a 6970.

That should come close to 700 before your rebates.

I've got a similar CPU model with the possibility of unlocking the 3rd core, haven't done so, but it's a nice prospect. How much of a performance boost would that extra core (and the L3 cahce) offer though? One correction however, I have the 6870, not the 6850 in these builds. Does that make much of a difference? As for you comment about the 6950's with the dual Bio's, I think they've stopped making those or something. That's the consensus I get from a quick google search. I haven't had any major problems with RAM, so I don't really have any brand loyalty for it. If I end up not ordering either of these by the time some of the deals run out I might get some other parts. On top of that I don't have any knowledge of OCing, and my friend has no interest in it, so it probably isn't much of a concern for his build.

Basically, is a 6870 future proof enough for the games coming out this winter? (And I want the free copy of Shogun :tongue: . There is a reason I volunteered to pick out the parts.)

[BrEezy Baby]

I've got a similar CPU model with the possibility of unlocking the 3rd core, haven't done so, but it's a nice prospect. How much of a performance boost would that extra core (and the L3 cahce) offer though? One correction however, I have the 6870, not the 6850 in these builds. Does that make much of a difference? As for you comment about the 6950's with the dual Bio's, I think they've stopped making those or something. That's the consensus I get from a quick google search. I haven't had any major problems with RAM, so I don't really have any brand loyalty for it. If I end up not ordering either of these by the time some of the deals run out I might get some other parts. On top of that I don't have any knowledge of OCing, and my friend has no interest in it, so it probably isn't much of a concern for his build.

Basically, is a 6870 future proof enough for the games coming out this winter? (And I want the free copy of Shogun :tongue: . There is a reason I volunteered to pick out the parts.)

I'm almost certain even a 6850 is future proof enough for anything out there including Skyrim, so yeah, a 6870 will do the job too. Considered getting one myself too, but http://secure.newegg.com/WishList/PublicWishDetail.aspx?WishListNumber=17128366 has changed rather drastically since then and I'm looking at a particular 5850 card.

I'm actually quite pleased with the look of it. Managed to fit all the features I wanted like an SSD, a small case, a quad-core CPU, Platinum PSU, powerful GPU, huge HDD, interesting motherboard, and less than $1000.

[Rachael]

I'm almost certain even a 6850 is future proof enough for anything out there including Skyrim, so yeah, a 6870 will do the job too.

I disagree, but it depends entirely on your standards for what constitutes "running a game". To me, if it's not max settings at 4xMSAA at 60FPS with Vsync, it's not running the game well, and a 6870 is definitely not enough to do that with most modern games.

[Steven Hardman]

I disagree, but it depends entirely on your standards for what constitutes "running a game". To me, if it's not max settings at 4xMSAA at 60FPS with Vsync, it's not running the game well, and a 6870 is definitely not enough to do that with most modern games.

Even my 4890 can max most modern games... at least the ones made last year. Was there really such a big leap in technology in 6 months that a 6870 is insufficient?

[Suzy Santana]

Even my 4890 can max most modern games... at least the ones made last year. Was there really such a big leap in technology in 6 months that a 6870 is insufficient?

Crysis, Starcraft 2 (depends on the number of units), Metro 2033, Bulletstorm, ARMA II, Dirt 2, Napoleon and Shogun 2, are all either below 60 FPS at max, or JUST on the borderline with my unlocked/overclocked 6950. Games just get more demanding with time, not less.