Okay so..

[FredeGail]

you will have to check with ASUS website if there is a BIOS update or a drive max on the bios. the SATA 6.0Gb/s is just stating that its Sata 6/0 compatible

I'd like to check it out!

Best Regards,
FredeGail

 

[johnwillyums]

You don't mention a monitor in your specs. I bet you're looking at a duff old TN panel.
It's a bit of a hobby horse for me, but I think that a lot of people underestimate the importance of the monitor. It's the bit you interact with directly , all the time you use your pc.
So, you can have a fantastic box with a hot chip and GPU but, if you're looking at it on a piece of s**t TN panel, you're wasting so much.
I would put your $200 toward a monitor with an IPS panel and enjoy a greater colour gamut, really vivid true colour which can be calibrated, less black crush, but most importantly a huge viewing angle.
So none of that darkening or change of contrast if you're off to the side or stood up etc. It also means your pc can be a shared experience and, with a tuner card, can be a hi def TV or movie player.

Here's a couple of monitors that are amazing value. This technology appears to be coming down in price. Both of these are 23" monitors and sell for just over £200 in the UK.
If you go up to 27" or the beautiful Dell 30" you are closer to a £1000, so these really are a bargain.

Viewsonic » VP2365wb

UltraSharp U2311H 23 inch Monitor Details

Sorry to rant, as I say, a bit of a hobby horse of mine. Cheers, John

 

[pparks1]

I agree wholeheartedly on the value of a good IPS flatpanel. I recently tried to save a few bucks and picked up an LG IPS panel and was disappointed with it. For $265 or so, it didn't look hardly any different from my crappy 23" Acer TN that I currently use.

I'm saving up my pennies for a Dell U2410. It's a 24" and it's usually around $599.

 

[boohbah]

i think you should send it to me

 

[Sub Styler]

I would say get a Vertex 3 but I doubt you'll do it in less than 200 of your dollars as the best price is about 200 pounds.

 

[johnwillyums]

@ pparks1-I'd love this but I think it's out of reach financially at the moment. Right now I'm using a Dell 2408WFP which is an S(PVA) pnel and I just love it but I think it's getting to be about 4 years old and I'm sure these things have a built in obscelescence. In other words- guaranteed for 3 years, I'm on borrowed time 'til it fails.

Suppose I'd better start saving a bit each month It's 2560 x 1440, so maybe a GPU upgrade as well. I'm dreaming.

UltraSharp U2711 69cm (27

I'm surprised you say that about the LG IPS panel as it's used in a few models. It was the first cheapish one I think. I saw it in an NEC Multsync and was pretty impressed

 

[smarteyeball]

6.0Gb/s? Isn't that like a SSD? I have ASUS P5Q Pro, no idea if it's able to

It's not. That board only has Sata II/3.0GB's so Sata III/6.0GB's would be a waste really.

Right now I'm using a Dell 2408WFP which is an S(PVA) pnel and I just love it but I think it's getting to be about 4 years old and I'm sure these things have a built in obscelescence. In other words- guaranteed for 3 years, I'm on borrowed time 'til it fails.

They seem to.

My 2407WFP started showing weird blue horizontal lines all over the screen and an ever increasing amount of dead pixels appearing not long after the three year warranty ran out. It's a YMMV type of thing.

 

[pparks1]

I'm surprised you say that about the LG IPS panel as it's used in a few models. It was the first cheapish one I think. I saw it in an NEC Multsync and was pretty impressed

This was the exact model that I tried, the LG IPS236V
LG - IPS Series 23" LED Monitor - IPS236V

I figured that I would give it a shot, since it was 1/2 the price of the Dell U2410 that I have had a hard time justifying the price of. However, I took it back the next day. Neither my wife, nor I, saw enough difference to justify the money that I spent on it. My viewing angle was slightly better, but honestly that was about it. I was really shocked....because I got a very inexpensive Acer when I built my machine...it was supposed to only be temporary. But either the Acer is way better than I thought, or the LG just didn't perform. I'm still holding out for the Dell U2410. But happy enough with my current Acer to not want to part with $500+.

 

[FredeGail]

Nice suggestions really,
I could of course buy a monitor. But what is the IPS Panel you're talking about? Is it like some sort of LED?

2nd possibility:

i think you should send it to me

Best Regards,
FredeGail

 

[pparks1]

IPS is a flat panel technology, its called In-Plane Switching. The typical "cheaper" monitors that you see and most people use are TN flat panels. TN stands for Twisted Nematic.

IPS panels give you more viewing angle. Meaning you can stand to the side, or above and below and the color stays the same. With a TN panel, it darkens down as you get off to the side, or above and below. In addition, IPS panels give you better color reproduction...which is why they are the monitors of choice for graphics professionals. On the downside, they have slower refresh rates than TN panels, so lots of gamers avoid IPS panels and go with TN panels. Honestly, current generation IPS panels are more than fast enough for nearly every gamer out there.

Here is a great clip on YouTube which shows the dramatic differences a monitor can make. He compares the Dell U2410 that I want with 2 TN panels. Go to the 7 minute mark to see the differences.

 

[Britton30]

Send it to the Britton30 Foundation.:devil2:

 

[FredeGail]

IPS is a flat panel technology, its called In-Plane Switching. The typical "cheaper" monitors that you see and most people use are TN flat panels. TN stands for Twisted Nematic.

IPS panels give you more viewing angle. Meaning you can stand to the side, or above and below and the color stays the same. With a TN panel, it darkens down as you get off to the side, or above and below. In addition, IPS panels give you better color reproduction...which is why they are the monitors of choice for graphics professionals. On the downside, they have slower refresh rates than TN panels, so lots of gamers avoid IPS panels and go with TN panels. Honestly, current generation IPS panels are more than fast enough for nearly every gamer out there.

Here is a great clip on YouTube which shows the dramatic differences a monitor can make. He compares the Dell U2410 that I want with 2 TN panels. Go to the 7 minute mark to see the differences.

Looks really cool. But they're quite expensive Not sure I can effort it with my 200 bucks

Send it to the Britton30 Foundation.:devil2:

Yeah I get that a lot

 

[johnwillyums]

Fredegail.

The two 23" monitors-one Dell and one Viewsonic I mentioned in my earlier post are both much cheaper than the 24". 24" screens seem, sadly, to be being replaced by 23" ones as this fits the 16:9 HD TV format better. Hence the 24" models are now much more expensive as this is no longer a standard size.

The two I mentioned retail at just over 200 British pounds. The Viewsonic has had a load of rave reviews here for it's great quality and value for money. I appreciate that £200 is slightly more than $200 but not a lot.
I'd check both of those out if I were you, Cheers, John

 

[FredeGail]

Thank you John!
Seems like Dell is making quite good monitors?

I don't really care about keyboards, keyboards are keyboards!

Best Regards,
FredeGail

 

[johnwillyums]

Yes. I don't have much time for most Dell stuff. They're ok but the pcs tend to use cheap components. Dell monitor division is a separate entity and makes some of the best professional monitors you can get. I'm putting money aside for the 27" for when this one gives up on me. It's showing no sign of failing but, as I said in my initial post, these things have a lifetime after which they are likely to fail.
Like most electrical items it's a bath tub curve, either they fail immediately or carry on for a few years and then fail.

 

[DarkXeno]

Thank you John!
Seems like Dell is making quite good monitors?

I don't really care about keyboards, keyboards are keyboards!

Best Regards,
FredeGail

Trust me you buy a really good keyboard over a 10 buck one and you will notice a major difference.

 

[FredeGail]

I've been looking at the Acer 24" LCD P246HBD, it's exactly 200 bucks and looks nice.

1920 x 1080 / 60 Hz
Full HD 1080p

 

[johnwillyums]

Well it's a TN panel. No height, tilt or pivot action. It's got no LED backlight. It's got limited output ports. A 24" panel would normally be 16:10 aspect 1920x1200 so it's stretched 16:9. It's not much cheaper than an IPS panel. I just looked and I can't find a decent review of it anywhere. What can I say?

 

[FredeGail]

It's still VERY good for the price