What do you reckon about these specs?

[FMod]

I have assembled PCs in the past, though they were with parts already fitting together well. I'd prefer not having to build it myself, since I don't want to screw it up. I suppose I'll skip that custom built one as well.

It's fairly easy, as you probably know, and the parts don't fit together any worse than they used to. It's very difficult to find a prebuilt system that is as good as a custom one for the same price.

 

Since you already have experience assembling a PC, IDK what you're worried about. There's only a few things to know and plenty of info online about how exactly to do what. These parts are meant to be assembled by the end user, hence all the shiny retail boxes and such, not brown paper wrappings in a plastic bag.

 

 

Really? Only decent? By "decent", do you mean, "it will run stuff okay but not great", or do you mean, "it will run stuff really well but it could be better"? Because I don't want to buy it if it's not going to be running newer games on at least high with a good framerate.

Decent as in doesn't seem to have any glaring errors in the build. It should run quite well, but I can't put a hand on the price/performance ratio given Australian prices. The parts are fairly expensive and many you don't really need and could replace with cheaper ones with 1%-3% performance loss. Alternately, a good improvement would be putting the money towards a larger SSD (120GB is not enough to keep games on it, especially modded ones).

 

 

I'm still looking at monitors, however, this one looks like it might be good. Originally I was going to go for a 24"+ monitor, but the screen size doesn't really bother me that much.

As to monitors, VA panels are generally better than TN. But I wouldn't recommend 21.5" 1080p - some people like it, for most it's just a choice between tiny text and not enough workspace. As far as immersion in games and comfort in work goes, larger is generally better, unless you don't have enough room on your desk.

 

27" 2560x1440 are finally affordable, at least in the US, use IPS panels (mostly 6-bit ones), and are basically the displays to have today, a 970 can pull one. Some Korean models can be "overclocked" to run at 120-144Hz. 2560 screens are also available up to 32" and work really well in larger sizes.

27" 1920x1080 with VA or IPS panels are almost as cheap as 24" today, look very good in movies and games, and will give solid 60fps with a 970. But it's possible to notice the pixels in high-contrast text or if you look closely, it bothers some people, so they're not for everyone.

24" 1920x1080 is pretty much the lower end of what everyone finds acceptable today.

 

Smaller than 24" 1080p displays are taxing on the eyes (to a greater degree than that to which larger ones are less taxing) and there's not enough room to compensate with larger text. I would also avoid glossy screens unless you know you like them and/or can prevent any small bright objects from reflecting off the screen.

 

4K displays are also available for somewhat more than 2560 and that's basically the display to have tomorrow. They're great for CAD and graphics editing, give slightly better looking text, but you'd have to play at a reduced resolution and use built-in upscale to compensate. For the most part, except with larger screens, the extra resolution doesn't really do anything outside of CAD.

 

Another option is 21:9 displays like this - this is almost similar to multi-screen gaming, but without the bezels in between, really good in games. It's as tall as a 24", but wider, with extra space and pixels on the side, but will still give steady 60fps with your card.

 

Almost all of these are VA or IPS panels, and these are basically categories to pick from, I can't suggest an exact model unless you know what you want. Both models I've linked are pretty good, there's more to pick from in every category.

They do cost a bit more than you wanted, but the display should never be the part you skimp on; I still stayed in the range that should be right for your build.

[billyro]

 

I have assembled PCs in the past, though they were with parts already fitting together well. I'd prefer not having to build it myself, since I don't want to screw it up. I suppose I'll skip that custom built one as well.

It's fairly easy, as you probably know, and the parts don't fit together any worse than they used to. It's very difficult to find a prebuilt system that is as good as a custom one for the same price.

 

Since you already have experience assembling a PC, IDK what you're worried about. There's only a few things to know and plenty of info online about how exactly to do what. These parts are meant to be assembled by the end user, hence all the shiny retail boxes and such, not brown paper wrappings in a plastic bag.

 

 

You're right that computers are easy to assemble, but on the off-chance that something goes wrong, I'd rather not do it myself. It's a lot of money that I'm pouring into this machine...

 

 

 

Really? Only decent? By "decent", do you mean, "it will run stuff okay but not great", or do you mean, "it will run stuff really well but it could be better"? Because I don't want to buy it if it's not going to be running newer games on at least high with a good framerate.

Decent as in doesn't seem to have any glaring errors in the build. It should run quite well, but I can't put a hand on the price/performance ratio given Australian prices. The parts are fairly expensive and many you don't really need and could replace with cheaper ones with 1%-3% performance loss. Alternately, a good improvement would be putting the money towards a larger SSD (120GB is not enough to keep games on it, especially modded ones).

 

 

Ah, so that's what you meant by decent. I thought you were referring to the PC's potential performance.

 

Considering that the pre-built PC cannot be modified, I'll have to stave off the larger SSD for now. But, that's something that can come down the line, if I really need it. :smile:

 

 

 

I'm still looking at monitors, however, this one looks like it might be good. Originally I was going to go for a 24"+ monitor, but the screen size doesn't really bother me that much.

As to monitors, VA panels are generally better than TN. But I wouldn't recommend 21.5" 1080p - some people like it, for most it's just a choice between tiny text and not enough workspace. As far as immersion in games and comfort in work goes, larger is generally better, unless you don't have enough room on your desk.

 

27" 2560x1440 are finally affordable, at least in the US, use IPS panels (mostly 6-bit ones), and are basically the displays to have today, a 970 can pull one. Some Korean models can be "overclocked" to run at 120-144Hz. 2560 screens are also available up to 32" and work really well in larger sizes.

27" 1920x1080 with VA or IPS panels are almost as cheap as 24" today, look very good in movies and games, and will give solid 60fps with a 970. But it's possible to notice the pixels in high-contrast text or if you look closely, it bothers some people, so they're not for everyone.

24" 1920x1080 is pretty much the lower end of what everyone finds acceptable today.

 

Smaller than 24" 1080p displays are taxing on the eyes (to a greater degree than that to which larger ones are less taxing) and there's not enough room to compensate with larger text. I would also avoid glossy screens unless you know you like them and/or can prevent any small bright objects from reflecting off the screen.

 

4K displays are also available for somewhat more than 2560 and that's basically the display to have tomorrow. They're great for CAD and graphics editing, give slightly better looking text, but you'd have to play at a reduced resolution and use built-in upscale to compensate. For the most part, except with larger screens, the extra resolution doesn't really do anything outside of CAD.

 

Another option is 21:9 displays like this - this is almost similar to multi-screen gaming, but without the bezels in between, really good in games. It's as tall as a 24", but wider, with extra space and pixels on the side, but will still give steady 60fps with your card.

 

Almost all of these are VA or IPS panels, and these are basically categories to pick from, I can't suggest an exact model unless you know what you want. Both models I've linked are pretty good, there's more to pick from in every category.

They do cost a bit more than you wanted, but the display should never be the part you skimp on; I still stayed in the range that should be right for your build.

 

 

Whoa, that's a lot of text.

 

I don't think the 21.5" monitor is small - this laptop is 14" so the size increase will be noticeable. I can't really go any higher than that because my desk is quite small and a screen any larger will just be too much. Plus, it's much cheaper than the larger screens.

 

For now, I think I'll just stick with that one I was looking at. If the monitor ends up hurting my eyes after a lot of usage, well, I suppose that's my fault for being a screen-zombie. I believe there are options to increase the text size globally on a computer (though I've never tested it), so if the text is too small, I should be able to fix it. Or at least alleviate the problem.

 

 

Thanks for all your input and suggestions, though. I feel much more confident in my decisions, now. :)

[FMod]

Since you've stated you wanted a 24"+, I assumed you had the room for one.

 

In any case, 24" is a considerable upgrade over 21.5". Laptops aren't comparable, you hold them much closer and don't expect to really multitask on a laptop.

[billyro]

Yeah, but that was before I measured out exactly how big 24" was (I go by the metric system here - I don't know inches) so it was considerably bigger than I was expecting. The monitor will be about arm's length away from me, so I think 21.5" should be plenty.

 

I generally prefer having one window open at a time anyhow, and I alt-tab like a lunatic so multitasking isn't a problem. :smile:

Edited January 16, 2015 by billyro