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hardware advice

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the time has come for me to upgrade my computer a bit.

new memory is already on its way to get me to 2GB of RAM.

but my Iiyama 450 monitor is finally biting the big one. it's starting to streak etc and one of the guns is occasionally off. not good when trying to colour correct.

I'm wanting to go to a TF LCD that can do 1600x1200 res and is 19 or 21 in size.

I hear Eizo and samsung getting bandied about as good makes. (BTW, I have a spyder so I can calibrate the screen properly.)

anyone care to leap in with suggestions.

models I am considering

samsung 213T
samsung 204b
eizo L985EX

now I'd rather have a 4:3 screen so I can get 1600x1200 rather than 1600x1050 wihch widescreens tend to do.my father has a widescreen 21" mac flat panel which is nice too.

any other models I should look at?

second.

I am running an Nvidia fx5600 with 256mb but its getting a bit long in the tooth for some of the newer games. what should I be considering here? prefereably something with two monitor outs.
When a woman says yes, she means no - when she says maybe, she means no.

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well i can't say much about the monitors, wish i knew what you were talking about when you said spyder, but about the video card, well if you do any video editing then its time to switch to ati, anything x1000 and up come with a new ability for video conversion to be done by the video card and it's processor as opposed to your pc's processor, this allows for dramatic increases in speed! Not to mention ati isnt soo bad when it comes to gaming.
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hmmmm, I'm running a motherboard with an AGP slot and no PCI express.

suggestions?
When a woman says yes, she means no - when she says maybe, she means no.

http://www.auky37.dsl.pipex.com/falconlogo_web.jpg
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If you must stick with AGP get the Radeon X1950PRO, if money is an issue though, get the X850PRO or the X700.

As for monitors I'd still not use an LCD for colour work, especially dark scenes, but if going that way, the Eizo is an excellent screen, but do they still make it? I last used one back in Christams of 2003!
The 213T isn't bad, had good colour but struggles down around IRE30 or less, it must also be hard to find now, I haven't seen one for over 2 years. I used one for a while for vector work, but found it useless for video editing - although the colour was acceptable the detail went to smearsville when scrubbing video back and forth - my guess is the response time was just too slow.
The 204b I haven't seen.

The spyder does OK on LCD screens, but can give inconsistent results at the darker end, make sure you run the calibration a few times to check that you are getting a reliable calibration.
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thanks guys. I've done some reading and my venerable 875PBZ board only has AGP and there is no really viable (for me due to the number of PCI slots I need) upgrade path. Albatron do do a socket 478 PCI-E board but its tiny and doesn't do what I need so i'd have to replace, board, cpu, RAM just to get a PCI-E board. oh an reinstall my system as well.


I was leaning to the Gainward 7800GS+ but that's an expensive card, especially when it seems the yet to be released X1950Pro from ATI will beat and do it cheaper.

so fingerts crossed.
When a woman says yes, she means no - when she says maybe, she means no.

http://www.auky37.dsl.pipex.com/falconlogo_web.jpg