Haha! Save it for my next upgrade in 2 years, or my next computer in 7-8 years I hope. We’ll see.
7-8 years? I’d bet the 10 bucks it’ll be before that. d: But, I am not sure whether I’m weird or normal for getting a new PC every 3-5 years.
Well, so far every computer I have had has lasted longer then the last. On the other hand now I might be more willing to get a new one sooner. Save the $10.
Anyway, I should be getting most of the parts today. Monitor probably tomorrow, and the SSD a few days after that. Still so much to be done before turning it on!
So I’m about halfway through the assembly of the PC so far. I managed to mount the CPU in the socket without too much trouble, and I got the fan on in what I think is secure. I did manage to have to attach the motherboard to the case twice because I used the wrong screws but that’s life.
One thing I did notice is that it looks like the motherboard has no way to connect an older Optical Drive. I have a bunch of Parallel ATA (like this) CD drives which I was going to use. I guess I’ll need a new DVD/CD drive. I have one from another computer which I can use temporarily.
Oh, you should check whether your mobo can accept PS/2 mice and keyboards. Yeah, I have many smaller capacity hard drives and keyboards I can’t use because of depreciation. Fortunately, I wanted a new Blu-ray drive.
Unfortunately, the keyboard I use/want is no longer being made (even though it’s USB) and costs $200 if I want to buy one new or used.
Yeah, it has one PS/2 connector for either keyboard or mouse. That was easy to tell from the picture even, but it never even occured to me that my CD drive would not be compatible. Here is the new drive I ordered for anyone keeping score at home:
HP 1260i
Good that you’re getting one with software and not OEM.
Good that you’re getting one with software and not OEM.
Mainly I got it because the reviews said it had the lowest noise of any of them in that price range. But software is good too.
Speaking of, I have a Benq DVD-ROM/CD-RW which is really nice. But Benq seems to not make CD drives anymore. What’s the deal?
There are about a dozen of brands that do, and the economic downturn.
I still say you should get a Blu-ray ROM or burner though.
So I got the new monitor and hooked it up to the old computer for now. It’s fraking HUGE!!! Played around with the settings and stuff a little, and got it reasonably well customized. Will have to try it out a little more but I think it should be good.
I still say you should get a Blu-ray ROM or burner though.
I may at some point, they are still pretty expensive at this point, and I don’t really have a use for it… not yet anyway.
Heh about the monitor. The bright side is that it should keep you for 5-8 years barring any problems. I bet it’s bright as hell too. But after a week, I doubt you’ll be able to go back to your old one.
Does it fit on the desk well? I’m sure it does, but wanted to ask.
Ok about Blu-ray.
So, I turned on the monitor again this morning, and went to make some more adjustments with the buttons on the bottom. Pressed the first button on the left, and “POP!”. Button goes into the monitor and does not come out. I tried to pop it back out, but something definitly broke. I looked online but only found one other person mentioning this. I think I will be RMAing it for a new one, or possibly replacing it with a similar sized monitor. 
In other news, I assembled and did all the cabling for the new PC, and even got it to turn on! I am still waiting for my SSD, so I have not installed Windows yet, but I was able to boot to CD and run the BIOS. Everything looks good. More importantly, everything sounds good, the computer makes bearly any noise when the case fans are set on low power. Of course that is on the lowest load you are going to get, but still I’m pretty happy with it.
Gah! Why is it that the thing I pushed hardest for fails on you!?
What can I say, shit happens, lol. Although at this point I am convinced that 1920 x 1080 is a good resolution.
I am still not convinced about this monitor though. I can’t seem to find a good balance of color and brightness. It is tiring my eyes out more than it should because its too bright, but other parts of the screen look too dim. I definitly want to mess with the settings some more, but its annoying to have to use a toothpick every time I use one of the buttons.
I can still return it to newegg and get another monitor (minus 15% restocking fee, sigh).
I’ll sleep on it I guess.
I do have a question for you guys. When you run your monitors at 1920 x 1080, what is the maximum refresh rate you can do? On this monitor it looks like its 60 Hertz. I would have thought it was higher but that may not be the case.
That is normal. Both my LCDs are the same way. Going higher would be bad I think. Some programs/game let you match v-sync to avoid tearing and graphic glitches. If the game isn’t too taxing, I usually do so.
I noticed some games let you change the refresh rate to be higher then Windows allows, at least as “safe” ones go. My guess is that isn’t not actually changing it, its just tries too. Anyway, that is good to know.
Anyway, I think I am going to exchange this monitor for one of the 21.5 inch models that is still 1920 x 1080. Everything will be smaller, which was what I was trying to avoid, but I feel like from where I sit this monitor is a little to big. I have very sensitive eyes, and when I am looking at images that are mostly white in color, it is too bright and not too comfortable. I’m also happy to see that with the current monitor I didn’t need to increase the DPI or font sizes at all, so on a monitor that is 2 or 3 inches smaller I might increase it slightly, but not enough to start making distortions like I see with my 17 inch laptop.
Also the monitor is so big that there seems to be no viewing angle where the entire screen looks the same. In other words, where I sit the top of the screen is viewed at a slight angle so the colors look slightly off.
It has a TN panel. So, that’s normal. How dunno how close or far you sit, but I’ve never had that problem. But, I probably only change my viewing angle by 10 degrees side to side. I sit 2 to 3 feet away.
I got use to the brightness after 1 or 2 weeks. That’s just the way new monitors are. You can adjust the brightness. But, on pure white screens (some web pages, etc.,) it will seem bright until your eyes get use to it. I can sit for hours in front of my screen now.
Having a lamp turned on beside me helped me adjust. Doesn’t have to be super bright lamp. It just took the strain off.
It has a TN panel. So, that’s normal.
I sit about 20 inches away. It is a lot more noticeable then my old monitor which I belive was also a TN. On the old one ocasionally it would be too bright as well, but it was never much of a problem. I don’t know, I guess its a personal preference.
Here is a monitor I saw at Best Buy which looked good:
Dell SR2220L
My last lcd was a Dell. I’d stay far, far away. After 3 months, you may develop image burn in.