What should i buy next?

[shimmishim]

What I need/want:

-New sound card (i'd ask for help on which one to pick but no one responded to my post... see post below this one)

-New 19in monitor

-Office XP (student edition)

-Epson Stylus c84 printer

-CD-MP3 player iRiver ChromeX

-ATI 9800NP 128 MEGS

so of everything listed, the video card is the most expensive thing...

or if anyone can suggest anything else to upgrade...

[ThugsRook]

go LCD ;)

i still use a 2 year old sb live 5.1 soundcard.
never had a problem with it in over a dozen different moboards.

:wave:

[shimmishim]

hm... sb live 5.1

interesting...

they are pretty cheap too now...

:)

lcd.. :(

i'd rather have a new video card than monitor though... :)

[ThugsRook]

Originally posted by shimmishim
lcd.. :(
yea thats what most ppl look like when 1st suggested they get a LCD.
but after they get one, they look more like this... :chit:

;)

[oldfart]

I'll never go back to a CRT. My eyes thank me everyday for buying an LCD.

Soundcard = TBSC!
Office XP SE is a good deal. Amazon has (had?) it for $75 after rebate.

My next upgrade = WD Raptor 72 Gig.

[shimmishim]

no more 75 after rebate...

more like 99 after 50 instant rebate + free upgrade to office 2k3 by MS

[pointreyes]

How much did you want to pay for the 9800np?

I have one that I have to RMA to ATI but once I get it back I might be interested in selling it.

The problem with it? On a hot day, the HSF started to rattle and then the on two different motherboard platforms the graphics have gotten garbled upon rebooting. I bought the card open box at Best Buy and it did not have a problem for over a month and then these oddities occurred. I don't know what the person did to it before me but I know that I never oc'ed it.

[pointreyes]

Originally posted by ThugsRook
yea thats what most ppl look like when 1st suggested they get a LCD.
but after they get one, they look more like this... :chit:

;)

:lol: Yep. Very happy with my LCD.

[shimmishim]

cool!

i'd be interested as long as the memory on it is samsung 3.3 ns...

those overclock better than the infineon

let me know when you get it! :)

[pointreyes]

This is an ATi 9800np-they only come with the Infineon. :( I want to get into FS2004 and it appears that the 9800np with the latest CATs will not cut it. :( I'm seriously thinking about the BFG 5900 as a replacement-it's $274 at Best Buy and then there is a $50 rebate and I can get an additional 10% off this. So that leaves me with a new 5900 for less than $200 (hehe, no sales tax in Oregon). There are some advantages to having five computers-I can easily move things about. :p

[shimmishim]

here's the deall....

there have been a lot of 9800np's that come with the samsung 3.3 ns that are overclocking to pro speeds with ease...

was hoping to find one ... :)

[dbwillis]

get the lcd

[shimmishim]

wow, everyone is saying LCD>...

the question is though....

how expensive is a 19in lcd that's good for gaming?

[pointreyes]

Originally posted by shimmishim
wow, everyone is saying LCD>...

the question is though....

how expensive is a 19in lcd that's good for gaming?

Very. The 17" 'gaming' LCD are around $450 and up. I went from a 19" CRT (which really means 18" viewing area) to a 17" ViewSonic VP171b (which really means 17" viewing area). I honestly don't miss that 1".

AFAIK, a 'gaming' quality 19" LCD will be a little harder to find for a reasonable price till sometime next year.

[ThugsRook]

yep ~ i gave my daughter my 19" crt and i bought myself a 17" viewsonic LCD.
i dont mind using the smaller LCD at all :-)

> not to mention my desktop is about 2-3*c cooler now ;)
no more heat from the crt

[shimmishim]

ahh i see...

hmm....

i'm still wondering about the audigy vs. the sb live 5.1

hmm...

[pointreyes]

If you are wondering about an audigy vs live 5.1-that's very easy, get a Santa Cruz. :p

If you are wondering about an audigy 2 vs live 5.1-then it's the audigy 2. I have the Audigy 2 and the Santa Cruz. I actually like the Audigy 2 better. :)

[Jim]

Originally posted by ThugsRook
yea thats what most ppl look like when 1st suggested they get a LCD.
but after they get one, they look more like this... :chit:

;)

Heheh, agreed...you can pull my 19" Planar from my cold dead fingers.
Until then....MINE! :beer:

[SupermanCK]

wait for one of those dell deals...18" could be at ur door in less than $400
19" for around $450+...

of course i went with the 20" and i am a camper!!!
why i went 20"? i had a 21" nokia crt...i can't go smaller...so i went bigger...lol

why soundcard? isn't the onboard good enuff? unless u are going to do some encoding and more...just my 0.02

[shimmishim]

maybe i don't need a soundcard then!

maybe i should save up for a lcd then sheesh!

better yet... why not just save up for a prometeia! :P

anyway...

:)

19 inch lcd or 17 inch lcd?

how bad would ghosting be for gaming?

[pointreyes]

Depending on the LCD. 17" no ghosting.

However, the 19" Planar are claimed to do the same. Even though the response is supposed to be an indicator of determining the ghosting the manufacturers have skewed that one up for us. For example my 17" has a 16ms response time-this should mean no ghosting; however, another manufacturer may claim the same thing but actually may be 30ms. :sad: It would definitely be best to check what others have to say about ghosting on the monitors they actually own.

[shimmishim]

okay...

i'm gonna wait on the monitor cuz it's 300+ !!!

so...

found the printer i wanted for $58 after IR and MIR

not a bad deal for one of the best photo printers...

so i was looking at the TBSC and found two:

which one is the one i should get? (http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProduct.asp?submit=manufactory&catalog=57&manufactory=1431&DEPA=1&sortby=14&order=1)

thanks guys!

[pointreyes]

Wow. I did not know that they made a 6-speaker version-that's the one I would go with.

[shimmishim]

nice!

but it's almost 80 bucks... argh...

i remember spending like 30 for my sb live! value

and now 80!?

hehehe... guess you gotta pay to get the best huh?

[pointreyes]

I think the older one does not support 6 speakers. :(

I paid $100 for my Audigy 2 and that was retail. :)

[shimmishim]

cool! thanks :)

so... TBSC it is...

now if i can just find a stinkin' 9800 np with the samsung chips

[oldfart]

Originally posted by shimmishim
cool! thanks :)

so... TBSC it is...

now if i can just find a stinkin' 9800 np with the samsung chips
Good choice. As usual, use the latest drivers off the web site and dont bother with CD version.

[shimmishim]

hehehe thanks for the advice...

still in search of 9800 np with samsung

let me know guys!

[oldfart]

Originally posted by shimmishim
hehehe thanks for the advice...

still in search of 9800 np with samsung
You and a lot of other people!

[shimmishim]

hehehe...

there's a guy on ebay selling a bunch of 9800 np's with samsung ram

but his shipping is like $25 bucks!!!

his auctions are ending not too high but the $25 on shipping makes it no such a good deal...

.....

edit:

well, i took the risk and went on ebay and bidded on the item in hopes that it would go for a low price...

:) :) :)

i won it for 222.51 + 25 = 247.51 which is less than the best buy deal that was going on for this card AND it's also guaranteed to be Samsung chips :) :)

yay! i'm a happy camper...