Q. I am looking into getting a new LCD monitor so I can take advantage of my 256mb video card with a DVI output. I am wondering if anybody has some good input on which brand and model to get , I like the samsung T220 with it's 20000:1 contrast ratio . Thanks for you input.
A. Yes I can give you some input. For real, no b.s. like on Polls and Surveys. I studied monitors last year extensively, and here are my results:
The two best choices I could find were Viewsonic and Samsung. I went with the Viewsonic 22" because of it's extremely high user satisfaction ratings, the unbelievable warranty it came with, and the price. Samsung was neck-n-neck, with Viewsonic. But the warranty wasn't as good, and they weren't on the market as long so I had no long term performance information to go on. You will never regret buying a Viewsonic anyway. They are not going out of business, and their quality is near the top of the heap. I bought it from COSTCO. If you don't have a membership then I recommend that you get one, because you are going to save the membership fee with the monitor purchase anyway. They have both Samsung and Viewsonic. You can go with the Samsung, if you want. You won't hear complaints from me. I'm just advising you from extensive experience and age (unfortunately), how you can make the best choice. You can see my monitor on my 360. The picture is tiny, but, you can see it.
What is the best config for a home desktop ?
Q. Hi. I want to buy a desktop for my home. The usage will be only for watching movies, download, music, browsing and social networking. I want to know what config to buy?
Which Processor, RAM, graphics card, speakers, LCD monitor to buy? Can you also differentiate the difference b/w the new processors that are in the market now?
A. For a basic productivity computer like the one you're asking for, you will need:
A dual core processor.
2GB ram minimum
Integrated graphics - you will not need a separate graphics card for what you plan on doing.
That's all that is required, everything else is up to you.
If you are building it yourself, I'd recommend the following for your base:
CPU: Athlon II x2 250
MB: AMD 785g chipset motherboard ---or--- 740g chipset
RAM: 2GB DDR3 1333 MHz
If you want pre-built, any of these should do:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16883114084
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16883108312
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16883114085
Here are the monitors:
http://www.newegg.com/Store/SubCategory.aspx?SubCategory=20&name=LCD-Monitors
As for current-market processors, they are differentiated through brand, family, and model number.
The two major brands are Intel and AMD.
Families within Intel: Atom, Celeron, Pentium, Core 2 Duo, Core 2 Quad, Core i3, Core i5, Core i7.
Within each family, higher numbers usually indicate higher performance.
Families within AMD: Sempron, Athlon II, and Phenom II (simple, right?)
Models are numbered, starting with the Sempron 140, and ending with the Phenom II x6 1090t. Generally, the higher the number, the higher the performance. The number following the x indicates how many cores the processor has. Semprons are single core only.
The only other thing to have to consider is CPU socket. CPUs will only fit in motherboards with compatible sockets.
Intel currently has 3 sockets on the market, with 2 more to be released early next year: 775, 1156, 1366, and next year (1155, 2011). None of these sockets are compatible with each other, meaning a socket 775 CPU will not work in a 1156 motherboard, and so on.
AMD currently has one socket on the market (simple, right?): AM3.
On top of that, AM3 CPUs are backwards compatible with motherboards with socket AM2/AM2+, the previous generation socket. The new socket. AM3+, to be released late next year, will also be backwards compatible with AM3 CPUs.
Intel is currently has the best performance, but they cost much more. Their 6 core Core i7-980x is currently going for $1000.
AMD has the best value. They do not perform as well as Intel, but are very good still. An AMD processor can deliver 70%-90% of the performance of a comparable Intel processor for 40%-60% the price. For a point of reference, the 6 core top of the line AMD Phenom II x6 1090t goes for about $300.
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