Hello all,
I recently have purchased components to build a pretty nice PC to replace my very long in the tooth existing PC (AMD Phenom II x3 720!), which dates back to 2009 and is now 10 years old. I will be putting it together in the next couple days, and the components include a Radeon Ryzen 5 2600, an MSI B450 Tomahawk motherboard, 16gb DDR4 3000 MHz Gskill Ram, a 1TB HP920 NVME SSD, NZXT H500 case, 550W EVGA G2 PSU, etc. In the next month or two, I will also be purchasing a new GPU and monitor, to replace the existing GTX 680 2GB GPU and NEC MultiSync 20WMGX2 20.1" 1680x1050 IPS LCD that I've had for many years. The NEC monitor was very nice for its time, but dates all the way back to 2007 and is now well in need of replacement. It is now not only kind of small and low-res, but also has developed a weird and unfortunate light purple-ish "stain" along the top of the display. Probably to be expected after using an LCD for 12 years.
Anyway, while I would like to keep costs down to the extent possible, I would like to go big with a new monitor and am considering the 31.5" AOC Q3279VWFD8. I definitely want at least a 27" QHD monitor, but I like the idea of an even bigger 31.5" display. I also would prefer to go with IPS and I don't particularly care about super high refresh rates - while I do occasionally play games, they are mostly single player and I have absolutely no interest in competitive/pro gaming or maintaining 100fps at max quality at all times. Otherwise, I mostly browse the web, watch Netflix etc., and use office apps. In my case, I feel like a decent monitor with a 75Hz refresh rate for $250 is hard to beat. I guess the other relatively low cost choice here is the Pixio PX329 VA panel LCD for ~$350. I have also looked at the 32" LG monitors, the FreeSync version of which is currently being sold by Costco for $400, but I'm not sure I need to go that fancy. Any other suggestions are appreciated.
I also am a bit concerned about whether a 31.5" display would be too big for my desk or for my viewing distance, so any input here would be appreciated. I have an older desk from Ikea that's about 26" deep. My current distance from my 20" NEC LCD is about 34"-35". I think I can make a 32" class display work with my current setup.
Finally, I am debating whether to pick up one of the new NVidia GTX 1660 TI cards for $279, go all the way down to a Radeon RX 580 8GB card for $179, or wait for the coming release of the the regular GTX 1660 and 1650, and see what happens with RX 580 and 590 prices. Again, I am not a "gamer", I would prefer to keep costs down, and don't care that much about super high frame rates as long as new AAA games are reasonably playable. I also will probably not upgrade again for several years. The very most I would be willing to spend is probably the $279 for a new 1660 TI, but if I can make things work with a cheaper GPU that would be great.
Please tell me if this all looks good and if it's what you would recommend! This is all very confusing to me, especially the monitor stuff. Thanks in advance!
I recently have purchased components to build a pretty nice PC to replace my very long in the tooth existing PC (AMD Phenom II x3 720!), which dates back to 2009 and is now 10 years old. I will be putting it together in the next couple days, and the components include a Radeon Ryzen 5 2600, an MSI B450 Tomahawk motherboard, 16gb DDR4 3000 MHz Gskill Ram, a 1TB HP920 NVME SSD, NZXT H500 case, 550W EVGA G2 PSU, etc. In the next month or two, I will also be purchasing a new GPU and monitor, to replace the existing GTX 680 2GB GPU and NEC MultiSync 20WMGX2 20.1" 1680x1050 IPS LCD that I've had for many years. The NEC monitor was very nice for its time, but dates all the way back to 2007 and is now well in need of replacement. It is now not only kind of small and low-res, but also has developed a weird and unfortunate light purple-ish "stain" along the top of the display. Probably to be expected after using an LCD for 12 years.
Anyway, while I would like to keep costs down to the extent possible, I would like to go big with a new monitor and am considering the 31.5" AOC Q3279VWFD8. I definitely want at least a 27" QHD monitor, but I like the idea of an even bigger 31.5" display. I also would prefer to go with IPS and I don't particularly care about super high refresh rates - while I do occasionally play games, they are mostly single player and I have absolutely no interest in competitive/pro gaming or maintaining 100fps at max quality at all times. Otherwise, I mostly browse the web, watch Netflix etc., and use office apps. In my case, I feel like a decent monitor with a 75Hz refresh rate for $250 is hard to beat. I guess the other relatively low cost choice here is the Pixio PX329 VA panel LCD for ~$350. I have also looked at the 32" LG monitors, the FreeSync version of which is currently being sold by Costco for $400, but I'm not sure I need to go that fancy. Any other suggestions are appreciated.
I also am a bit concerned about whether a 31.5" display would be too big for my desk or for my viewing distance, so any input here would be appreciated. I have an older desk from Ikea that's about 26" deep. My current distance from my 20" NEC LCD is about 34"-35". I think I can make a 32" class display work with my current setup.
Finally, I am debating whether to pick up one of the new NVidia GTX 1660 TI cards for $279, go all the way down to a Radeon RX 580 8GB card for $179, or wait for the coming release of the the regular GTX 1660 and 1650, and see what happens with RX 580 and 590 prices. Again, I am not a "gamer", I would prefer to keep costs down, and don't care that much about super high frame rates as long as new AAA games are reasonably playable. I also will probably not upgrade again for several years. The very most I would be willing to spend is probably the $279 for a new 1660 TI, but if I can make things work with a cheaper GPU that would be great.
Please tell me if this all looks good and if it's what you would recommend! This is all very confusing to me, especially the monitor stuff. Thanks in advance!