Max Builds a PC Series Part IX: The Monitor and more…
Wow this has been one epic series with major contributions from all of you 8ers out there… There are those of you that had little to no hardware knowledge having stumbled into this discussion early on and yet you researched and provided logical reasoning for your suggestions. A few of you were already seasoned hardware gurus (which led to some really fun debates when there were disagreements!) but it looks like even the veterans learned a thing or two.
In the end, I have to say that collaborating on this as a team has been a stellar experience that I think could very well become part of the DNA here on Channel 8. Feel free to make suggestions, of course, in the comments or in the Student Union.
Before we wrap things up we have just one more component to choose: the MONITOR. In my experience I have found this is where most people make the mistake of going as cheap as possible… or as large as possible. I personally believe two things: quality is paramount, and size is subjective to need. This is the part you will see the most, so definitely take care to make the right decision.
My vote: the Samsung 226BW. It fits with my gadget style likes and it has great specifications on top of that. Namely, a 2ms response rate on an LCD is wicked fast. In addition, it has a great brightness level and contrast ratio which is why it gets my vote. What do you guys think?
Here are the components we have chosen so far:
· The Case: Antec 182B
· The CPU: Intel QX9650
· The Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-X38T-DQ6 (rev 1.1 if I can)
· The RAM: Corsair 2 Gigs
· The Hard Disks: Western Digital Raptor and Backup Drive
· The Graphics Card: ATi 3870 series
· The Optical Drives: A draw… I decided to go with a DVD burner, no HD or BluRay
· The Input Devices: Logitech MX Revolution and Microsoft Reclusa
· Monitor: still time to vote….
· Accessories: if you think I have forgotten anything, write it in the comments for this post ASAP!
On a side note, I will be traveling overseas for the next few weeks (Jan 11-28) and will have sporadic internet connectivity (if at all). Therefore you will see a little less from me during that time but I will check in as often as I can. As soon as I get back, hopefully the parts will have all arrived and I will get going on the build process, so sit tight!