Getting a new pc with 2 gtx 260s

[pantonio717]

Hey guys,


So here's the deal. I'm getting a computer off tiger direct (the Systemax x58: http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=5483246&CatId=4928) that comes with 2 gtx 260's. Here are the specs for the gtx 260: http://www.nvidia.com/docs/IO/55506/GPU_Datasheet.pdf

I bought a 20" 1680x1050 DVI monitor, but very soon I'm going to buy an hdtv somewhere between 37-42 inches at 1080p to replace my old tv. I want to hook up my pc to this 1080p because...a 42 inch pc gaming experience would be AWESOME!

However, I'm very worried that I won't have the "PC" experience by hooking my pc up through hdmi instead of dvi. I read on some forums that it's tough to read the text in games even if your at 1080p res? Why? Does this mean my 20" dvi is better quality and I'm downscaling by hooking it up to my hdtv even though it's higher resolution? HELP!!! and thanks.

 

[brockh]

HDMI is the same as DVI except it carries audio content; there's virtually no difference in video quality between the two.

Whoever told you there's problems using HDMI and a PC has obviously never actually used it as it isn't any different in any noticible way unless there's a problem with your HDMI cord. :/

 

[pantonio717]

Yeah, I guess you're right. I just get worried when I read something about hdtvs not doing a good job carrying the dvi/hdmi signal from the pc. I think I was just researching on threads that were from 2007 and way outdated.

So, I can just buy any legit hdtv with native resolution at 1080p and I should be fine? Thanks again.

 

[brockh]

Yeah, I guess you're right. I just get worried when I read something about hdtvs not doing a good job carrying the dvi/hdmi signal from the pc. I think I was just researching on threads that were from 2007 and way outdated.

So, I can just buy any legit hdtv with native resolution at 1080p and I should be fine? Thanks again.

Yes, as long as the resolution specifically states 1920x1080 you will be fine. Make sure you know the exact resolution; some plasma TVs state "HD 1080p" and only have a 1280x1080 resolution, which is deceiving.

 

[hell_storm2004]

Why don't you build a new PC with individual parts? Is it just for the Batman game?

 

[pantonio717]

I've never built a pc, and I work so I don't feel like learning how to. And yes, I'm doing it for the free batman game.

brockh, thanks for the help. I was feeling confident by your response, but I did a little more research and some doubts came up again.

I've read that when you run the pc through the hdtv, the pixels are "stretched" and tvs were meant to be viewed from a distance, whereas monitors are meant to be viewed up close. This is why monitors appear sharper in displaying images. Any feedback you can provide me with based on those details?

 

[OvrClkr]

Correct... if you decide to connect your PC to a TV you have to sacrafice some detail, LCD monitors will provide a more crisp picture as opposed to an LCD tv that will provide less detail but more viewing space. Don't think that you will get to play the game in HD quality just cause your TV is 1080p, on the contrary, it will look kinda blurry compared to a smaller LCD monitor. So in all if you want eye-candy and crisp images you should opt for an LCD monitor, if this is not the case then whatever tv you had in mind...

 

[pantonio717]

Thanks! This is the answer I've been looking for. Ah, closure. I'll use my monitor for pc gaming and my lcd tv for everything else.

 

[jay2tall]

I dunno about what was all said in this thread. But I've hooked my PC up to my 42" Visio 1080P TV several times and it look BETTER than my 3 year old 22" Dell LCD. I used to use a DVI to HDMI cable and just plugged it into the TV, with my new card I just use an HDMI cable straight through.

I did run into an issue when you first plug it in because it would set the display settings to 1920x1080, but at 30Hz and wouldn't fill the screen. Since it is 1080P you can set this to 60HZ and once that is set it was good to go.

It's not hard to read anything as it is so big. And its REALLY fun. But I don't really have a good setup to put a mouse and keyboard in front of my TV so gaming is cumbersome and not very comfortable on a coffee table.

 

[OvrClkr]

Another example:

I have a PS3 connected to a 55" 1080p LCD TV and I have my PC connected to a 22" 1680x1050 monitor. I purchased 2 copies of MW2, one for the PS3 and one for the PC... When I play on the PS3 it does not look as crisp as opposed to my PC, so I decided to connect my PC to the 55" and while it did look a bit better than the PS3 it still did not match the detail of the smaler 22". Of course this is obvious, but I just wanted to point this out so you knew before hand what to expect....

 

[pantonio717]

OvrClkr: That's a perfect example, one I couldn't find anywhere but here. Thanks again for the input!

Jay: I'm sure it's really fun to game on the pc using a 42 inch 1080p. Eventually when I get my own 42 incher I'll do the same and see if it'll challenge my monitors capabilities. I bet the mouse and keyboard setup is a pain, I already thought about what I'd do in that situation and would probably get a wireless m/k setup. I'll definitely use a fold up table instead of a low coffee table cause I'll screw up my back that way!

 

[OvrClkr]

my pleasure, just let us know if you run into any issues along the way =)

 

[jyjjy]

FYI you could save $500ish by building the system yourself. It's really not hard.

 

[pantonio717]

I always wanted to learn when I was younger, but never acquired the experience of building one. I'm semi-OCD so I would want everything perfectly supplied, but I know some issues will come along the way requiring me to do time-consuming research on alternative products. I think newegg is pretty user-friendly but I never checked it out.

So for the most part it's because I work and don't have the time to keep track of purchases, researching, and fixing mistakes. I'm just really REALLY anxious to get a kickass pc.

But saving $500 is so tempting. With $500 to spare I could just add an extra enhancement, like a third card to the sli capability *droolssss*

 

[brockh]

There is no voodoo about what I said or what is going on. Listen to what I am saying: TVs and PCs as far as 1080p go, having the same resolution and everything else equal will look exactly the same. Now, if you introduce a disparity such as a 50" TV vs. a 22" monitor at the same resolution, the pixel density of the 22" is greater thus you are going to observe that it has better detail. To make up for the lack of pixel density on the 50" TV you have to sit further away. There's nothing crazy about it. There's no way to make a 50" look better at the same resolution as something smaller -- you have to increase the resolution to make it look better at the same distance. The quality is the same, but the pixel density must change if you're changing the panel size if there's no difference in resolution, it's that simple. There is no difference between monitors and TVs as far as things like that go. The only difference with monitors is the pixel density changes because people expect more quality with a bigger display -- that is why we have 30" with 2560x1600 (it is not because they are just inherently better, they make the resolution higher), also because TV content does not currently exceed 1080p.

Personally I don't see why this a big deal, if I was playing my PC games on a huge TV I would be sitting on the couch with a wireless keyboard/controller, not in a chair in front of the TV which is the point, at which distance I could care less about some stretched pixels because you can't see them past like 5 or 10 feet.

 

[OvrClkr]

I always wanted to learn when I was younger, but never acquired the experience of building one. I'm semi-OCD so I would want everything perfectly supplied, but I know some issues will come along the way requiring me to do time-consuming research on alternative products. I think newegg is pretty user-friendly but I never checked it out.

So for the most part it's because I work and don't have the time to keep track of purchases, researching, and fixing mistakes. I'm just really REALLY anxious to get a kickass pc.

But saving $500 is so tempting. With $500 to spare I could just add an extra enhancement, like a third card to the sli capability *droolssss*

Building is fairly easy, you just need a bit of patience and the will.

http://www.pcmech.com/byopc/

 

[jay2tall]

OvrClkr: That's a perfect example, one I couldn't find anywhere but here. Thanks again for the input!

Jay: I'm sure it's really fun to game on the pc using a 42 inch 1080p. Eventually when I get my own 42 incher I'll do the same and see if it'll challenge my monitors capabilities. I bet the mouse and keyboard setup is a pain, I already thought about what I'd do in that situation and would probably get a wireless m/k setup. I'll definitely use a fold up table instead of a low coffee table cause I'll screw up my back that way!

Oh IT IS. My buddy is thinking about making me a fold up table that will fit over my office chair to hold my keyboard and mouse. I have to move my computer anyways, but isn't to far. I just need to have a nice table to use. And over sized TV tray would be great. haha

 

[pantonio717]

brockh, so you're saying that if a 50" dvi monitor ever existed, it would look exactly the same as a 50" hdmi?

 

[OvrClkr]

There is no voodoo about what I said or what is going on. Listen to what I am saying: TVs and PCs as far as 1080p go, having the same resolution and everything else equal will look exactly the same. Now, if you introduce a disparity such as a 50" TV vs. a 22" monitor at the same resolution, the pixel density of the 22" is greater thus you are going to observe that it has better detail. To make up for the lack of pixel density on the 50" TV you have to sit further away. There's nothing crazy about it. There's no way to make a 50" look better at the same resolution as something smaller -- you have to increase the resolution to make it look better at the same distance. The quality is the same, but the pixel density must change if you're changing the panel size if there's no difference in resolution, it's that simple. There is no difference between monitors and TVs as far as things like that go. The only difference with monitors is the pixel density changes because people expect more quality with a bigger display -- that is why we have 30" with 2560x1600 (it is not because they are just inherently better, they make the resolution higher), also because TV content does not currently exceed 1080p.

Personally I don't see why this a big deal, if I was playing my PC games on a huge TV I would be sitting on the couch with a wireless keyboard/controller, not in a chair in front of the TV which is the point, at which distance I could care less about some stretched pixels because you can't see them past like 5 or 10 feet.

Nobody sits in front of a huge TV to play games, if they do they are either dumb or un-educated and are prone to lose their eye-sight sooner than later. It is obvious that if you have a HUGE TV in front of you you need to at least sit 5-10 feet just like you said. But that does not mean that by sitting that far away I will see all the eye-candy and detail that you see on a smaller LCD monitor. Once a pixel is streched it is streched, meaning you cannot compare both views, if YOU can see the same picture then my hat's off to you. I cannot see the same picture nor I have never been able to see it when we compare both screens. Personally I prefer gaming on a monitor as far as PC's go, If I am going to watch an HD movie then that is a different story since all I have to do is swap out the HDMI cable from the monitor to the TV. It's just a matter of taste, some like to use their PC's on TV's and some dont...

 

[jay2tall]

^
HDMI is basically DVI with audio. That's why you can have a little DVI to HDMI adapter. It's just changing the pins and connector. Alot of older cable boxes had DVI connectors instead of HDMI, but HDMI is pretty much the standard when it comes to TVs. They wouldn't use a DVI connector on a TV, who would use it?

 

[OvrClkr]

yep ^^

later on I will post an HD video showing both screens while playing MW2. Then you guys can decide =)

 

[brockh]

brockh, so you're saying that if a 50" dvi monitor ever existed, it would look exactly the same as a 50" hdmi?

If everything was the same, yes. But like I said, that won't happen because monitors are made with higher resolutions as they get bigger.

Nobody sits in front of a huge TV to play games, if they do they are either dumb or un-educated and are prone to lose their eye-sight sooner than later. It is obvious that if you have a HUGE TV in front of you you need to at least sit 5-10 feet just like you said. But that does not mean that by sitting that far away I will see all the eye-candy and detail that you see on a smaller LCD monitor. Once a pixel is streched it is streched, meaning you cannot compare both views, if YOU can see the same picture then my hat's off to you. I cannot see the same picture nor I have never been able to see it when we compare both screens. Personally I prefer gaming on a monitor as far as PC's go, If I am going to watch an HD movie then that is a different story since all I have to do is swap out the HDMI cable from the monitor to the TV. It's just a matter of taste, some like to use their PC's on TV's and some dont...

People argue quality between 720p and 1080p already depending on how far you sit away just with TVs and the size all day, I would not begin to even start a discussion on TVs vs. monitors. I'm just saying instead of making him paranoid about some stretched pixels why not just tell him to go with what he's comfortable with? The resolution is the same, the size is different, of course things need to be sacrificed. Like you said, it's his preference. As far as everything is equal, the quality is the same. Since his TV is bigger (42" vs. 20") the monitor is gonna look better but you're gonna have to sit closer to it, the TV will not look as good closer, and the further away he gets the better it will look -- which is good for the eyes, and in my case, I'd rather sit on my couch even though this chair I bought is nice.

 

[OvrClkr]

I guess you got the wrong conception of what I was trying to explain, not trying to make anyone paranoid about anything just sharing my personal experience as far as gaming and comparing both screens, that's all.

 

[pantonio717]

I just wasn't sure of what I'd be comfortable with because I haven't gamed on a pc in 5 years cause I've been using my roommates' consoles in college. Since I'm getting a legitimate gaming pc, I want to see improvement in visuals in every way possible in comparison to less powerful consoles like the ps3 and xbox360. Because of your suggestions, I'm feeling very confident. The eye-candy may not be a big deal, but to me it will be since I haven't pc-gamed in so long, so I'd go with the less-dense pixels. When I get the whole monitor experience out of my system, I'll anxiously set it up on the massive display.

I have no more doubts with this issue because of the great feedback, it all makes too much sense now. Thanks guys.

 

[jyjjy]

The size of the screen isn't actually going to make the image any better or worse, it will simply make it smaller or larger. Bigger is better imo and will allow you to see more clearly the high definition the resolution provides. All 1080p HDTVs use the same resolution as well but you certainly don't see people going out of their way to get smaller ones do you?