I'm building a system from scratch and I want to have it set up so that my monitor is large (30"+), wall-mounted, and quite adjustable (i.e. tilt, ideally have it able to have at eye level when setting or higher up when viewing from across the room). I have most everything settled in terms of hardware, aside from a few contingent components like PSU and GPU. Here's what I'm looking at:
CPU: i7 Core 2600K (
not OC'ed)
Mobo: ASRock Z68 Extreme3 Gen3
GPU: Undecided, but currently considering
SAPPHIRE 100315L Radeon HD 6850 1GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.1 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFireX Support Video Card with Eyefinity
>> My needs: Exclusively
Diablo 3 (which
recommends AMD 4870, so this is more than enough)
>> Large (30"+) wall-mounted monitor, perhaps with the ability to switch to
live TV when PC monitor is not needed (I understand this requires a
TV tuner PCI card, but I don't know much more than that)
Boot SSD:
Corsair Force Series GT CSSD-F180GBGT-BK 2.5" 180GB SATA III Internal Solid State Drive (SSD) -- Currently on sale for $210 after MIR!!
Work HDD: Any well-priced 1-2TB 7200RPM SATA 6Gb/s 3.5" (Currently waiting to come across a good deal)
RAM: Any well-priced 16GB (2x 8GB) cards (Currently waiting to come across a good deal - trying to avoid models with stupid-tall heatsinks
![:D :D]()
)
Case: Any well-priced ATX Mid Tower with front-access USB 3.0 & some sort of sound-dampening capability (Currently considering
Fractal Design Define R3 Black Pearl w/ USB 3.0 ATX Mid Tower Silent PC Computer Case but waiting to see a better deal on something similar)
Cooling System: Any extra 120mm fans with PWM & possibly a system heatsink (given that sound-dampening foam serves to insulate the system)
Opt Drive(s): 1x DVD Reader/Burner, possibly 1x SD/SDHC reader (not necessary right now but would certainly get some use)
I think that covers everything. My focus in this thread is the GPU & Monitor.
First and foremost, I would like a large HD monitor (no built-in speakers necessary) that can be wall-mounted in a way that will allow me to tilt it (only down is necessary) and adjust its height on the wall to be either eye-level (when working at my desk) or higher up when I am viewing from across the room (it's not a very large room, but I may be seated approx. 10-12ft from the monitor) -
What kind of mounts are needed to do this? - Viewing the monitor from across the room would serve both media-viewing (movies) and gaming (Diablo 3, with wireless mouse & keyboard)
>> I've been told to look into purchasing a Monitor (
not an HDTV) for my purposes in order to maintain good resolution when using the computer. I don't really watch HDTV much anyway, but it's a plus to be able to turn on a sports game when I please. I will be using it most often for these purposes, from most to least frequent: 1) General PC use, 2) Diablo 3, 3) Watching movies (in both HD and standard def), 4) Live TV
>>
What specs are required/a good investment for these purposes. Please note that Diablo 3 is not a very graphically-intensive game. Please note that I intend to use this monitor to watch movies & TV (If I get a TV tuner card as well)
Next, the GPU. The model I'm looking at is more than enough for Diablo 3, but I really like its positive reputation and available output slots (HDMI, VGA, DVI). Power consumption is a concern - I would like to keep this at a minimum without sacrificing the quality of gaming/hd video) - I believe the Sapphire HD 6850 runs around ~150W, which is a little high IMO. It's also overkill for Diablo 3, so I would certainly be open-minded about downgrading a little bit. That being said, I wouldn't want to buy something so low budget that I'll end up needing to upgrade it in only 1 year.
Finally, the TV Tuner - I know nothing about these. What are they used for and why are they necessary? What's needed for my purposes? Do I actually need this at all? Please fill me in :
Okay, then. That's it for now. Thanks for reading - I look forward to your feedback!
EXTRA NOTE: The deal on the GPU I referenced ends 3/31 (5 days from this post) so if I'm going to get it, I need to act sooner than later to get the price listed in this thread.