Thanks Nixer, I downloaded a couple things and will run them tomorrow.

By the way I'm running a Hanns-G 28 inch monitor. It was recommended by someone I know. 1920 x 1200 3 ms refresh. He recommended I get it through a reputable source since quality can be an issue and you want easy replacement/return. Mine has been perfect. No dead pixels, no bands or stripes, no different clor bands or anything. I got it so I can use it and the new computer to run FlightSimX and practice the instrument and cross-country procedures before I fly them. I think I can save some expensive flight time if I work the simulator first.

Some in this forum have had less than stellar things to say about the Hanns-G, but I'm happy with it. It was only $329 shipping incl, so I figured I'd give it a try with the flight sim. Needed something that gave a closer to normal view than the 20 inch 4x3 I had.

I've had that 28in Hanns-G for quite awhile now. Love it.

Yeah the benchmarks are cool, but it's really how well it runs what you like to play that matters.

You don't happen to have Crysis do you? Anyway have fun.

Speaking of monitors (and RSCOLONEL's valid analysis --- I'm making changes!)

I remember I had to be talked into buying an LCD monitor (CRT's have all but disappeared anyway). The motion blur bothered me, but as I was told, I got used to it and don't even notice it now.

Now, being that I'm not a computer genius to begin with, and I'm getting spottier and spottier as I get older, I didn't make the obvious connection that 60 hz = maximum frame rate.

But now my question/frustration: why the @#%#@ do they make almost NOTHING but 60 hz LCD monitors? I just saw a couple of new models on CNET (one is a samsung; reasonably well reviewed) that rate 120 hz refresh rate--- mostly to be used with the NVIDIA Stereoscopic glasses.

I was planning on upgrading to a bigger monitor next May/early summer (and I hope an SSD card also), but I'm ticked off that this obvious liability of LCD monitors isn't talked about.

Finally, they seem to market these things as your monitor AND your HDTV. I have an HDTV. I like it my family room. I don't want to sit and watch movies on my computer monitor, I want to play games on it and it would be nice if the monitor could keep up with the max frame rate.

Yes, I know the human eye has it's limits--- not trying to brag, but I have weirdly good eyesight-- or at least I notice a lot of things other people simply don't see (not little green men guys: nothing weird about dashavingo). The fact it took me almost 9 months to stop seeing the motion blur on my current LCD is one example.

Anyway, recommendations on a nice, largish gaming monitor with a 120 refresh rate? Either available now or coming down the pipeline?

And do you ever notice how rarely these get reviewed on say Sharky's Extreme or Tweak Town or any of the other sites for people like us who spend way too much money on sweet-ass systems?

Your thoughts appreciated!

d.

Motion Blur is a result of response time, which in any current LCD should be fast enough to not be an issue.

Refresh rate is usually not a problem since LCDs don't "flicker" as CRTs did, that's why 60hz are considered fine by most people. I'm not quite sure why you want 120hz, unless it's really to play stereoscopic games.

You are correct now that 60hz is your maximum frame rate. I seriously doubt - but it's your money to spend - you would see a difference between 60 and 120 FPS.

As for the two Raptors in Raid - well, it's a lot of space and lots of speed. Downside is lots of heat, twice the chance of mechanical failre and all the complications of a Raid system. Arguable you can't match the 600GB fast storage in RAID0 with SSD prices, so if you need the space, you are indeed better off with the Raptors. For me, "keep it simple" is top priority, so I don't do Raid, same as I don't do SLI, Crossfire or Overclocking since these things all add potential trouble to an otherwise clean build.

OG, the folder/menus in Win7 take some getting used to. I use CTRL+C or CTRL+X to copy or cut, for Drag&Drop I open two separate explorer windows (windows key + E).

You may want to turn down User Account Control to bare minimum if it's bothering you when moving files.

Hey RSCOLONEL:

Ixnayed the crossfire after giving it much thought (based on your comments).

You are probably right that it's unlikely I'd see much difference abov 60FPS, but honestly, I do tend to see things others don't--- this is based on vision testing for work. My hearing is normal to slightly below normal (too many Ramones concerts no doubt), but when it comes to FPS/flutter/peripheral motion detection, et cetera, I score consistently way-high. If it were my hearing, I'd be one of those guys with the $200 apartment and the $2000 stereo. Thank you Ramones! You saved me $2000 dollars!

As for the RAID 0, I ran it on my last rig and loved it. Of course, I'm sure my love would have faded purty quick if the one of the two SEAGATES I had running had died, but I was careful to run frequent backups on an external maxtor. Remember also I ordered a 1 TB Western Digital single HD, to which I plan to save data files. Would love to get a DROBO as I need a new NAS anyway. Damn thing does lots of things really well-- so the reviews say--- but it's way over-priced.

And believe, I'm looking forward to snaking an SSD when my finances recover a bit in the late spring.

Again - thank for your fist rate, truly expert advice.

Well then gents, today's the day Mr. Cyberpower is supposed to get a shipment of HD5870's in. I'm crossing my fingers here. The forums seem to indicate some rigs with this card are shipping; so I can hope. Course I wonder why with an 11/3/09 order date, I remain on the wait list while (slightly) later orders are moving out the door-- maybe because mine's a custom?

Cheers all.

d.

Good decision.

Three primary problems I dislike about Raid (not to force you to reconsider, more for general education of anyone reading):

1) Doing complete drive/image backups is a lot more complicated and risky. My prefered method of backup is the full drive to image, image back to new drive. Doesn't work in Raid.

2) Pulling a single drive and connecting it with an external adapter or in a different system to recover data doesn't work.

3) Updating Firmware or Bios I've seen rare instances where the Raid becomes invalid and can't be read any more, same if the Mobo goes TU (even if you can replace it with same model, might be different raid firmware).


But yeah, you are getting 600GB plenty fast storage for what would be 400EUR here, whereas a single 256GB Drive would cost you closer to 600EUR. So it's still about four times the price per GB, and I can see why this is a No-Go for many people. I suppose if I wasn't such a "neat and tidy" file deleter and more of a digital pack rat, I would have discarded the SSD idea too.

You make good points. I had to do updgrading on the Firmware and it hosed my RAID (PANIC!) until I found a work around (googling on my laptop). Thank god that was recoverable.

I'm curious about your 1st point, so I ASSumed that the external drive/backup software would just read the RAID 0 array as a single drive (with 3 partitions in my case. Sounds like not so much.... Interested. Also, what backup software you you recommend? (I am so done with Norton Ghost).

Thanks!

d.

You make good points. I had to do updgrading on the Firmware and it hosed my RAID (PANIC!) until I found a work around (googling on my laptop). Thank god that was recoverable.

I'm curious about your 1st point, so I ASSumed that the external drive/backup software would just read the RAID 0 array as a single drive (with 3 partitions in my case. Sounds like not so much.... Interested. Also, what backup software you you recommend? (I am so done with Norton Ghost).

Thanks!

d.

It may be possible that newer versions of Acronis or other tools (I used Acronis 8 OEM and now onto Win6 Built-In Backup) can deal with Raid fine, I see some Google results saying as much.

I don't know what would happen if for example you tried to restore a Raid to a single drive, single drive to Raid is definitely problematic.

Also, as people found with many SSDs, updating Drive Firmware trough a Raid Controller is not supported.

If you are generally comfortable with Raid0 and already have some experience, you'll be fine. It's just an additional layer of possible complications that I personally avoid, but for your GB/USD/Speed requirements it's indeed the best fit.

dash, can you still make changes to your system ? If so, you might want to save some money on the additional charge for better wiring/cabling. I look at my system which is standard and don't see how it could have been significantly better.