Building a computer: Have a few questions.

[dudemanjack]

Yeah, I've heard that. What I meant was different companies each make a gforce4 ti4200...any difference between brands?

[faded glory]

YES.

Try to buy the brand that made your motherboard. If thats not possible always pick one of the 5 from the following. These guys are the only ones who seem to care anymore

ALBATRON
MSI
ASUS
ABIT
SOLTEK

[Urban Ranger]

Originally posted by dudemanjack
Case - Antec Model #SLK2600 AMB w/ Antec SmartPower 300W P/S. - $55 (300W should be sufficient right?)

Yup.

[Urban Ranger]

Originally posted by CyberGnu
I'm trying to decide whether to buy a 19" or 21" monitor. One of weighing factors would be if I could use the monitor as a TV, that way I could justify spending a little extra on it. Then again, if the cost of the graphics card is going to be as much as a TV, there isn't much point... Except for the DVR function, I guess.

Unless you are talking about LCD screens, otherwise CRT monitors at those sizes are huge and heavy. You will need a very big and sturdy desk.

[dudemanjack]

I have an 18" viewable screen. It is definately pretty damn heavy, but you don't need a very big desk. Any regular desk will work, but you might not be able to put your desk all the way up against the well.

You can alos put the monitor in the top left corner, facing diagonally towards you rather than have it in the middle of the desk, facing you.

[Urban Ranger]

Certainly you need a desk that's deep enough. Otherwise the screen will be pressing against your face.

[CyberGnu]

I have a heavy corner desk, so I'm not worried about that, but thanks. I am considering getting a new desk too, though, since I'm going to keep my old PII 400MHz as a chatbot/printserver while I'm playing on my new one

I'm having a really hard time motivating myself to splurge the extra ~$400 on 2 extra inches, though... But as a computational chemist I can never get enough screen area. At work I use one 19" CRT and one 15" LCD with the resolution set to 1600... And I still feel cramped.

[CyberGnu]

Now, back to the question: If I want a 128 MB graphic card with a TV Tuner, is the ATI AIW 9700 my only choice?

[Skanky Burns]

I have a 21", and I love the extra room it provides. Sure, I used to have the monitor up near my face and the keyboard half hanging off the desk before, but now with a new desk everything is excellent.

1800x1024 and even the small text is readable from a distance.

[Urban Ranger]

Answer the poor man's question, dang it!

[CyberGnu]

Hehehehe

Thanks, Urban

[Rasbelin]

CyberGnu,

yes, no nVidia powered accelerators have a TV tuner embedded, so ATI is the only choice.

As for this brand issue when it comes to motherboards, it's plain studpidity. I have during the years had QDI, Intel, MSI, Abit, Asus, Soyo, Gigabyte and AOpen, but it doesn't mean I only buy some specific brand. I recommend reading reviews as they're the best way to get around.

[Wraith]

--"300W should be sufficient right?"

Depends how much extra stuff you're putting in there. I'd go with a 400 for safety's sake if you're planning to load up, but if you're not going to be doing much besides maybe swapping out hard drives later you won't need to.

--"A lot of companies make a GFORCE4 video card. Are there any particular BAD ones I should avoid?"

Well, I haven't been following things very closely, so I can't help you there. I'd recommend doing a search for reviews on any of the brands you're considering.

There are big differences between the brands, from what speed memory is used to what kind of RAMDACs are used. Checking the reviews is a necessity.

--"If I want a 128 MB graphic card with a TV Tuner, is the ATI AIW 9700 my only choice?"

No, you can get that in an nVidia if you want. Asus makes a VIVO line (Video In/Video Out), for instance, and they do have a 128 MB Ti4200 in it.

Wraith
"I love you cold, unfeeling robot arm."
-- Zim ("Invader Zim")

[Rasbelin]

He talked about a TV tuner, not just VIVO.

[Cruddy]

Might I also suggest Windows XP? It seems a shame to spoil the ship for hapenny worth of tar. I'm assuming of course that you are using an older O/S.