- May 14, 2020
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Howdy!
So I recently upgraded just about everything and did a near complete overhaul of my old computer system, and there's only a handful of things left to consider for upgrades.
Most prominent of which is now the display itself.
That said, my current display specs as I understand them are as follows.
22.5" x 13" Display Screen, with 1-1/3" side and top borders, 1.75" bottom border. Total roughly 25.5" x 15.5" edge to edge
Considered 26" series I think?
DYNEX BBY LCD TV
QHD 2560 x 1440 max Res
1360 x 768 Standard Res
Flat Screen
60Hz Refresh
8-bit RBG SDR color
16:9 Aspect Ratio
2009-ish Build? (it's at least 11 years old from what I've found, but I also saw some redacted reports as old as 2007, so IDK exact age or model number and struggle to find such)
I know my display is old because it doesn't have any software drivers beyond audio to speak of, Windows 10 refused to acknoledge it as anything other than generic PnP monitor, and the most recent and common reports on it, as well as any review YT videos that I could find go back around 11 years or so, with the earliest I could find being about 13 years ago from a now redacted website (webarchives).
That said, I don't want to shrink my monitor or reduce quality of resolution, but I would like to increase the color range and refresh rate, if only a bit... (Pardon the Pun). In other words, I want to upgrade my display without downgrading any existing aspects of it.
I'm not sure if a flat screen or a curved screen would serve me better, and I'm pretty sure I don't want to go more than 32" maximum for width including borders. I intend to use my setup for gaming adventure and RPG games like The Witcher or Tomb Raider (graphics heavy, but not FPS) and for watching videos and online shows. I have no intentions of getting any kind of live television or of streaming on Twitch or doing any heavy editing beyond maybe character tokens in Microsoft 3D Editor (spiritual successor to Paint that also does 3D modelling and video editing). I would use no special wall mounting, but would have my new tv/monitor placed on my desktop using a base stand. I'd be viewing from about 12" away when at my computer, and I'd also be using it for my XBone and for watching videos where I view from about 5-9 feet away.
All now considered, the most expensive part that I've bought for my upgrade so far was my CPU, an i7-4790k, and I bought it new for sale at $254 ($100 off normal price) on Amazon. I also bought the AMD RX 590 Fatboy for $190 on sale, and a new SATA 3 1TB SSD was bought on sale (with warranty) for $154. Aside from those 3 things, so far, nothing else in my build has been more expensive that $80. (granted, I haven't upgraded my existing MOBO as there's no need or reason to as yet.)
Ideally I'd like to keep the CPU as the most expensive piece in my setup and not spend more than $250 tops if I do get a new monitor or TV.
But from what I'm finding after researching for about 10 hours to date, the cheapest monitor or tv I can find costs $289.97 and has roughly the minimum specs as my 11 year old tv screen with the only difference is the other has been made within the last 5 years and 84Hz Refresh.
If it means anything, I got my current monitor for free because somebody was going to throw it out thinking it was broken when really all they did (though how remains a mystery to me) was slightly bend a single diode on the monitor's motherboard. I asked if I could have it, and they agreed. And looking it up now, even though it's at least 11 years old, it still goes for roughly $112 on BestBuy. So this would be my first time buying any kind of tv or monitor and I don't have any idea what a reasonable price is, or if I'd be getting gouged.
So all said and done, is it worth it to upgrade my monitor to get better color and refresh rates and ideally without detracting from my existing experience? Or is the baseline minimum price to upgrade from what I have more expensive than my CPU and therefore not worth it? Or will there be a downgrade of some kind (like resolution) if I simply wish to have better color and/or refresh rates?
Also, any links or suggestions of monitors or tvs that would be an upgrade and within my budget are welcomed, as so far I'm having no luck. Thanks all in advance.
So I recently upgraded just about everything and did a near complete overhaul of my old computer system, and there's only a handful of things left to consider for upgrades.
Most prominent of which is now the display itself.
That said, my current display specs as I understand them are as follows.
22.5" x 13" Display Screen, with 1-1/3" side and top borders, 1.75" bottom border. Total roughly 25.5" x 15.5" edge to edge
Considered 26" series I think?
DYNEX BBY LCD TV
QHD 2560 x 1440 max Res
1360 x 768 Standard Res
Flat Screen
60Hz Refresh
8-bit RBG SDR color
16:9 Aspect Ratio
2009-ish Build? (it's at least 11 years old from what I've found, but I also saw some redacted reports as old as 2007, so IDK exact age or model number and struggle to find such)
I know my display is old because it doesn't have any software drivers beyond audio to speak of, Windows 10 refused to acknoledge it as anything other than generic PnP monitor, and the most recent and common reports on it, as well as any review YT videos that I could find go back around 11 years or so, with the earliest I could find being about 13 years ago from a now redacted website (webarchives).
That said, I don't want to shrink my monitor or reduce quality of resolution, but I would like to increase the color range and refresh rate, if only a bit... (Pardon the Pun). In other words, I want to upgrade my display without downgrading any existing aspects of it.
I'm not sure if a flat screen or a curved screen would serve me better, and I'm pretty sure I don't want to go more than 32" maximum for width including borders. I intend to use my setup for gaming adventure and RPG games like The Witcher or Tomb Raider (graphics heavy, but not FPS) and for watching videos and online shows. I have no intentions of getting any kind of live television or of streaming on Twitch or doing any heavy editing beyond maybe character tokens in Microsoft 3D Editor (spiritual successor to Paint that also does 3D modelling and video editing). I would use no special wall mounting, but would have my new tv/monitor placed on my desktop using a base stand. I'd be viewing from about 12" away when at my computer, and I'd also be using it for my XBone and for watching videos where I view from about 5-9 feet away.
All now considered, the most expensive part that I've bought for my upgrade so far was my CPU, an i7-4790k, and I bought it new for sale at $254 ($100 off normal price) on Amazon. I also bought the AMD RX 590 Fatboy for $190 on sale, and a new SATA 3 1TB SSD was bought on sale (with warranty) for $154. Aside from those 3 things, so far, nothing else in my build has been more expensive that $80. (granted, I haven't upgraded my existing MOBO as there's no need or reason to as yet.)
Ideally I'd like to keep the CPU as the most expensive piece in my setup and not spend more than $250 tops if I do get a new monitor or TV.
But from what I'm finding after researching for about 10 hours to date, the cheapest monitor or tv I can find costs $289.97 and has roughly the minimum specs as my 11 year old tv screen with the only difference is the other has been made within the last 5 years and 84Hz Refresh.
If it means anything, I got my current monitor for free because somebody was going to throw it out thinking it was broken when really all they did (though how remains a mystery to me) was slightly bend a single diode on the monitor's motherboard. I asked if I could have it, and they agreed. And looking it up now, even though it's at least 11 years old, it still goes for roughly $112 on BestBuy. So this would be my first time buying any kind of tv or monitor and I don't have any idea what a reasonable price is, or if I'd be getting gouged.
So all said and done, is it worth it to upgrade my monitor to get better color and refresh rates and ideally without detracting from my existing experience? Or is the baseline minimum price to upgrade from what I have more expensive than my CPU and therefore not worth it? Or will there be a downgrade of some kind (like resolution) if I simply wish to have better color and/or refresh rates?
Also, any links or suggestions of monitors or tvs that would be an upgrade and within my budget are welcomed, as so far I'm having no luck. Thanks all in advance.
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