Monitors Need buying tips on LCD Monitor & Cabinet

T

typo

Disciple
Hi, I'm setting up the following config:
AMD Athlon X2 4800
ASUS M2AVM-HDMI
2x1GB @ 667Mhz Kingston RAM
250GB SATA Western Digital HDD
Logitech X-230 2.1 speakers
Logitech S510 Cordless desktop (without remote)
800 KVA UPS

I am still undecided about the monitor (19" LCD @ ~ Rs.12k) and the cabinet.

For the Monitor, I insisted on DVI (since the motherboard anyway supports it) and a good response time. But this effectively narrowed the choice down to Viewsonic (the assembler recommended VG1930WM). However I'm not too keen on a widescreen, and I also dislike the clutter of built-in speakers. I do like the specs of LG's 1953S - especially its amazing 2000:1 contrast ratio. The only problem is that it lacks DVI support. Please let me know if the DVI thing is overrated or if it actually means a noticeable improvement in picture quality. Also, in general, how does LG compare with Viewsonic in terms of after-sales support?

For the Cabinet, I'm thinking of the Zebronics MARCO - mainly for its looks:) Since there's going to be no GPU and no OCing, I'm guessing the Marco's 120mm side fan should do fine. If anybody has had bad experiences with this cabinet, please let me know.

Thanks.
 
The 2000:1 contrast ratio is usually an exaggeration (considering its a TN based panel) and refers to something known as 'dynamic' contrast ratio. A simple analogy would be something like how music systems are rated in terms of PMPO instead of in RMS.

DVI is sharper than VGA and preferred. However i recall reading somewhere that the issue is how well each path is optimised. On monitors with both a DVI and VGA port, more attention is paid to the DVI path and hence quite naturally the DVI connection appears better. Whereas monitors with just a VGA port alone seemed to compare favourably with the DVI equipped monitors too. Either way to be on the safer side, opt for a DVI equipped model.

No clue about the cabby, but seems decent enough. How much are you picking it up for ?
 
Thank you Crazy-Eddy. He hasn't given me a quote for the cabby yet but I guess it will be reasonable, considering his quotes for all the other components. One website priced the Zebronics Marco around 2.3k. Here is a link on this cabinet. It has an unusual PSU placement. Check it out.
Latest posts of: Zebronics

I read somewhere that the Northbridge of the M2AVM-HDMI tends to get very hot. Now I'm wondering if the 120mm side fan of the Zebronics Marco can take care of issues like this. Should I go for something like Rage or Antibiotic instead (for the cooling)?

My cabby requirements (in order of priority) are:
1. Sufficient cooling for the config
2. Lowest noise possible
3. Looks
 
The Marco is oriented towards HTPC use, so will be small and a bit cramped. Would be best to check it out in person. Agree that the PSU placement seems a bit odd, and that might have a slight affect on cooling performance too.

However a decent 120mm side fan for a stock-running A64 setup should pretty much take care of cooling. Usually the side-fans are aligned with the CPU heatsink , but assuming the air draft is wide enough it should hit the northbridge heatsink too.
 
Sounds good then... thanks a lot. Someone on another forum suggested that I could go for a fan over the northbridge heatsink in case there were any heating issues. That sounds like the best solution to the northbridge heating... if it indeed is an issue that is...

btw, the reason I'm keen on the Marco is the outrageously outsized power button. I think it's a really wacky design idea!
 
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