Computer case recommendations are welcome too. A gaudy case might be a fun thing to have, and I think to fit the higher-end graphics cards I would need a fat one.

I'm building a new computer in the coming weeks. Of course the thought of a new graphics card got me a excited, and then I remembered that there are monitors with a resolution above 1080p.

I started looking into these things, and it became pretty clear pretty fast that it was upping the ante quite a bit. As in, my monitor and graphics card could each end up costing more than the whole rest of my new machine. One thing I don't want to do is buy the wrong thing, thus I thought that there might be some valuable opinions on the subject here which I would want to hear before making any decisions.

There are two monitors I have heard about that sounded like they might get the job done so far, but before I even link to them here comes question 1.

2560x1440 or 2560x1600?

Does this come down to a personal preference on aspect ratio? Should I get the higher resolution simply because it's a higher resolution? I have a TV hooked up to my computer for watching media, so the monitor will be for games and programming and the web. Obviously for the latter two the more screen space the better, but for games, is there a more correct choice between the two? I am leaning toward 2560x1600 because of the bigger number currently.

All that said, here are the two monitors that are in the running so far, which can be viewed as question 2.

What monitor should I get?

HP ZR30w Black 30" 2560 x 1600 Newegg Link, response time is a concern, but I hear between these two monitors this one has the least input lag. Also I am a little ignorant, and could very well be confusing the relationship between response time and input lag.

Dell UltraSharp U3011 30" 2560 x 1600 Newegg Link

Any other recommendations for monitors are most welcome, and much appreciated; I don't know where I could go to check them out myself or I would do so. I might give my local Fry's a try, and I suppose I don't know if bigger U.S. chains like Best Buy have this stuff lying around.

Question 3: What graphics card should I get?

Okay, so that's monitors. Graphics cards. I want to be able to max Bad Company 2 at these resolutions, anything else, I'm okay turning some settings down I suppose, but it would be nice to have a year or two of worry-free gaming. And I have nVidia brand loyalty based on the issues I've seen with the competition's cards, and I can't stand their Control Center or whatever that monster is. Tell me I'm an idiot and I will indeed consider other options, but I'd like to have the ability to do the 3D Vision thing later as well, something I had before and sold, but quite enjoyed.

Should I get a GTX 580? 590? I know that these resolutions are the main reason those cards exist, but the prices are pretty obscene. The prices are pretty obscene for the monitors too. This begs the question, is such a setup even worth it? I am a bit of a nut for image quality. I'm sure I would find either monitor above stunning. I should probably try to find someone with a similar setup to the proposed and see it firsthand. Any comments on this? Graphics card recommendations? And say I do get a 590, where should I buy it? From my limited research they're just a tad bit harder to purchase than most graphics cards. I believe EVGA offers a lifetime warranty on theirs, which sounds appealing, especially given the price, so I suppose if a 590 is the answer where should I buy the EVGA version?

Well, thanks for the read if you've made it this far. Any advice would be quite helpful, and honestly while I'm pretty enthused about this I couldn't guarantee I could get myself to bite the bullet with the prices we're talking here.

EDIT: Removed some redundancy, fixed link.

SWEET ZOMBIE JESUS. D:

I'm actually about to buy this monitor: http://amzn.to/icmtLq

For the price of those two monitors you could get two or three of the ones I linked to above. And better components.

I have an ASUS, I don't even know the size but it's incredibly close to what you're purchasing, if not the same model. It's what I'm using right now. Absolutely fantastic, extremely affordable, and the quality is great. You won't be disappointed. And yeah, I am well aware of how many monitors I could get. Perhaps that's a direction I should consider more seriously, but it sounds like a pain at the same time... my setup becomes less portable (still portable, just more of a hassle) and I don't really want to game with gaps in the presentation created by multiple monitors, if I was indeed to do that. I'm a one big screen kind of guy, and the resolution thing is pretty important to me.

Damn.

My monitor does 1650x1080, and I'm very happy.

Seems like that might have to be something I think about after my next upgrade (graphics card perhaps, in 6-12 months, amongst other things).

If I were to buy a new case right now, I think I'd get this. I'm not crazy about the way it looks, but I love the features. It's basically a newer version of the case I have right now, only without the drawbacks my case has.

... Get enough of them and you can trick your car out to look like a DeLorean!

Hmm, yeah, the tool-free thing is pretty appealing, but at the same time, I kind of like having to get out some tools! Also I'm not sure how I feel about the way it looks... I guess I'm not crazy about it either.

I was looking at this case primarily so far, it's a bit silly but I actually do like how it looks, brings construction to mind, and it seems like it has some handy features as well.

I also saw this one, but I don't think I'd like looking at it in normal light. At night I can imagine liking it a lot, but also I sleep with my computer, so it might just be a hassle. And it doesn't seem like there's much inherent utility in the case, it just caught my eye. I don't think I'd actually get it, but I did consider it for a while.

I was thinking along those lines. My monitor is 1920x1200, and is more than enough. It's a rather nice Samsung 24" HDTV that I've got hooked up to my computer. It's huge enough that it's difficult to game on unless I sit back a ways.

Whoa, that's insane. Ugly as hell, but otherwise very very cool. The acrylic one seems the opposite. Looks cool, but looks like it's a bitch to actually use. But then there's no accounting for taste.

If I may recommend a case - try these out
http://www.chieftec.com/
or these
http://www.coolermaster.com/index.php

they are rather well made, spacy and provide you with some of the best PSU you can find on the market. Plus, they look nice ;)
My personal preference is chieftec, they look very serious and I still use big tower case I bought 7 years ago, construction is sturdy enough that it survived much abuse over years, I only have to change some components over years for it to remain badass ;)
Also, check out gigabyte motherboards, they are very stable and have a low percent of returns from my buyers (lower than 1%), go with intel and nvidia and you won't make a mistake :D
Also, Dell has a wide selection of quality monitors, but unless you are suing it for precise work that needs very precise color calibration you can go with cheaper models :) I have 24'' asus vk246H and i'm very satisfied with the performance. Computer is used for business emails, lite design (mainly marketing materials) and gaming ;)

basically, you're looking at different aspect ratios : 16:9 or 16:10. The good reason for opting for a 16:10 is actually the added vertical depth , that will be more comfortable when doing something else than playing games or watching movies. In games, 16:10 monitors will pride a slightly zoomed in view compared to 16:9 and could be a bit more immersive. The only issue with 16:10 , 30 inches monitor - aside from their price tag - is that older games might cause some trouble. Of course, lower resolutions will be available, but may look pretty ugly...

so, my answer is : 2560x1600 if the planned use is not pure gaming.

All that said, here are the two monitors that are in the running so far, which can be viewed as question 2. The HP is slightly better value ( dynamic contrast and price tag are better, everything else identical ), but Dell's have a better reputation If you opt for the Nvidia line, I'd say that there are 3 possible cards

-570
-580
-590

According to reviews, the results on a 2560x1600 , run by a Core i7 965 Extreme / 6 GB would be the following (source 3d guru)

- GTX 570 : 38 fps
- GTX 570 SLI : 73
- GTX 580 : 45
- GTX 590 : 68

so, a 570 SLI would seem the best option. Should be a bit cheaper than the 590 but will need
- Good MB
- a lot of space in your case
- a good heat management solution My feeling is "no". It's way too expensive, certainly taken into accound that you'll need an upper range Motherboard, a top CPU, a load of memory and a huge PSU ( think 1200 W at the very least ), and everything needed to keep this rig at a reasonnable temperature.

Now, all depends of your budget. Of course, if you're a big earner, then you shouldn't care about that. If not, the extra brought by such a setup is not worth, in my opinion, getting into debts.

Another thing is how ecologically unfriendly this rig will be. Depending on you you feel about that, again.

Running what game / program, exactly?

There'd be a pretty massive difference in performance between running, say, Call of Duty: Black Ops and running Metro 2033 on max settings.

Bad company 2, as mentionned by the OP

anyway, all results are pretty much identical. a dual 570 sli pretty much equals or does better than a 590. CoD, maxed out would run at 160+ fps, metro 2033 at a mere 30 ...

Hmm... well I definitely will be using it for my primary internet and development needs, so I guess that's the answer that makes the most sense.

I think that I would rather shoot for a 590 and cheaper motherboard/PSU, and also not have to worry about heat with two cards right next to each other. The performance seems negligible in my eyes, and I would prefer not to have to deal with SLI if possible.

You're right, it is too expensive, but I happen to have the means at the moment so I won't be going into debt or anything over this monster, and I think based on my taste for image quality it will be worth it for me to pursue the monitor.

Thanks for the help!