Stereo Tool

@michi95: Many tv's do this already! (Well at least many Philips tv's do, it's called 'Natural Motion'). They increase the rate to around 100 different frames per second (so for 24 or 25 fps video they calculate 3 extra images per original image). And looking at tv prices it might be cheaper to buy a new tv instead.. Assuming you want to watch video on a tv and not on your monitor.

Of course a new pc also gives you other advantages I must say that I really don't like to watch tv's anymore that don't use this technique. I was in a big store today where they had a 150" 3D tv - I put up some glasses and was more annoyed by the low refresh rate than that I was amazed by the 3D effect. (Actually I had trouble "locking on" to the 3D effect due to the low refresh rate).

I know.
But I prefer (as a single person) to use my PC (using shaders etc.).
I have a twin-tuner DVB-S2 card in my PC.
I actually use a combination of Buzzrizer Light and a logarithmic compressor for all kind of audio (not Stereo Tool).
Plus:
I want to transcode most TV broadcasts.
Hans, I guess you know that most German free to air HD TV stations (ARD and ZDF networks) use 720p (50 Hz) regardless of the actual content.
So an i5 would be great for transcoding to get rid of the redundantly (identically) broadcasted frames and to reduce HDD disk space.

Actually, no, that's still in use and that was another money-saving step. It's a Samsung SyncMaster 997DF, 19-inch CRT. Given that I don't have the money to buy games, I don't expect doing any serious gaming for 2 years. The 19 is fine. It's at 1280x1024 @ 85 Hz. So, that's why I'm content with just using the embedded graphics. If I want more horsepower, PCI-Express 3.0 is going to be around for a while, and the cards will evolve.

If I were to get a new monitor, I'd probably want the Dell Ultrasharp U2412M (24-inch IPS LCD, 16:10 ratio 1920x1200).

$300-320

My principle is do not excessively attempt to cut corners on the following:

- Motherboard
- Power supply
- Monitor

All kinds of issues can be caused by poor power delivery, and your eyes are too important to skimp too much on a monitor.
I disagree, especially given that I am indeed fond of overclocking, and that I have a "don't skimp" philosophy on that part. Better to have it and not need it, than need it and not have it. 750-850W is my max though.

As for whether or not any of this is doable, or even if I should do it, that is still a "think on it" thing. I need a medical procedure done, and I think it runs about $5000-10000. Well, it's more of a want, but many people would find it to be a need over a period of time, as just dealing with it is getting tiresome. I'm almost at 1 year of dealing with it.

That, and I need to help with the mortgage...and replenish retirement account...and, etc... But a computer is a "tool of the trade" for me, not just a luxury.

Je suis d' accord à 100 % !

IMO there is one thing to be considered seriously nowadays:
The wise user concept of longevity versus the definetly growing industrial concept of planned obsolescence.
Some might think that it is only a new kind of conspiracy theory.
But especially during the last 2 years I have heard of some strangely broken hardware components (guarantee periods ended some months before that happened).

So, IMO the computer industry (at least some companies) are involved in planned obsolescence.

Probably. AMD socket FM1 and chipset is a good example.

I've also assumed a planned obsolescence strategy now, which has gotten the price down to around $680, thanks to some instant discounts and bundled free memory. Mainly, the change is an even cheaper motherboard, and reducing to a 550W power supply, which all but completely rules out any use of anything higher than that 7850, and minimal overclocking at best. This is approaching or at rock-bottom. Further savings will eat into stability / enjoyability.

Of course, at the time I might try to do this, pricing could be lower, and I'd have to check for particular bargains at that time...

Edit: Further solidifying that I can go for a cheaper motherboard that has 1 PCI slot, I confirmed my top-end board (as of 2004), the MSI K8N Neo 2 Platinum, has on-board audio (Realtek ALC 850). This means that I can remove the X-Fi and the system will still have sound, assuming that chip works (I've never used it, the original build was with an Audigy 2 ZS).