Vista - Monitor & video card?!?! what to do?

Hi All,

I am pretty sure that his question has been ask before, but here goes again.
I am looking to upgrade my video card and my Monitor in the near future.
I want to go in the HD direction so here are my choices of monitors:

1. Acer H213H bmid 21.5" 5ms HDMI Widescreen 16:9 Full HD 1080P LCD Monitor 300 cd/m2 ACM 20000:1
2. ASUS VH222H 21.5" 5ms HDMI Widescreen 16:9 Full HD 1080P LCD Monitor Built in Speakers 300 cd/m2 1000:1 (ASCR20000:1) w/ SPDIF out
3. ASUS VH226H 21.5" 2ms(GTG) HDMI Widescreen 16:9 Full HD 1080P LCD Monitor 300 cd/m2 1000:1 (ASCR 12000 : 1) Built in Speakers

Since I am new to the HD world, ( Yes I have been living under a rock) I would like to know what should I be looking for and what should I stay away from. Also in the video card department I have no clue what to got for. Seeing how we have an extremely good group of knowledgeable Vistanians here I figure I could have some good suggestions from you guys and gals. I do have a preference for NVIDIA graphic cards. Here are a few details of what I use my PC for:

1. 3D work (Modeling mostly with 3ds max)
2. Graphic work (Adobe CS3 and some CS4)
3. Some CAD 3D work ( AutoCAD and Revit)
4. Gaming (Crysis, DOD.s, CS.s, Insurgency...)

I would like to be able to have a card that would last for a reasonable time. I am open to any of your recommendations, for the screen and/or the video card. Last little details, Screen wise, I do not need anything more than 22" and for the video card I will be plugging a second monitor (VGA or DVI) I will only be using it for my email and work pallets.

I thank you guys and gals in advance.

HD isnt about the default resolutions, eg/ 720p, 1080i, 1080p. HD resolutions are any resolutions that contain more than 900,000 pixels on screen, effectively you have been using HD with the monitor you already have, since that monitor has capabilities of displaying 1,310,720 pixels on screen, you have already been using high definition. however, some people swear blind that high definition is the set default resolutions stated above, which is not true. high definition sources have been around since the 1960s but we were hampered for a screen to display such resolutions at that time. i hope this is an insight to your next choice of monitor, personally, you dont need to go over 22" and with a resolution of 1680x1050, these resolutions are higher definition than a 720p television.

Very enlightening! It is a good thing that I am not aiming for more than 22". Now what about the video card? Would I need to use a HDMI card or a simple 9800GTX+ would do?

well, with most good cards you actually get a DVI-HDMI converter with the card, so i would go with that card. plus you dont need HDMI, DVI is virtually the same connection as HDMI but a lot larger, DVI still outputs 1080p, im using DVI and my res is 1920x1080, my screen is flawless, just make sure you get a DVI cable with your monitor as you will have to buy one if you dont.