Help me pick a new monitor

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Hi,

I'm looking to get a new LED 23" or 24" monitor. I don't want to spend more than say £170.
I intend to use it for general PC use and gaming. I also plan to get a Xbox 360 (and maybe a PS3 in the future) soon so I want to be able connect it to my new monitor as well.

I've shortlisted the Benq G2420HDBL and ACER V243HLbmd but both don't have HDMI and I'm not sure if this will be a problem for the Xbox or in future. I don't want to use VGA for PC or the Xbox. Is it possible to connect both via DVI with a splitter cable of some sort like you can with scart?
 
I looked at that one but it's not LED though. I don't know if there is a big difference or not but from what I see, LED is generally a more popular choice. So I guess it's either LED or HDMI for me.
 
I would suggest going with the BenQ G2420HDBL you mentioned in the first post, it is basically the best monitor around for that price.

As you probably know, LED just refers to the backlight, the panel itself is still a standard TN LCD. In almost all cases, these monitors are edge-lit LED- so there isn't much image quality difference between them and standard CCFL backlit ones, the main benefit is they use much less power.

As for HDMI vs DVI, the two are electrically compatible. This means that the DVI and HDMI connections use the same wires, but arranged differently and DVI does not include the sound signal. If you get a cheap adapter or a cable like this, a HDMI console will work perfectly fine on a DVI monitor.

The VGA connection option is also a good choice. You may imagine that the image quality is much worse than a digital connection - but if you had the two side-by-side you most likely couldn't tell the difference. I would suggest plugging the XBox into the VGA connection (as there are quite a few cables dedicated to this, and most games are just upscaled from 600-720p anyway, so the detail isn't quite as critical as it is for a PC) and using the DVI for the PC.
 
I would suggest going with the BenQ G2420HDBL you mentioned in the first post, it is basically the best monitor around for that price.

As you probably know, LED just refers to the backlight, the panel itself is still a standard TN LCD. In almost all cases, these monitors are edge-lit LED- so there isn't much image quality difference between them and standard CCFL backlit ones, the main benefit is they use much less power.

As for HDMI vs DVI, the two are electrically compatible. This means that the DVI and HDMI connections use the same wires, but arranged differently and DVI does not include the sound signal. If you get a cheap adapter or a cable like this, a HDMI console will work perfectly fine on a DVI monitor.

The VGA connection option is also a good choice. You may imagine that the image quality is much worse than a digital connection - but if you had the two side-by-side you most likely couldn't tell the difference. I would suggest plugging the XBox into the VGA connection (as there are quite a few cables dedicated to this, and most games are just upscaled from 600-720p anyway, so the detail isn't quite as critical as it is for a PC) and using the DVI for the PC.

Thanks for this. It helped a lot. I think I'll go with the Benq one now :)
 
As for HDMI vs DVI, the two are electrically compatible. This means that the DVI and HDMI connections use the same wires, but arranged differently and DVI does not include the sound signal.


But then how will OP hear the sound through monitor speakers if he is going to connect ps3 to Benq using 'DVI to HdMI' cable as DVI doesn't carry sound? If it had been just a normal HDMI cable then it would have been fine.
 
But then how will OP hear the sound through monitor speakers if he is going to connect ps3 to Benq using 'DVI to HdMI' cable as DVI doesn't carry sound? If it had been just a normal HDMI cable then it would have been fine.

The monitor doesn't have any speakers (nor do any other monitors worth their salt).

There are many other ways of connecting a 360 (or PS3) to a sound system without using a HDMI cable. These include optical connections, phono L/R and 3.5mm stereo - I believe some of these are included in some console packages while others will need to be bought separately.
 
I was about to post that you can buy hdmi to dvi convertors with audio out, but then couldn't find any anywhere.

although some one found a solution by mauling the standard lead so it only had left and right audio and then plugging it in along with the hdmi lead

http://www.tomshardware.co.uk/forum/101002-25-help-connecting-xbox-monitor

I myself have a Benq 24" monitor and I play Fifa10 on it (pc version) at it ghosts quite noticably, but I'm not sure if that is purely to do with the game or the monitor, as no other games have that problem.
 
Indeed, here is a picture of the cable - I believe it should come with the 360 (at least with some bundles) - good call Occooler :).

1104899.jpg

(image credit to gamepro.com)

if you have a sound system that uses an amp - then simply connect the optical connection and you are away. If you are using speakers with a standard 3.5mm stereo connection - then you will want a cable like this as well:

cable470.jpg


With this little lot you should be able to get your 360 hooked up to any sound system you like.
 
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