Hooking up new PC to Plasma and AV system

Acid Mayhem · 10 Apr 2011 at 18:00

I am seriously considering purchasing a new PC (Titan Spinosaur) with an ATI 6950 card and would like to hook it up to my 42" Panasonic Plasma via my Sony AV amp (HDMI from graphics card into AMP and I'm guessing I will also need to connect the sound from the motherboard via coax?).
I was wondering if this will yield decent results as have never done this before.
I currently run an Athlon XP 2700+ single core (sad I know!) in my bedroom on a CRT monitor but am thinking of putting my new PC downstairs to use on my Plasma TV and Sony AV amp with Dolby 5.1 surround sound.
I will mostly be using it to play games like Stalker, Crysis, X3 etc..
I also have an XBOX 360 and PS3 hooked up to my amp via HDMI and obviously to my Plasma and I think it looks and sounds great.
Will the PC perform in the same way and what resolution should I play at?
Thanks in advance for any advice or recommendations you can give.

Somnambulist · 10 Apr 2011 at 22:09

1920x1080. As with every plasma, just be mindful about screen burn when using it as a big monitor, although if you're just booting it up to play games and not leaving a static OS sitting there, it's not really a problem.

Surveyor · 10 Apr 2011 at 23:06

If you connect using HDMI then you can have sound and video over the same cable to the TV or you'll need to use a separate cable from you soundcard to your amp.

What model is your TV?

Not all plasma TV's are 1920x1080.

Acid Mayhem · 11 Apr 2011 at 13:16

Thanks for the replies guys.
My amp has HDMI sockets so I will hook up the HDMI from the graphics card to the amp but I'm guessing it won't take the sound from the motherboard as well will it, down the HDMI to the amp? I imagine I'll also have to use a separate coax from the motherboard to also connect to the amp for the Dolby 5.1 sound? (does the motherboard with the Titan Spinosaur have both coax and optical out's?)
My Plasma isn't full HD unfortunately (I was an early adopter). It is a TH-42PX70B. Looking in the manual it says 1024x768 although it does show 1080P when I connect my XBOX 360 as I set that in the XBOX360 setup. But it is not full 1080P I don't think even though you can set it to that. Please correct me if I'm wrong!
Also, my TV has a PC connection. Is it better to use that rather than the HDMI from the graphics card? So many options!!
I will also need to get a wireless keyboard and mouse so I can use it from the sofa! Can anyone recommend the best option for me here.
Thanks again everyone.

Surveyor · 11 Apr 2011 at 20:30

If you set your default audio device to ATI HD audio (something like that) instead of your motherboard's built in sound or sound card then sound will be sent through the HDMI connection.