Monitor for desktop and Xbox

Jordan97 · 10 Jul 2011 at 18:37

Hi everyone,

I'm looking for a 1080p monitor for use with my computer and the Xbox. It would need to be at least 22" and have at least one HDMI port, preferably 2.

If I only had one port, could I use something like a DVI to HDMI cable? Would this give me the benefit of using true HDMI?

My maximum budget is £150, but I would like to keep things around the £120 mark.

Jordan97 · 10 Jul 2011 at 21:42

Anyone?

secondsight07 · 10 Jul 2011 at 22:00

I would also like to know this.

Boozebeard · 10 Jul 2011 at 22:06

the only advantage HDMI has over DVI is it can carry sound. The picture quality is exactly the same and DVI supports higher resolutions and refresh rates.

Jordan97 · 10 Jul 2011 at 22:09

Boozebeard said:
the only advantage HDMI has over DVI is it can carry sound. The picture quality is exactly the same and DVI supports higher resolutions and refresh rates.

Really? Well that has opened a whole new window of possibilities! Thanks for that!

Jordan97 · 11 Jul 2011 at 17:39

So what monitor would you recommend?

Murray · 17 Jul 2011 at 14:38

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=MO-067-IY&groupid=17&catid=510&subcat=

cmndr_andi · 17 Jul 2011 at 15:22

Hi there, when you say you need a "monitor" for use with an xbox and PC, please bear in mind that few monitors come with any speakers built-in and the few that do are generally really awful (not even comparable to built-in TV speakers).

With this in mind, do you have a plan for getting sound out of your xbox? Do you have a separet speaker syste you are planning to use? Or will you be needing a display with decent built in speakers - or a new set of speakers?

As for the HDMI/DVI thing, it is quite correct that the image quality of the two is exactly the same (in fact they both use the same video signal). However, the benefit with HDMI in your case is that it carries sound from the console. Most monitors don't have built in speakers - but many that have HDMI ports do have audio-out connections which take the audio signal from the HDMI stream and present it via a stereo 3.5mm connection - ideal for connecting to headphones or a 2.0/2.1 speaker set.

Jony27 · 17 Jul 2011 at 15:58

would 120Hz matter if you use it with a console?

cmndr_andi · 17 Jul 2011 at 16:24

Jony27 said:
would 120Hz matter if you use it with a console?

If you got a 120Hz monitor with a dedicated HDMI input (like this one) then a console would work fine on the 120Hz monitor.

However, due to the limitations of the HDMI spec (and the processing power of a 360) then it will only display as a 60Hz image (compared to a proper 120Hz refreshed image using a PC and the dual-link DVI input). So you wouldn't get the benefit of a smoother 120HZ image when using the monitor with a console, but the very low input lag offered by most of these monitors would carry over to console use.

If the 120Hz monitor only has a dual-link DVI input then I don't believe a HDMI adpater will work with this kind of monitor.

Jony27 · 17 Jul 2011 at 16:28

how did you know i have a 360, what dark powers do you posses :eek:

so, using a HDMI with a standard TN panel with low input lag would perform the same as using HDMI with 120Hz monitor?

cmndr_andi · 17 Jul 2011 at 16:40

Jony27 said:
how did you know i have a 360, what dark powers do you posses

lol, sorry - was just referring to 360 as an example (PS3 is in exactly the same boat).

Jony27 said:
so, using a HDMI with a standard TN panel with low input lag would Aye, perform the same as using HDMI with 120Hz monitor?

Aye, exactly.