XBOX 360/ PC Question!

johntmanic · 18 Mar 2006 at 14:16

Hi people,
Im looking to buy an XBOX 360 very soon!
But id like to link it through my PC and id like to play it through my Belinea 10 20 35 W Monitor and get some new speakers to use for my PC and XBOX360.

What will i need? and how will it all set up?!

Ive got around £200 to spend to get myself ready for the experience lol!
Thanks
John!

DaveyD · 18 Mar 2006 at 14:21

Well, you're going to need the Xbox 360 VGA cable for connecting to the monitor.

Looking at the spec for your monitor, it has 2 inputs, a DVI and a VGA input. As long as you've got your PC running through the DVI, and the Xbox 360 running through the VGA, then you're sorted in the picture department.

As for audio, with £200, you're going to probably be looking at a decent pair of PC speakers with Dolby Digital decoding capabilities.

The Logitech Z-5500 THX® Certified 5.1 505 Watts Speakers - Retail (SP-021-LG) £199.69 http://www.overclockers.co.uk/acatalog/Online_Catalogue_Logitech_166.html look like a good choice. You'll be able to connect your PC via the analogue audio connectors, and your Xbox 360 via the optical digital 5.1 connection.

When considering other speakers, you'll want to get ones with 5.1 Digitial optical input for Dolby Digital decoding, as it really is a must to enjoy the 360 fully.

johntmanic · 18 Mar 2006 at 14:27

DaveyD said:
Well, you're going to need the Xbox 360 VGA cable for connecting to the monitor.

Looking at the spec for your monitor, it has 2 inputs, a DVI and a VGA input. As long as you've got your PC running through the DVI, and the Xbox 360 running through the VGA, then you're sorted in the picture department.

As for audio, with £200, you're going to probably be looking at a decent pair of PC speakers with Dolby Digital decoding capabilities.

The Logitech Z-5500 THX® Certified 5.1 505 Watts Speakers - Retail (SP-021-LG) £199.69 http://www.overclockers.co.uk/acatalog/Online_Catalogue_Logitech_166.html look like a good choice. You'll be able to connect your PC via the analogue audio connectors, and your Xbox 360 via the optical digital 5.1 connection.

When considering other speakers, you'll want to get ones with 5.1 Digitial optical input for Dolby Digital decoding, as it really is a must to enjoy the 360 fully.

Brilliant!
Yeah my monitor has a dvi and vga input, and ive got my PC running through the DVI.
Well i need a copy of XP and i was thinking of getting Media Center XP from OCUK Microsoft Windows XP Media Centre 2005 Edition - OEM - 1Pk (M93-00200) (SW-008-MS) Price: £64.95 (£76.32 Including VAT at 17.5%).
Will the XBOX 360 run through that?
So that will really leave me with £125 for the speakers, will i need 5.1 speakers because the way i can set it up i wont be able to have any speakers behind me?? if that makes sense?!

DaveyD · 18 Mar 2006 at 14:35

johntmanic said:
Brilliant!
Yeah my monitor has a dvi and vga input, and ive got my PC running through the DVI.
Well i need a copy of XP and i was thinking of getting Media Center XP from OCUK Microsoft Windows XP Media Centre 2005 Edition - OEM - 1Pk (M93-00200) (SW-008-MS) Price: £64.95 (£76.32 Including VAT at 17.5%).
Will the XBOX 360 run through that?
So that will really leave me with £125 for the speakers, will i need 5.1 speakers because the way i can set it up i wont be able to have any speakers behind me?? if that makes sense?!

You only need XP media centre edition if you want to play .wmv videos, .jpegs and .mp3s through your Xbox 360. As you've already got a PC hooked up to the same monitor, you're not really going to need Media Centre, as you can just use the PC to play videos + stuff.

If you don't/can't have 5.1 speakers, then a decent 2.1 speaker set up is probably best, or maybe even buying a proper amp and pair of speakers. The amp option would allow you to be able to switch between 360 and PC at the touch of a button.

If you were to get a set of normal PC speakers, most setups only have one input. You can get around that by having your PC on all the time when playing on the 360, and passing the 360 audio out into the PC audio in.

johntmanic · 18 Mar 2006 at 14:48

DaveyD said:
You only need XP media centre edition if you want to play .wmv videos, .jpegs and .mp3s through your Xbox 360. As you've already got a PC hooked up to the same monitor, you're not really going to need Media Centre, as you can just use the PC to play videos + stuff.

If you don't/can't have 5.1 speakers, then a decent 2.1 speaker set up is probably best, or maybe even buying a proper amp and pair of speakers. The amp option would allow you to be able to switch between 360 and PC at the touch of a button.

If you were to get a set of normal PC speakers, most setups only have one input. You can get around that by having your PC on all the time when playing on the 360, and passing the 360 audio out into the PC audio in.

Ohhhhhhh right! well its just that ive not got a proper copy of XP and i thought it would be a good opportunity to get a copy? because my boss is giving me £200 to spend on computer parts!
Well at the minute ive got Trust 4000phttp://www.pcreview.co.uk/reviews/Audio/Trust_4000P_Speaker_System/
and its not the best in the world and i just wanted some sort of sound system like you said where i can just switch through XBOX or PC without having my PC on all the time or whatever?