My cheap HD gaming solution ($400 CDN)

[spot778]

First picked up one of these for $329.99

Next grabbed one of these for $49.99

Then to the beer store for some inspiration and spending some time getting it calibrated.


Man this is just kick ASS !





Oblivion





Gears





It's one kick ass monitor and might be hard to find to in the US try Circuit City but otherwise I can't recommend this one enough. 20.5" is more than enough to game in and you don't have to be right up close to it.

[PhreQuencYViii]

My old solution was cheaper. =) VGA cables for 30$ and my old 19" wide moniter = 230$. lolololo

[MottZilla]

I have a similar monitor for a similar price however it had built in NTSC/PAL composite video, svideo, and component video. I use the VGA for the Xbox 360, and if I get a PS3 I could use the DVI for it since it supports that HDCP. It's definitely a better way to go than to spend so much on some full fledged HD"TV" that instantly makes it cost so much more. Who the hell cares about the TV programs anyway, it's all about the gaming. ;)

[n-y-n]

Why do you set it to a non-widescreen resolution by the way? Or did you take that pic before you changed resolutions

[Sonikku]

maybe that was the closest match to the native resolution of the monitor?

[sayin999]

Funny you should mention this, I actually got the offical micrsoft vga cables for 20 with both converters since it was one of there open items.

[MottZilla]

The Xbox 360 only lets you choose a few resolutions, and 1680x1050 is not suppotred. You're best off using 1280x1024. Either way, the HD graphics are fantastic on regular VGA monitors. Imagine that, High-Def has been around for years and years but now there's HD"TV" and it costs a bundle.

[Taucias]

Not bad, but 20.1" as a TV screen is tiny. I don't know about most people, but I tend to play my console games from the comfort and safety of the couch!

[PhreQuencYViii]

Lol! Safety? Well at least with the 360 theres no more danger of the cable doing something horrible to you unless you cheeaped out for the core.

[spot778]

n-y-n

I was just taking shots to illustrate the difference

[MottZilla]

While the living room TV and couch was probably most common in the past, nowdays most people play their games in their own rooms on smaller sets they sit closer to. Atleast it seems to me that is how it is now.

[spot778]

Its a few feet away from me when I game and to be honest it doesn't really make all that much difference to me vs the 25" SDTV I was using previously.

Would I like a larger one ? Heck yeah but I'll be damned if I'm spending more than $400 on one. Absolute no point for me . Only HD TV stuff I've seen that's worth it IMHO is Sports. HD or Blu-ray DVDs are pointless to me as most of my favorite films are from the 90's on back and won't look any better in HD then they do now.

The prices here in Canada for HDTVs are just flipping insane at least in the US you can get some decent "deals"

[PhreQuencYViii]

Yeah, my 23" HDTV was 340$, so that was pretty good.

[SuperGrafx]

Looks good. Thanks for the pics.

[spot778]

Yeah, my 23" HDTV was 340$, so that was pretty good.

that's what I mean !!!

Cheapest 20" LCD HDTV @ Best Buy here (I'm not counting EDTV)

Is the Sammy 20" for $599.99 then factor 14% tax on it and you get something the same size and twice the freaking cost as what I have now.

I just don't watch regular TV enough to justify that nor am I going to pay another $100 - $150 a month for cable. I'd rather use that on beer :thumbsup:

HD setting for Xbox 360

640x480

848x480 (widescreen)

1024x768

1280x720 (widescreen)

1280x768 (widescreen)

1280x1024

1360x768 (widescreen)

1920x1080 (widescreen-this one appeared on my set up after an update a while back)

[Sonikku]

Yea, I love the 360's choice of resolutions, and its excellent scaler. Unlike the PS3 with no scaler (480p downscale instead of 1080i upscale, WTF ??)