PC + Xbox 360 + laptop

[deanlaing12]

I have a few questions.

How do i set up an xbox 360 AND a pc to a 1080p HD Monitor? Can i use HD Cables?
(i heard about flick switches but do they allow HD Cables?) (whats good+whats bad?)

Where can i get a reliable 1080p HD Monitor for my Pc and Xbox 360?
Is there such a thing as a cheap 1080p Monitor for pc?
Where can i buy a cheap 1080p Monitor and is it reliable?
Whats the prices of such things?
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When connecting my Laptop to the 40" full hd television in the sitting room, i find that i get no sound! (hdmi Cable)
I looked on the internet and i did everything they suggested:
Ensure audio is primarily set to digital output.
Ensure audio is turned up.
Ensure Television is working fine.
Try diffrent HDMI slots.

I can't figure it out but i got the video working perfectly. (playing fable 3 with no sound, or having sound comming from the laptop is a bit... bleh)

 

[deanlaing12]

*twiddles his thumbs nervously, awaiting a reply before letting out a little sigh* Too late now, i sort of wanted this before Modern Warfare 3 came out :-3

I am now thinking....

Buy a hi-fi set.
Buy monitor with hdmi, vga. 1080, reasonably big
Modify the cable i get with xbox 360 to get audio cable for free.

hmm... what do you guys think/suggest?

 

[Mizzou]

There are a couple ways to go about this. Need to know if upgrading to a 1080p monitor is your first priority and also what your video/audio output options are for each component you want to connect. Would also help to know how much you have budgeted for this project.

 

[deanlaing12]

There are a couple ways to go about this. Need to know if upgrading to a 1080p monitor is your first priority and also what your video/audio output options are for each component you want to connect. Would also help to know how much you have budgeted for this project.

I budget £400 for the setup. £200 ofwhich is for my xbox. around £50 for a hi-fi "IF WE GO DOWN THAT ROUt" and/or £200 for a monitor. (Preferably much cheaper)

I have seen a lot of cheap monitors but they all had bad reviews, or most did.

Ok my pc i have.... VGA DVI HDMI output.
Xbox 360 - don't know actualy.

Currently using logitech speakers, simple aux input on my pc.



i need 16X9 ratio for monitor due to Xbox and i want it to be 1080 so i can enjoy the full hd from my xbox. (so i need hdmi for monitor)

if i go hdmi into monitor i wont get sound unless i get a monitor with loudspeakers (which all have incredibly bad reviews for some reason) therfor il need a seperate setup for audio. I was thinking an external soundcard but those are extreamly expensive.



Anything else need i say?

Window 7 Home.
Xbox 360 hd
Descent sound.

 

[Mizzou]

That's enough information to get started, let me do some checking around and will post back later.

 

[deanlaing12]

That's enough information to get started, let me do some checking around and will post back later.

It might also help to know i live in the UK. Scotland spesifically, if possible i would much rather pic the equipment up from a store, im very weary about buying equipment over the internet. I got the feeling that there is no care within the back of a van.

Thank you very much, i stressed my self out trying to figure it out, looked through over 300 tv's and about 10 stores but i can't seem to find exactly what i want for a reasonable price.

 

[Mizzou]

Just wanted to let you know that I've not forgotten about you. I'm tied up at work this evening so haven't really had chance to explore this further today.

Don't get discouraged as there's quite a bit to learn about HD video and audio when you first get started. Also, it may be difficult to address all of your requirements initially within your stated budget. Might be a good idea to prioritize what you want to accomplish first, address those needs and then move on to the next item.

Feel free to PM me with any questions you have and I'll try to help you get this sorted out.

 

[deanlaing12]

Just wanted to let you know that I've not forgotten about you. I'm tied up at work this evening so haven't really had chance to explore this further today.

Don't get discouraged as there's quite a bit to learn about HD video and audio when you first get started. Also, it may be difficult to address all of your requirements initially within your stated budget. Might be a good idea to prioritize what you want to accomplish first, address those needs and then move on to the next item.

Feel free to PM me with any questions you have and I'll try to help you get this sorted out.

Thank you!

I do have one question... (code copied from speccy)

Will my pc graphics card support sound? I have a...:

Graphics
		Monitor
			Name	SDM-S75A/E on NVIDIA GeForce 9500 GT
			Current Resolution	1280x1024 pixels
			Work Resolution	1280x984 pixels
			State	enabled, primary
			Monitor Width	1280
			Monitor Height	1024
			Monitor BPP	32 bits per pixel
			Monitor Frequency	60 Hz
			Device	\\.\DISPLAY1\Monitor0
		GeForce 9500 GT
			GPU	G96
			Device ID	10DE-0640
			Revision	A2
			Subvendor	Undefined (0000)
			Current Performance Level	Level 1
			Current GPU Clock	550 MHz
			Current Memory Clock	400 MHz
			Current Shader Clock	1350 MHz
			Technology	65 nm
			Die Size	144 nmІ
			Transistors	314 M
			Release Date	Jul 29, 2008
			DirectX Support	10.0
			DirectX Shader Model	4.0
			OpenGL Support	3.0
			Bus Interface	PCI Express x4
			Temperature	31 °C
			Driver	nvlddmkm.sys
			Driver version	8.17.12.8026
			ForceWare version	280.26
			BIOS Version	62.94.3c.00.00
			ROPs	8
			Shaders	32 unified
			Physical Memory	1024 MB
			Virtual Memory	1792 MB
			Bus Width	128 Bit
				Count of performance levels : 1
						Level 0
							GPU Clock	550 MHz
							Memory Clock	400 MHz
							Shader Clock	1350 MHz

 

[aspleme]

Not sure without looking up, but if it has HDMI output, it should be able to send sound over it. Open your NVidia Control Panel (If you aren't sure how, right click on the desktop. It should be an option there.) Under Display, first check options under Change Resolution. You need to make sure the Connector is set to HDMI - HDTV (Audio Enabled) It may not have selected that option by default. Next, go to Set up digital audio (still under Display options). Select Change Windows Sound Settings and make sure that your TV is set to the default option. That should fix your lack of audio.

Can't really advise on shopping for the others since I'm across the Pond in the Colonies, but it should be easy to get a screen that has enough inputs that you shouldn't require a splitter. These days, it would almost be harder not to have a screen with enough input options.

 

[deanlaing12]

Not sure without looking up, but if it has HDMI output, it should be able to send sound over it. Open your NVidia Control Panel (If you aren't sure how, right click on the desktop. It should be an option there.) Under Display, first check options under Change Resolution. You need to make sure the Connector is set to HDMI - HDTV (Audio Enabled) It may not have selected that option by default. Next, go to Set up digital audio (still under Display options). Select Change Windows Sound Settings and make sure that your TV is set to the default option. That should fix your lack of audio.

Can't really advise on shopping for the others since I'm across the Pond in the Colonies, but it should be easy to get a screen that has enough inputs that you shouldn't require a splitter. These days, it would almost be harder not to have a screen with enough input options.

Thanks anyhow. And i guessss my pc can't send sounds through hdmi, i see no option for that.

 

[Arris]

Hello fellow Scot.
Just to clarify...

- You wish to connect the PC, Xbox360 and laptop to a 1920x1080P display? Or just laptop(aka PC) and Xbox?
- You are going to be playing CoD:MW3 on the Xbox? (Doubt the 9500 GT would give you very good framerates at 1920x1080).

From what I remember the original Xbox 360 only supported HD resolutions over HDMI (Xbox 360 Elite), which means if you have an HDMI output from the PC and the Xbox you'll need a monitor/TV with at least 2 x HDMI. Personally I have PS3 and PC hooked up to a 24" gaming monitor and use headphones plugged into the headphone socket of the monitor for the sound output. A good pair of headphones will be more in your budget than a decent HIFI for sound output. But it's up to you. For sound you could look for a cheap surround sound unit that takes multiple inputs. I used a coaxial digitial output from my PC and optical output from PS3 into a surround sound amp. Logitech (http://www.logitech.com/en-gb/speakers-audio/home-pc-speakers/devices/211) and some other manufacturers makes some fairly cheap sound systems which can be used for PC and consoles, and any other audio source. Just not sure how many inputs they have. If you can get the sound coming through the HDMI you could just connect the output of the Monitor/TV to the surround sound system, otherwise you'll have to look at more expensive speaker systems with multiple inputs.

Looks like the 9500 GT should support HDMI audio output ( http://www.nvidia.com/object/product_geforce_9500gt_us.html ), if so that should be all you need. Check you have the latest drivers for the video card from Nvidia. Check your PC's sound settings. I see "AMD HDMI Audio" or similar in the list of playback devices and select that in the system sound settings to get the output over the HDMI from the video card working correctly.

I generally buy stuff from Amazon, overclockers.co.uk, scan.co.uk and haven't had any problems in the past. Depending where you in Scotland I've had dealings with Kustompc.co.uk in Ayr ( http://www.kustompcs.co.uk/acatalog/Desktop_Monitors.html ) and some of the independent computer stores in Aberdeen, but generally for a wider selection of gear I go online.

 

[deanlaing12]

Hello fellow Scot.
Just to clarify...

- You wish to connect the PC, Xbox360 and laptop to a 1920x1080P display? Or just laptop(aka PC) and Xbox?
- You are going to be playing CoD:MW3 on the Xbox? (Doubt the 9500 GT would give you very good framerates at 1920x1080).

From what I remember the original Xbox 360 only supported HD resolutions over HDMI (Xbox 360 Elite), which means if you have an HDMI output from the PC and the Xbox you'll need a monitor/TV with at least 2 x HDMI. Personally I have PS3 and PC hooked up to a 24" gaming monitor and use headphones plugged into the headphone socket of the monitor for the sound output. A good pair of headphones will be more in your budget than a decent HIFI for sound output. But it's up to you. For sound you could look for a cheap surround sound unit that takes multiple inputs. I used a coaxial digitial output from my PC and optical output from PS3 into a surround sound amp. Logitech (http://www.logitech.com/en-gb/speakers-audio/home-pc-speakers/devices/211) and some other manufacturers makes some fairly cheap sound systems which can be used for PC and consoles, and any other audio source. Just not sure how many inputs they have. If you can get the sound coming through the HDMI you could just connect the output of the Monitor/TV to the surround sound system, otherwise you'll have to look at more expensive speaker systems with multiple inputs.

Looks like the 9500 GT should support HDMI audio output ( http://www.nvidia.com/object/product_geforce_9500gt_us.html ), if so that should be all you need. Check you have the latest drivers for the video card from Nvidia. Check your PC's sound settings. I see "AMD HDMI Audio" or similar in the list of playback devices and select that in the system sound settings to get the output over the HDMI from the video card working correctly.

I generally buy stuff from Amazon, overclockers.co.uk, scan.co.uk and haven't had any problems in the past. Depending where you in Scotland I've had dealings with Kustompc.co.uk in Ayr ( http://www.kustompcs.co.uk/acatalog/Desktop_Monitors.html ) and some of the independent computer stores in Aberdeen, but generally for a wider selection of gear I go online.

Thanks a lot.

Im hooking up my xbox and pc "TOWER" to the monitor. I might also hook up my laptop to play windows game since it's overall much better than my pc. It has hdmi out too.

I can't use a headset with two speakers since my attention is needed elsware a lot. So, a nice hi-fi might do the trick. Cash Converters are normaly good.

My graphics card looks similar but not that one. My graphics card was made... a while ago, before windows 7. It's the same stuff but it only has, DVI, VGA and hdmi out. Due to it being made before windows 7,i doubt it carrys the sound. The link you gave me didn't state anything about sound ether.

If the hdmi out on the graphics cant carry audio then i might just stick with vga for the pc. I haver a dvi to vga i might experiment with to test the diffrence.

I will deffinatly look into the list of websites you provided, especially if they are in the uk.

And i have the latest xbox model so hd shouldn't be a problem.... i hope!

 

[klepto12]

um just insure you have the lattest video card drivers with the audio driver included for that card.