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Gaming through laptop, capture card question
By Gibble00 on 18/07/2008
Okay, here's the situation, next semester I'm off to college. I'm not too crazy about my 360 anymore but it'd be nice to have, ya know, Gears 2.
I don't have a TV to bring with me, and neither does my roommate. If I felt like I needed my 360 I'd get a small, cheap TV but I don't feel like dropping $150+ to continue with it.
However, I will have a laptop with a nice ass screen, 17" (1920x1200). That's a question that gets asked a lot, how to play through a laptop.
As far as I know the only answer is a capture card (tell me if I'm wrong) but that comes with a slight delay in the video (correct?). Anyone here use a capture card or know of anyone who does? Are there any out on the market that have virtually no lag?
It's either that or nothing I guess, any advice or info is helpful.
I don't have a TV to bring with me, and neither does my roommate. If I felt like I needed my 360 I'd get a small, cheap TV but I don't feel like dropping $150+ to continue with it.
However, I will have a laptop with a nice ass screen, 17" (1920x1200). That's a question that gets asked a lot, how to play through a laptop.
As far as I know the only answer is a capture card (tell me if I'm wrong) but that comes with a slight delay in the video (correct?). Anyone here use a capture card or know of anyone who does? Are there any out on the market that have virtually no lag?
It's either that or nothing I guess, any advice or info is helpful.
By Georgio9 on 20/07/2008
Pretty much that's the way it is. Get a nice LCD monitor or something if you're going to get a TV. That way you can dual screen which is amazingly handy I found for doing things like lab reports, movies, games, showing things to friends. Thats what I pretty much used mine for.
By Sum-41xx on 21/07/2008
| QUOTE (Georgio9 @ July 20, 2008 08:51 pm) |
| Pretty much that's the way it is. Get a nice LCD monitor or something if you're going to get a TV. That way you can dual screen which is amazingly handy I found for doing things like lab reports, movies, games, showing things to friends. Thats what I pretty much used mine for. |
Yeah
+1.
I just recently got a multiscreen set up. And I found that Monitors actually get more expensive than TV's once you hit about 22-24". So I was at Bestbuy and bought a 26" TV (with a VGA port of course
) and payed $400 instead of $800 for a Monitor. By JC on 21/07/2008
A dell LCD is way less than $800 US, my current 22" LCD (widescreen obviously) is ~$400 NZ (1 NZD = 0.75 USD) so you would be looking at less than 300 USD for a 22" and realisticall a max of 400 for a 24".
I have a cable to rig my 360 onto it too, and it looks incredible, dont forget that VGA is a type of high defenition format so I can run my 360 at 1680 x 1050 (so just below 1080p) which is nice, however I imagine that you could get a screen with 1920 x 1200 for marginally more than that.
Here is the 2008 version of my screen:
http://accessories.us.dell.com/sna/product...19&sku=320-5205
$249 USD is not bad at all tbh
If you wish to spend a little more:
http://accessories.us.dell.com/sna/product...19&sku=320-6095
24" widescreen with 1920 x 1200 res, $379
Also do not forget that your laptop will still have to be able to run it if you intend to go down this route. Its no good buying a large screen and then finding that your laptop is going to struggle to run it, so you would want your laptop to have a 7600 or better if you were to use it with that.
I have a cable to rig my 360 onto it too, and it looks incredible, dont forget that VGA is a type of high defenition format so I can run my 360 at 1680 x 1050 (so just below 1080p) which is nice, however I imagine that you could get a screen with 1920 x 1200 for marginally more than that.
Here is the 2008 version of my screen:
http://accessories.us.dell.com/sna/product...19&sku=320-5205
$249 USD is not bad at all tbh
If you wish to spend a little more:
http://accessories.us.dell.com/sna/product...19&sku=320-6095
24" widescreen with 1920 x 1200 res, $379
Also do not forget that your laptop will still have to be able to run it if you intend to go down this route. Its no good buying a large screen and then finding that your laptop is going to struggle to run it, so you would want your laptop to have a 7600 or better if you were to use it with that.
By Gibble00 on 21/07/2008
Thanks for the info guys. I really wasn't looking to spend much money, a capture card would of been cheap. I could afford a monitor but it seems like it might be a little excessive at this point, I might go with out my 360 at first and see how badly I want it.
By RobbieThe1st on 21/07/2008
Well, the problem with TVs is that they are low-resolution. a 30-inch TV, even a LCD tv, is NOT the same thing as a 30-inch computer LCD. Sure, it may have the same amount of actual size, but not the same number of pixels - I once looked at a 52 inch TV, and it was only 1024X768 resolution. That is the same as a 15-inch LCD monitor.
It may look ok, and may work, but its not going to be as sharp as you are used to, and you may have to sit back farther from it for it to look sharp.
Personally, I would get a 24-inch LCD monitor, one with VGA, DVI, as well as S-video, and composite(HDMI might be nice also). These are actually common enough - we have a Gateway one that has all that(Don't have the model numbers handy, sorry). If you are spending several hundred for a large LCD monitor, you want something that can not only display all sorts of analog signals, including VGA for your laptop(most laptops don't have a DVI, at least, the ones I have seen. Newer ones may). You also want it to support digital signals, which are superior, and so you want DVI for when you want to hook it up to your desktop, and HDMI for hi-def console gaming and such.
-RobbieThe1st
It may look ok, and may work, but its not going to be as sharp as you are used to, and you may have to sit back farther from it for it to look sharp.
Personally, I would get a 24-inch LCD monitor, one with VGA, DVI, as well as S-video, and composite(HDMI might be nice also). These are actually common enough - we have a Gateway one that has all that(Don't have the model numbers handy, sorry). If you are spending several hundred for a large LCD monitor, you want something that can not only display all sorts of analog signals, including VGA for your laptop(most laptops don't have a DVI, at least, the ones I have seen. Newer ones may). You also want it to support digital signals, which are superior, and so you want DVI for when you want to hook it up to your desktop, and HDMI for hi-def console gaming and such.
-RobbieThe1st
By Sum-41xx on 21/07/2008
| QUOTE (RobbieThe1st @ July 21, 2008 04:36 am) |
| Well, the problem with TVs is that they are low-resolution. a 30-inch TV, even a LCD tv, is NOT the same thing as a 30-inch computer LCD. Sure, it may have the same amount of actual size, but not the same number of pixels - I once looked at a 52 inch TV, and it was only 1024X768 resolution. That is the same as a 15-inch LCD monitor. It may look ok, and may work, but its not going to be as sharp as you are used to, and you may have to sit back farther from it for it to look sharp. Personally, I would get a 24-inch LCD monitor, one with VGA, DVI, as well as S-video, and composite(HDMI might be nice also). These are actually common enough - we have a Gateway one that has all that(Don't have the model numbers handy, sorry). If you are spending several hundred for a large LCD monitor, you want something that can not only display all sorts of analog signals, including VGA for your laptop(most laptops don't have a DVI, at least, the ones I have seen. Newer ones may). You also want it to support digital signals, which are superior, and so you want DVI for when you want to hook it up to your desktop, and HDMI for hi-def console gaming and such. -RobbieThe1st |
I'm using a 26" TV on my PC and a 19" LCD Monitor. And I can easily say that the TV actually looks better for gaming.
By RobbieThe1st on 21/07/2008
| QUOTE (Sum-41xx @ July 21, 2008 01:21 pm) | ||
I'm using a 26" TV on my PC and a 19" LCD Monitor. And I can easily say that the TV actually looks better for gaming. |
And, what are the resolutions on both?
By Sum-41xx on 22/07/2008
1360x765 on the TV and 1024x768 on the monitor.
By Georgio9 on 23/07/2008
I have a Samsung 226bw, it's a 22" screen with 1680x1050 resolution. Also has the 2ms response time and 3000:1 contrast.
Picked it up for $250 on boxing day and it's amazing for gaming. Ultra quick refresh rate hasn't shown any blur that is common with other monitors and LCD tv's when watching anything with quick movement and it has an amazing image display to it.
Robbie, the mid to high end laptops are now coming with DVI's instead of VGA. Some will even have the HDMI port on them. I know the dell XPS laptops do, not sure what else though.
Picked it up for $250 on boxing day and it's amazing for gaming. Ultra quick refresh rate hasn't shown any blur that is common with other monitors and LCD tv's when watching anything with quick movement and it has an amazing image display to it.
Robbie, the mid to high end laptops are now coming with DVI's instead of VGA. Some will even have the HDMI port on them. I know the dell XPS laptops do, not sure what else though.
By RobbieThe1st on 23/07/2008
| QUOTE (Sum-41xx @ July 22, 2008 03:22 am) |
| 1360x765 on the TV and 1024x768 on the monitor. |
Honestly... those are horribly low resolutions, for *both*.
A 19 inch should be at least 1280X1024(most 17 and 19 inch LCDs are 1280X1024), and a 26 inch TV with only 1360X765... that's disgusting. If a decent 24" LCD is 1920X1200 native, a 26" one should have *more* pixels, not a whole lot less.
Sure, it may look OK, from a ways back... but gees!
Georgio, nice find! That appears to be a pretty good screen, however upon googling, it appears there may be a quality problem that yours may or may not have: Link. It may or may not affect yours, but if it does, there is some helpful info on that page.
I really didn't know about the newer laptops coming out with DVI ports, but anyway, it doesn't make that much difference - I have not seen a screen with a DVI port and no VGA port. Still, that is good news.
As a note, I have a Samsung 713B - Its a *decent* screen. It does have a couple of problems - its only a 18-bit screen, and so uses static dithering to make up the extra colors. This means that, for most colors, there is a noticeable sub-color pattern(checkerboard-like). But, it does have DVI and is a 1280X1024 screen, which is why I bought it. (Also, the backlight inverter died on me, and parts are not available, so I used a couple of CCL case lighting inverters instead).
-RobbieThe1st
By Sum-41xx on 24/07/2008
| QUOTE (RobbieThe1st @ July 23, 2008 08:25 pm) | ||
Honestly... those are horribly low resolutions, for *both*. A 19 inch should be at least 1280X1024(most 17 and 19 inch LCDs are 1280X1024), and a 26 inch TV with only 1360X765... that's disgusting. If a decent 24" LCD is 1920X1200 native, a 26" one should have *more* pixels, not a whole lot less. Sure, it may look OK, from a ways back... but gees! Georgio, nice find! That appears to be a pretty good screen, however upon googling, it appears there may be a quality problem that yours may or may not have: Link. It may or may not affect yours, but if it does, there is some helpful info on that page. I really didn't know about the newer laptops coming out with DVI ports, but anyway, it doesn't make that much difference - I have not seen a screen with a DVI port and no VGA port. Still, that is good news. As a note, I have a Samsung 713B - Its a *decent* screen. It does have a couple of problems - its only a 18-bit screen, and so uses static dithering to make up the extra colors. This means that, for most colors, there is a noticeable sub-color pattern(checkerboard-like). But, it does have DVI and is a 1280X1024 screen, which is why I bought it. (Also, the backlight inverter died on me, and parts are not available, so I used a couple of CCL case lighting inverters instead). -RobbieThe1st |
I'm using a dual display robby, I'd like them to be proportional in size considering I use them as a landscape view type.
By Georgio9 on 25/07/2008
| QUOTE (RobbieThe1st @ July 23, 2008 08:25 pm) |
| Georgio, nice find! That appears to be a pretty good screen, however upon googling, it appears there may be a quality problem that yours may or may not have: Link. It may or may not affect yours, but if it does, there is some helpful info on that page. |
Wow I actually didn't know about that at all. I checked out the tag on mine and there was no marking of an "A" or an "S" on it. I also went back into the hidden menu thing and my version appears to be completely different from the affected models to the point where my "Service Function" screen does not even match the ones in the article. I also have not noticed any of the issues listed.
I think the version I have is possibly the next version of that screen series. Working in a high tech firm, I was surprised to learn just how often chips are redesigned. Pretty much the rate is once every 4-6 months things change inside something electronic that you won't see from the outside.
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