Questions about HDMI and gaming

[j1n]

Howdy all gamers

I was curious if there exists any latency if/when you plug in your rig to a TV via HDMI. Im contemplating buying a 32in HDTV with HDMI support so I can play my games in full. Also I understand that TV's dont have as high resolutions as compared to LCD monitors but I am just curious if it would make a very big visual difference, as Im not really a visualphile but I do want my games to look as good as possible! Thanks

j1n

 

[osholt]

If you're buying a good brand of TV and not some obscure chinese knockoff then you shouldn't about 98% have any lag in the display, however there are a few other things you will have to consider.

TV Safe Area
As you are going to use HDMI, your TV may cut off the edges of the screen which in most cases means you can't see the the task bar or other important onscreen things; some TVs don't cut it off at all, some have a built in correction system to compensate for it but many for TVs there is no way round this problem.
My advice to you would be to read some reviews and if possible go into a shop and see if does sufferer from this problem.

Workload
Gaming at 720p, 1080i or 1080p can be very demanding on your CPU and GPU, this will most likely not be a problem for you, you're PC seams to be capable of doing this however there is a small chance that running everything at the highest detail will cause the frame rate to slow down.

Quality over Quantity
TVs are designed to be viewed from a distance and look good from a distance where as Windows 7 is designed to be viewed up close with a high pixel density screen, this carries over to most games as well.
I would seriously consider looking at a smaller HD monitor, possibly a 22" one which can achieve 1080p. HannsG make excellent HD monitors which are sleek, reliable and relatively cheap. A 32" monitor would have to achieve a huge resolution to maintain the quality of the 22" one.

I hope this is of any use to you.

Oli

 

[j1n]

If you're buying a good brand of TV and not some obscure chinese knockoff then you shouldn't about 98% have any lag in the display, however there are a few other things you will have to consider.

TV Safe Area
As you are going to use HDMI, your TV may cut off the edges of the screen which in most cases means you can't see the the task bar or other important onscreen things; some TVs don't cut it off at all, some have a built in correction system to compensate for it but many for TVs there is no way round this problem.
My advice to you would be to read some reviews and if possible go into a shop and see if does sufferer from this problem.

Workload
Gaming at 720p, 1080i or 1080p can be very demanding on your CPU and GPU, this will most likely not be a problem for you, you're PC seams to be capable of doing this however there is a small chance that running everything at the highest detail will cause the frame rate to slow down.

Quality over Quantity
TVs are designed to be viewed from a distance and look good from a distance where as Windows 7 is designed to be viewed up close with a high pixel density screen, this carries over to most games as well.
I would seriously consider looking at a smaller HD monitor, possibly a 22" one which can achieve 1080p. HannsG make excellent HD monitors which are sleek, reliable and relatively cheap. A 32" monitor would have to achieve a huge resolution to maintain the quality of the 22" one.

I hope this is of any use to you.

Oli

Thanks Oli

That answered alot of my questions, as I am stationed at a job here in China I was almost considering to buy a Chinese brand, but Im glad I posted here and asked about this before making a decision. I'll just spend some extra bucks and by a Sharp or a LG as their are trusted brands.

I have a Qosmion x505-q860 lappie that has a Nvidia GTS360m video card, hopefully this thing can put up with the task load thats coming its way.

The reason why I want a 32 inch is because a 22inch wouldnt be that much of an upgrade from my 18inch laptop (its a beast I know), and I want to put the TV at the foot of my bed on top of an armoire so I can play games, watch movies, surf the net all from the comfort of my bed with a wireless keyboard/mouse combo.

Once again thanks for your input, was very knowledgeable.

j1n

 

[osholt]

Hi again I'm glad I could help you, thanks for the compliment

The chances are you already know all this stuff by now but it's just my policy to give this explanation to all new members I help about marking threads as solved etc.

To the top right of this post you will see 3 icons. An orange (+), a set of scales and a red and white warning triangle.

The orange (+) or blue (-) denotes whether a user is on or offline (orange = on, blue = off).

The scales are used to give rep points; click this button if someone has helped you significantly or solved your queries (only give this to posts that you think really deserve it).

The red and white warning triangle is used to denote either an abusive post OR to mark a thread as solved (just put solved in the box that comes up and the admins or moderators will mark it solved).

Best wishes.

Oli

 

[Heroxoot]

Just be sure to have enough Vram to keep up with it. Bigger res means more Vram rape.

 

[j1n]

Another question I have is am I able to chose where my audio source is? I want to use the HDMI for video and still use the stock sound card on my laptop to out put to the speakers. Just wondering if that was possible

 

[Everlong]

Yea you can. In Windows, just right click on the speaker icon on your task bar, click "playback devices" and just set the sound source you want as default, and you'll be good to go.

 

[Heroxoot]

Yea you can. In Windows, just right click on the speaker icon on your task bar, click "playback devices" and just set the sound source you want as default, and you'll be good to go.

For the record, it should show as "digital audio" or something.