[Xbox360] I've decided to buy an EVO monitor but I have a few questions before I do

Tech Talk
1

Hey all,

I finally decided that its time I replace my old ass Samsung SyncMaster 940BW with a brand new monitor(ASUS vh236h). I’ve decided to get the EVO monitor since I’ve heard so many positive opinions about it. I currently play my Xbox360 with my old LCD through a 3rd party Xbox360 VGA cable w/ adapters to use my headphones as well.

What I would like to know is, does playing through an HDMI cable still keep the input lag minimal (close to lag-less) or would I have to keep using my VGA cables?

Also, I understand that the EVO monitor(ASUS vh236h) has speakers that can be used to play the game’s sound. Would I be able to hook my headphones up to the monitor or HDMI cables like I did with the VGA cables or would I be stuck with using the crappy monitor speakers to hear any sound that’s outputted by the Xbox360?

Last question; would any old HDMI be good to use or do you receive a better quality picture with the more expensive and higher quality HDMI cables that they sell?

That’s all, thanks for any help!

2

It’s not really the HDMI that matters in this case. Most people use EVO monitors via HDMI, from what I understand. You should turn on game mode while playing. That’s what allows the monitor to become so “lagless,” because all of the post-processing is taken away. I do realize that VGA is often considered superior to HDMI/DVI, but I think that’s in the case of LCD TVs which suffer a lot of post-processing.

Not sure about the headphones. You should just be able to hook them up into the monitor if there is a jack.

As for the HDMI cables, any cable will do. While I’ve heard a select few claim that higher priced cables provide better quality, most people shoot this theory down. In my personal experience, a cable from MonoPrice or a Best Buy Rocketfish HDMI cable is just the same as a high end Monster Cable.

3

Word so the gaming mode makes HDMI viable, that’s exactly what I needed to hear. I’ve also heard that any cable will do with the HDMI a long time ago, but I wanted to make sure that it was correct.

Thanks man

4

NP. Others here would probably be able to give you way better information than I would, though. Most of my knowledge of PC Monitors VS LCD TV’s comes from browsing the AVS forums and personal experience. I’ve only recently made the connections with fighting games and lag, so that’s why I looked all this stuff up in the first place.

Also, I think you are supposed to make the ratio aspect 4:3. That’s supposed to help also.

5

on the ps3 you can set the option to just have the video output be hdmi, and you can select audio thru the A/V cables that normally come with the system. i dont have a 360 with hdmi input, but you can check and see if the 360 has options like that in settings, or something.

6

Yeah, I’ve never really had the experience of messing around with this. For me, I use my Tritton AX720 headset when I’m playing games, and that’s hooked up via 360 Optical/AV dongle.

7

You can use the monitor for audio with HDMI. I have been for weeks and it’s fine. I don’t necessarily care about how good SF4 sounds like as long as I can hear the punches hit :stuck_out_tongue: You can also use the 360 audio adapter for separate speakers or just plug in your headphone underneath the monitor.

8

Well, and I know this is quite the noob thing to ask, but why get a monitor over a nice sized HDTV or Digital Display? Is it because the price is so much better or the picture better (or both)? The size doesn’t matter to me, since I’m only 4 to 5 feet away from the screen anyway.

9

It’s the lag. LCD TV’s lag a lot on fighters. So people who are really good and have all the timing down in fighting games can get screwed up by the lag of LCD TV’s. Personally, I don’t understand basing your entire TV experience around one video game, but I think many people here buy the EVO monitor or something similar in addition to LCD TV’s for everything else.

10

4:3 helps the lag?

11

Though I don’t have any first-hand experience with the evo monitor, it’s been stated many times in the HD TV thread that game mode on the evo monitor is just color presets. Most monitors don’t have the shitton of post-processing crap in them that TVs do.

And no, you should not set an evo monitor to 4:3… its native res is not 4:3.

12

I didn’t think that either! Because the 360 just outputs based on your TV or monitor. But as I said, a lot of my info comes secondhand through the internet. So maybe I shouldn’t have said anything in the first place, lol.

13
  1. I haven’t seen or heard of anyone testing Xbox360 vga cables versus HDMI: I’d be curious to know the answer myself, but I can say for sure that the setups at Evo used HDMI, as do most folks who use the monitor. I don’t know for sure whether HDMI or VGA was used for the latency tests. Frankly, use HDMI and don’t sweat it.
  2. There are built in speakers and a headphone jack. There is also an audio-in jack. If you use HDMI, the audio will come in over the HDMI; if you use VGA or DVI connections, the audio would have to come in through the audio-in jack. Again, use HDMI.
  3. Get the cheapest HDMI cable you can find that is category 2 certified.
    http://www.monoprice.com/products/product.asp?c_id=102&cp_id=10240&cs_id=1024008&p_id=6078&seq=1&format=2
    Especially at short lengths, non-category 2 cables may be able to handle 1080p, but since category 2 certified cables are cheap, might as well go ahead and get ones that are certain to work at 1080p ( and above) .
14

Thanks for the info man. Thats exactly what I needed to know.

Well, I’m in the market for a monitor because I play my xbox 360 at my computer desk and share the monitor with my PC. So I have my PC linked to the monitor via DVI and my xbox on VGA. Thats why I’m buying a monitor instead of a TV. Also its way cheaper than a good TV.

Thanks for the info, you’ve answered all of my questions precisely. Thanks for the link too! I’m buying that cable asap.

15

I will be ordering one of these this week and would be glad to post back with what I think of it. I’m going to be using it for PC/PS3 but mostly the latter.

16

Evo Monitor Settings:

What settings does Evo use for this monitor? Does Evo play the game @ 1080p or at 1650x1080?

Thanks

17

you cannot change the settings on the monitor, just the system itself.

If using PS3, the game will only output to 720p and that is what Evo uses.

18

I’ve heard rumors that you shouldn’t play on a higher/lower resolution than your monitor’s native resolution but mainly for PC games. Right now I’m running it at 1080p, but I haven’t played SF IV or Super SF IV with it yet. Should I put it on 720P for playing Super SF 4 on the Xbox?

19

i play using 1080p on my xbox as well. the reason is, the 360 actually does the upscaling within it’s own hardware so you are not relying on your monitor to upscale anything. that is one factor that introduces lag.

20

So Evo has a 24" 1080p monitor running at 1280x720 for SF4 matches?
Hmmm… I guess it makes sense if the PS3 lags when scaling for higher resolutions than what the game was designed for.