Which Graphics card for LCD TV???

[LouisM]

hi there everyone, im building myself a new computer and want to incorporate my LG 32inch HD TV, it has the HDMI/DVI ports at the back... my question is, will it be possible to use this tv as my monitor? will it be good enough and lastly which graphics card would i use to have a good resolution?
Many thanks in advance
Louis

 

[LouisM]

the model number is LG 32LX2R.. hope this helps

Thanks

 

[jaguarskx]

You can use it as your PC monitor, but text will not be as crisp as if you were to use a regular LCD monitor for your PC. It's basically due to pixel size and spacing in between each pixel.

That particular HDTV is 720p which means it's maximum resolution is 1366 x 768. If you are looking for a 1080p (1920 x 1080) then you need to look elsewhere. LCD 1080p HDTV usually starts at 37", but I think I saw specs for a handful for fairly recent LCD HDTV that are 32".

Because of the relatively low resolution of 720p you should get pretty good performance with a Radeon HD 4670 or GeForce 9600GT. They have similar overall performance, but some say 9600GT is just slightly faster. The HD 4670 uses 47w of power while the 9600GT uses 60w of power.

I have the 9600GT in my HTPC and I can play Fallout 3 @ 1920 x 1080 with medium graphics quality under DX9 at good frame rates (I never measured it though). Had ATI release the HD 4670 at roughly the same time as the 9600GT, I would have gone for the HD 4670 instead.

 

[LouisM]

thanks jaguar for the quick reply.. glad i can use the tv for a monitor.. 2 questions if u dont mind..
1-would i use the hdmi or the DVI port?
2-would the ATI RADEON HD 4830/4850 be a good graphics card to use?

Thanks again

 

[jaguarskx]

1. You can use either DVI or HDMI. HDMI carries both audio and video signals to the HDTV. I believe all current ATI cards have a built-in audio processor. GeForce card do not so you need a pass-through cable that connects to the on-board audio or separate audio card.

Note: A few people report problems when using an HDTV as a monitor such as not being able to select native resolution or the desktop "does not fit on the screen" (or "too big for the screen").

2. The HD 4830 is good too and so is the 4850. The HD 4850 is overkill for 720p, but should you decide to upgrade to a 1080p HDTV monitor in the future, then you may still be able too use the HD 4850. Wait too long and your "overkill" GPU maybe obsolete as newer versions of DirectX are released and as more games become GPU hungry.

 

[LouisM]

my main aim is to watch movies from the desktop.. i dont really play games on the desktop as i use my xbox360.. would the 4830 produce a good Hi Def picture or will there be greater difference using the 4850..
thanks again.

 

[meodowla]

It'll be o.k with HD4830(If you really mean, just watching videos).

 

[jaguarskx]

If all you are gonna do is watch movies then simply get the HD 4650; HD 4670 or the 9600GT if you think you are going to play a game.

All three tie in first place for video playback quality.

http://www.xbitlabs.com/articles/video/display/media-playback_6.html#sect0

 

[RetiredChief]

+1 to jaguarskx
Reference Connection, If you are planning on a Blu-ray player (or writer) for your computer you will need to use the DVI to HDMI cable. This is due to that DMI crap.

I'm using a samsung 24 " Monitor/HDTV with a ati 4870 card and it works great. As jaguarski indicated you can use a lower end GPU unless you plan on upgrading to 1080 in the near future.

Have to go to work

 

[LouisM]

If all you are gonna do is watch movies then simply get the HD 4650; HD 4670 or the 9600GT if you think you are going to play a game.

All three tie in first place for video playback quality.

http://www.xbitlabs.com/articles/video/display/media-playback_6.html#sect0

great link there jaguar... thanks very much.. but now u have given me more options for a GPU lol.. its all too confusing.. what would u go for if u were in my position???.. like i said before just watching movies and tv shows that have been downloaded and browsing the net that ill be doing..

 

[jaguarskx]

I have the 9600GT in my HTPC. Had ATI released the HD 4670 at the same time the 9600GT was in the market, I most likely would have bought it instead of the 9600GT because the HD 4670 uses 13w less than the 9600GT.

Gaming wise both those cards are more or less similar and my HTPC would be my backup gaming PC should my primary PC crash.

 

[LouisM]

i just bought the HIS HD 4850 IceQ 4 512MB GDDR3 Dual DVI HDCP HDTV out PCI-E Graphics Card.. i think this will do a good job eh

 

[LouisM]

what cable would i need to purchase to connect the graphics card to my tv btw?

 

[smokin221]

what cable would i need to purchase to connect the graphics card to my tv btw?

before purchasing make sure that your package doent contain the cable my last 2 cards have had hdmi cables included and the last one even had a dvi to hdmi adapter so check contents of order and if no cable is included then youll need a hdmi or a dvi to hdmi cable and as for the people that say they cant set resolution right its true but the fix is in the tv and mine and my friends both had an option to accept full resolution mine on my sony is called full pixel and as for blurry text as for me at 1080p there is no blurry text whatsoever and a worthy choice on the card

 

[RetiredChief]

I don't think you would see a difference between using DVI -> DVI and a DVI -> HDMI cable at a resolution of 720P.

Do you/ will you have another need for the HDMI input, such as a cable box, or a stand-alone Blu-ray (or a stand-alone DVD with upconvert) that will require/use the HDMI input If so your choise is limited to the DVI -> DVI.

I believe you have Composite and S-video inputs also for other devices. Some video cards come with a DVI to HDMI adaptor. This is what I am using, Not the best solution but it was free with my Video card.

As I stated above, I'm using the DVI (w/converter) to HDMI. Waiting till I visit my son as he has several DVI -> HDMI cables laying around that he will give me.

My setup
Samsung T240HD HDTV Monitor Connected as follows:
Computer, Conneted to HDMI #1
Liteon DVD recorder (w/cable input) to Composite Video in
Indoor HD antenna connected to antenna in

Reason I'm using the computer connected to the Monitor HDMI input is that I have a Blu-ray recorder in my computer. Vista/video playback requires it, other wise I would have gone with DVI -> DVI

Smokin221 - His native resolution is as jaguarskx stated, 1366 by 768. The TV is 720P/1080i (no 1080P). I agree with jaguarskx that he will not see a difference between using DVI or HDMI.

My current monitor is 1920 x 1080 and is 1080P. With my old 22" TV (720P), there was no difference, Not sure with my new one, don't think I tried the DVI->DVI as internal Blu-ray Writer would not play a Blu-ray disk without using DVI->HDMI unless I wanted to install Anydvd (Which I have, and use when I boot in to XP.

 

[LouisM]

Retiredchief.... will the DVI - HDMI also carry sound? same goes for DVI - DVI?

 

[RetiredChief]

Yes

 

[LouisM]

any brand i should go for in particular?

 

[RetiredChief]

Have not bought many, mare more than I need, or If I don't have my son does.
About the only cable I did buy was a Cables unlimited HDMI->HDMI from newegg.
CANT stand the "downTown" prices. I most cases the cheaper ones work fine.
Just look at newegg reviews

For DVI->DVI
www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.aspx?Submit=ENE&N=2010010001%20117752965&name=DVI

For HDMI
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.aspx?Submit=ENE&N=2104300697%20117752939&name=HDMI

 

[Guest]

Hi dude,

Recently I bought a new comp (assembled)
COnfiguration
Motherboard intel 41ty
ram 2gb DDR2 transcend
processor inter core2 duo 2.8 ghz
monitor LG 17inch
graphics card 1gb palit (to be specific GF9400 GT 1024M DDR2 128B CRT DVI HDMI)

Everything is Ok, except that with out graphics card system is working cool But as soon as I add/connect graphics card to the motherborad my LCD monitor does display anything (although it switches on) it just goes to sleeping mode saying that "no signal, check the signal cable" from CPU. I looked of there was any problem with power supply to graphics card. But fan is running fine. When I purchased the guy who assembled it connect the systm with a CRT monitor. Then it worked fine, with graphics card. But it's not working. Is it due to graphics card is compatible with only CRT screen or something like that. Please suggest.

 

[Guest]

I have Panasonic 32" HDTV 720p
can i use it with games with HD resolution with GF9400 ???