Help 360 setup for a friend with 24"dell

A

apcor

Limp Gawd
Joined
Feb 24, 2005
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455
Was wondering if somone here can help. Have a gamer friend who's rig is way too old and he does not have the cash to upgrade to anything decent. I suggested he give in and get a 360 but he would have to hook it up to his dell 24 inch monitor. The monitor was one of the first 24' dells to be released (got it like 3-4 years ago) so I am not sure what inputs he has, also I am pretty sure it is native 1920x1200 so I am thinking he needs the HDMI cables. Can someone recommend the right 360 package or the cheapest way he can pull this off to get the 360 up and running?


Thanks
 
The 2405 has VGA, Component, and composite inputs in addition to DVI. Assuming he gets a 360 with HDMI output, he can use the 2405 with a DVI--> HDMI cable (or a DVI-->HDMI adapter). However, assuming he is running his 2405 over DVI currently, he will not be able to use the HDMI output of the 360 unless he is willing to either manually switch the cable inputs every time he goes from the PC to the 360, or purchase a DVI (or HDMI) switch.

I run my 360 to my 2405 over component and at 1080i, there is no noticeable difference vs. HDMI at 1080p. This allows me to switch sources simply by pushing a button on the 2405. From what I understand (and someone please correct me if I am wrong), 1080i on a 1080p-capable screen should be practically identical in terms of IQ, with the exception that 1080i will be limited to 30FPS (which should be a non-issue with the 360). Any differences in quality would result mainly from analog vs. digital, which will be influenced by cable quality, interference, and the analog-->digital converter of the monitor.

Your friend will also need a means to hook up the audio output of the 360 to get sound. The S-Video, VGA and component (but NOT the composite) 360 cables have a port for digital-out via TOSLink, which may be used if one has a DAC capable of accepting TOSLink. Otherwise, he can use the analog RCA ouptuts to hook up to a receiver (may need extension cables). If he wishes to use the HDMI output of the 360 with a non-360 HDMI cable, he will need to crack open the case of his stock 360 cable so that both connectors will fit. This will allow for video over HDMI, while the XBox cable supplies audio.

My recommendation, if he has a stand-alone DAC or receiver that can accept TOSLink, is to eBay a component or VGA 360 cable ($10 shipped) and purchase a TOSLink cable (~$8-10 at monoprice.com, depending on length) for digital audio. I have the digital audio of the 360 running into a desktop DAC (Entech 203.2), and then to my headphone amp, so I can use headphones while playing. My DAC accepts both standard optical (from PC sound card) and TOSLink audio (360), so pushing a button on the DAC and another button on the 2405 allows me to switch to PC audio and video, respectively. If he wants HDMI, monoprice carries DVI-->HDMI cables for <$10; he could then eBay a 360 S-Video, Component, or VGA cable (for audio), crack the cable's case open, and plug it in alongside the HDMI cable.
 
Thanks dawza,

Almost there, lost me on DAC & TOS (whats that?) and the sound part. Other than that I think you are saying all he needs is a 360 basic package correct?
 
DAC = digital to analog converter. Takes digital info and converts to analog; you need one if you want to actually hear sound from a digital source. Modern receivers should have an input (or inputs) for digital audio, either using a coaxial (RCA) or optical (TOSLink) input.

More info here:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SPDIF

The basic XBox system (the Core system) has been replaced by the Arcade version. The Core did not have HDMI-out, while the Arcade does. I think later versions of the Core can put out 1080p over VGA; the Arcade does 1080p over VGA or HDMI. The Core and Arcade come with a composite cable, which is good for 480p only. The composite cables are limited to analog sound over RCA connectors as well. If he purchases an Arcade and wants to run >480p, he will need the XBox component, VGA, or HDMI cables.

Assuming he wants to use the HDMI-out without paying $40 for the proprietary Xbox HDMI cable (which provides output for audio), he will need to modify (remove) the casing of another Xbox cable. This is because the casing for the XBox cables are too thick to allow one to plug in a normal HDMI cable in tandem with the XBox cable; while HDMI carries sound, if your friend wants to use the 2405 as a display, he will not be able to take advantage of this.

Using any of the other XBox cables would be easier, as he could then use the standard analog or digital sound output directly on the cable.
 
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