I want to use my TV as a gaming monitor

[Happy_Demon]

Hi, I am really new to computers in general and a freind is building one with me over X-Mas break. Good budget, but don't want to spend much on a nice monitor. Instead, I know I can use a TV as a monitor, but I hear that it is not very good for word processing so many questions:
1) If I have a good new TV (1 year old) will it be ok?
2) Is it much better to buy a really good monitor?
3) What am I looking for if I want to use my TV as a monitor? In terms of video chip etc.

As an alternative to a good alternative, I plan on just buying a dinky little one just for my word processing.

Any other concerns would be appreciated, thanks.

 

[Happy_Demon]

Also, what am I looking for in a Video Chip in general? What makes one good at running games?

 

[Praetor]

I dont reccomend playing on a TV but its your gaming experience. Most video cards nowadays support TVout so you dont have much to buy any fancy hardware really, just plug your TV in and urn with it.

Also, what am I looking for in a Video Chip in general?

I have no idea, it depends on the intent and the pricerange

What makes one good at running games?

Having a big (high quality) display might help but i guess practise really.

 

[Happy_Demon]

I suppose my major intent is for media, games, and writing. Price range would probably depend on how much a video chip matters. If greatly I suppose $200.

Also, does it look fine on a TV? Both the games and word processing?

 

[Greg J.]

TV resolution will be much worse than a computer monitor (unless its a High Definition T.V., you know, like dem plasma things.) So, it won't look as nice on a T.V. When Praetor says hook it up to your (normal) T.V., he means having a video card that has an S-Video output (you know, like a camcorder does). And the TV has an S-Video input. So, for T.V. hook-up, S-Video on Video card, to S-Video on T.V. If that's what you would like (and can do with your T.V.), tell Radio Shack what you need and they will sell you an S-Video cable for probably $10 (and the S-Video adapter will come with the video card you could buy, if not, its probably 50 cents at Radio Shack).

Now, (look inside your computer case) is your current video card (where the monitor plug is) in an AGP slot (brown, darker color, shorter)? If yes, then you could buy an AGP video card for your multi-media and T.V. stuff. If the slot is white, that's a PCI slot (little bit longer, and lighter in color. If that's what you got, then you could buy a PCI video card. Here is a link to newegg, where you can get a POWERFUL ATI Radeon video card (128 MB DDR) for $55 with S-Video out, analog out, and Digital LCD screen out!
http://www.newegg.com/app/manufact.asp?catalog=48&DEPA=1
Look:

 

[Happy_Demon]

So if I don't have a High Definition TV then it won't be worth my while?

 

[Praetor]

I suppose my major intent is for media, games, and writing. Price range would probably depend on how much a video chip matters. If greatly I suppose $200

.
Something like a GeForce6600/6600GT would prolly suit you well

unless its a High Definition T.V., you know, like dem plasma things

Even then, cant quite match some CRT resolutions .. and the dot pitch difference .. *shudder*

So if I don't have a High Definition TV then it won't be worth my while?

Prolly not (especially if you plan to use it for writing)

 

[Greg J.]

Like I said, T.V. resolution ain't good. Praetor, you have once again offered better deals than I (although I try to get a better price-for-purpose).

 

[Cromewell]

I wouldn't want to game on a tv unless it was from a console, the resolution and refresh rates are terrible. Depending on what games, you can probably use last generations video cards, although not as fast or feature loaded as the new stuff they should serve just as well if you don't like gaming with max settings all the time.

 

[Praetor]

Praetor, you have once again offered better deals than I (although I try to get a better price-for-purpose).

Well the 6600 is significantly cheaper than the 5900XT (Newegg tracks on at $120USD) and offers a more robust feature set regardless of the 128bit memory interface. For just over $200 you can grab a 6600GT and be done with it hands down

 

[Happy_Demon]

Okay, thanks for all the help and suggestions. I probably will opt to just get a monitor then, thanks.

 

[Blade]

wouldnt a huge TV have a really pixelated display?

 

[Praetor]

wouldnt a huge TV have a really pixelated display?

1. At 10 feet you wont notice that much
2. Depends on the resolution
3. Yes

 

[Blade]

so if i sat approx 2 feet away, as i am now with my 17", you would literally be able to count the pixels, unless of course you had the res. set at 16000 X 12000 and yes, all the zeros are needed, its not a typo

 

[Praetor]

unless of course you had the res. set at 16000 X 12000 and yes, all the zeros are needed, its not a typo

And if you had enough money to contract an entire design team to make you that monitor you'd find that you'd be better off with a plasma screen or projector or something to that effect

 

[krazykarl]

even HD tvs usually have a maximum display resolutoin of 1024x768, while most standard tvs are stuck at 800x600. If you want a really good display for a really low price, tomshardware (www.tomshardware.com) has a guide of how to make a projector out of an old LCD screen and an overhead projector.

 

[Super_Nova]

The only use I can see to using a TV is playing old Nintendo or Sega games on an emulator or if you'd like to watch a downloaded movie without burning a Video CD for your DVD player. Or if you don't have a DVD-player using your computer's DVD-ROM to play DVD's.