The PC (Personal Computer) is a highly configurable and upgradable gaming platform that, among home systems, sports the widest variety of control methods, largest library of games, and cutting edge graphics and sound capabilities.
My TV has a "PC Mode" which disables all form of image enhancement and basically turns the screen into a dumb panel, essentially killing any input lag. Eye strain is fine as long as you sit at the appropriate distance.
GB QL's are great to watch on the big screen, but I normally have one of my PC's hooked into the lounge room screen. I just currently have my main rig hooked in because... well why not.
" The only issue is resolution. A 1080p HDTV will have a shitty resolution compared to even a cheap/mid range monitor. Other than that, as long as you use the TV as a monitor you won't have any issues. "
@WitchHunter_Z: How is 1080p a shitty resolution compared to a monitor? The vast majority of 22-27" screens are 1920x1080 or 1920x1200. You only really start to hit the 2560 x 1600 realm when you get to 30" monitors.
For years I used a 26'' 720p HDTV for my monitor, and last year I bought a new 32'' 1080p HDTV and it's fantastic. Typically you'll either use VGA or HDMI but HDMI is obviously better. Don't go too big for your monitor because the limited resolution the bigger it is the worse it will look (because of the PPI). Also, just so you know the resolution of a 720p HDTV is actually 1366x768 so you can go slightly higher than 720p for a PC.
Typing this on my Home Theater PC hooked up to a 46" LCD. Sitting roughly 7 feet away from the screen. I have been reading small text for about an hour now with little eye strain. If there is any lag, I can't notice it.
I've got a wired 360 controller hooked up to my HTPC and I try to use it with every game, sometimes mapping K+M commands to it with Xpadder. The last game I used my keyborad and mouse for was Starcraft 2, which worked alright but some of the text in the game is really tiny.
I use a monitor that doubles up as a TV with free view. 22", never noticed input lag, ever and I've been using it for a year or so now, graphics card runs fine, though I don't see why either would affect the other. Every looks pretty darn good asswell, I actually prefer it to most monitors I've tried since, but I'm sure that's just because I've become accustomed to mine and the settings are how I like them.
Depends on the hdtv, I don't get input lag on the toshiba brand. Sony bravia gives a slight lag if you turn on 120hz framerates though and my other samsung hdtv gives you a fraction of a second lag. You use a dvi to hdmi cable to get a video source, or if your videocard has a hdmi to hdmi use that. Depending on your hdtv, if the pixels aren't that big, it will look like an oversized monitor, so I suggest you give it a try. It works and stuff no problem and it's totally viable. Not all hdtvs are made the same though, it's sort of a gamble, however if it works, then it works great. No it won't fry your gpu, it outputs 1080p dispite the size of the display, your gpu doesn't know how big your display is.
Depends on the hdtv, I don't get input lag on the toshiba brand. Sony bravia gives a slight lag if you turn on 120hz framerates though and my other samsung hdtv gives you a fraction of a second lag. You use a dvi to hdmi cable to get a video source, or if your videocard has a hdmi to hdmi use that. Depending on your hdtv, if the pixels aren't that big, it will look like an oversized monitor, so I suggest you give it a try. It works and stuff no problem and it's totally viable. Not all hdtvs are made the same though, it's sort of a gamble, however if it works, then it works great. No it won't fry your gpu, it outputs 1080p dispite the size of the display, your gpu doesn't know how big your display is.
"
I have learned something today. Good day to you sir.
" is it viable? i heard there is some major input lag and it might fry your GFX card. i really want to get into PC gaming again... with the comfort of couch! "
its exactly the same as plugging a ps3 into it. The problem is some games want you to read text, and big tv's suck for that... but for most games its awesome!
Can get a DVI -> hdmi dongle or cable, or lots of tv's even take a VGA input but that won't do 1080p (need the dvi or hdmi connection for that).
Unfortunately any 1080p LCD TV can't win over an LCD monitor when it comes to resolution. If I hook up my 1080p TV to my video card my desktop gets downgraded from my typical res.
A 1080p TV resolution can't go any higher that 1920x1080, my monitor displays at 1920x1200... (16:10 Monitor) Thats not that big of a deal but some people game in even higher resolutions. Unfortunately for me thats like going from BlueRay back to DVD. (just doesn't look right)
It's up to you though, if you don't mind the change or don't game in that resolution anyway then go for it. Most video cards support that sort of thing if thats the route ya wanna go.
" The only issue is resolution. A 1080p HDTV will have a shitty resolution compared to even a cheap/mid range monitor. Other than that, as long as you use the TV as a monitor you won't have any issues. "
I have used my 1080p Sony Bravia HDTV a few times and it looks gorgeous, even though the resolution is really tiny. I haven't noticed any type of lag though.
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