Using a computer monitor instead of a television

If you want to save money and already have a computer monitor you would just need to buy the component to vga adapter for the console. Otherwise if you can afford it go for the tv.

Which monitor do you have?

Many monitors these days come with HDMI inputs. The 360 will directly connect to an HDMI input with nothing more than a standard HDMI cable.

If your monitor is older, you may have either a DVI or VGA input.

DVI can be handled via an HDMI to DVI cable (or adapter), but keep in mind you lose audio unless you have the HDMI A/V Kit and its included AV port audio out adapter.

VGA can be handled by a VGA cable kit. Get the MS kit, not a third party knock-off as the third party ultra-cheap cables have serious ghosting issues. The VGA cable includes both optical audio out and L/R audio out.

If you have a sufficiently high-end display you may have Component input on your monitor. The 360 will attach to that as well.

I've used my 360s with monitors that have Component input, HDMI, DVI, and VGA. Other than minor tweaks within the monitor's configuration screens to account for some odd input behavior (over/underscan), they've all worked fine.

There's one thing to keep in mind. The 360 outputs a 16x9 signal. The 360's VGA and HDMI to DVI resolution list was updated to support 16x10 resolutions for monitors that cannot provide proper scaling, but it only works up to a 16x10 resolution of 1680x1050. There's no 1920x1200 option. Keep that in mind if you have a 1920x1200 display that lacks aspect control.

Thanks Ice Storm I completely forgot the newer monitors supported HDMI (mine is an older one that only has DVI/VGA).

Ok thanks. Can anyone give me a link for where to buy one of these VGA cables? Not really sure where to look. And my monitor's a pretty recent Samsung one so it should be fine.

If you decide to go with VGA, this is the cable you want.

Check your monitor. If you have HDMI input and speakers, just get an HDMI cable.

what if my monitor doesn't have speakers?

[quote user="Zetoraki"]

what if my monitor doesn't have speakers?

[/quote]You'll need to channel the audio through a separate amplifier.  http://support.xbox.com/en-AU/xbox-360/audio-video-setup-and-use/connect-sound-system