DVI vs. VGA.

[FieryGoose]

I tried searching for this on the forums but i just couldn't find anything. I'm using a lcd moniter which to my knowledge receives digital signals best, and the gpu i bought only has dvi outputs, it comes with some dvi to vga converters but i was just curious would i get the best quality picture by using a dvi cable or should i just use the given dvi to vga converter and use the vga cables? Also for some reason my moniter will only go up to a 60hz refresh rate @ 1680x1050, is this normal for lcds or is it just all my old gpu can handle.(my moniter:Gateway FPD2275w) Thanks.

 

[The Brick]

Use the DVI cable.

 

[Alan00000]

Vga works best for me. I tried hooking up Dvi and looked like ####. It's prob cause of my lcd is a HDTV lcd not just a lcd mainly for computers.

 

[DEATH eVADER]

Although my GPU is DVI compatible, my lcd is VGA only. But to be honest, I wouldn't know what the difference would be, after all, the LCD is much more crisp and clear than the old CRT that I use to own.

 

[MiccyNarc]

Why the hell would you use VGA instead of DVI?

There's a reason why graphics cards come with two DVIs standard these days.

 

[Asus]

DVI is digital and therefore is pure with no interference along the cable. The only way for it to look blurry is if you set the resolution of the LCD to something other than it's native resolution.

VGA is analog and will not show the image pixel perfect from what the computer outputs. Also since the signal is analog other sources such as power cables near by can interfere with the signal and make the picture even worse.

CRT's can look good even though they are analog because the picture looks like it has natural AA. But that has nothing to do with the VGA cable and everything to do with how a CRT displays the picture. I think I have seen some CRTs with DVI inputs before.

60Hz refresh rate is fine on a LCD. I think mine is set at 70Hz but it doesn't really matter for LCDs. Refresh rate matters for a CRT and response rate matters on LCDs.

 

[FieryGoose]

Thanks for the detailed answer, So i guess i'll go ahead and buy a dvi cable. The only reason i asked about the refresh rate is because i just got my first lcd, i wasn't sure if refresh rate has the same affect on images as it does on a crt.

 

[FieryGoose]

hey i didn't want to make a new thread so... I'm putting my comp. together with all the new goodies i got, and i have a couple of questions.
1. With the x1950pro agp do i need to plug in 2 4-pins from 2 diff. rails using the seasonic m12?
and 2. If i use the dvi to vga adaptor temporarily can i still plug in the vga cord into the monitors vga slot instead of using the dvi adapter on the moniter too.(because the adapter wont work on my moniter because it's "missing" the 4 pins around the big pin..)?

Thanks, I'm about to fire her up so i'm just doing a few checks prior to doing so.

 

[DevgruSeal]

You plug the VGA cord into the monitor. Then plug the other end of the cord into the VGA-to-DVI adapter. Plug the VGA-to-DVI adapter into the video card.

You only need the one adapter. The second one that you have is for if you want dual monitors, and both monitors are analog.

 

[FieryGoose]

Thanks, but how about the power issue? I don't know if I should plug in 2 "4 pins" from the same slot in my modular psu. As far as I know maybe the psu will send enough power to that one cable with the 2 4 pin female ends, but I just wanted to check. On the side of my psu it says it has 18A on each of the 4 12v+ rails... the card recommends 30a I think...

 

[Asus]

I would use the same rail and use a different one for your case fans/hard drives. Motors I believe cause the power or voltage on the line to fluctuate a bit.

When it recommends 30A it is probably refering to PSUs with only 1 rail so your whole system would be using part of the 30A and the card wouldn't use it all. You should be good with your setup.

 

[FieryGoose]

Woot! I got my system running back up, and the card made a huge difference, highly recommended for anyone who wants to stay with agp for a bit longer. But anyways I only ran into one problem and that is that my new 320gb hdd is detected in the system bios but is not present when I go to "my computer"... i'm really baffled, should I try and switch the jumpers on it; all i'm trying to do is use it for media storage, and I thought it was sort of a plug and play deal but now i'm not so sure. I just think that its odd to be detected in the bios but not when the os boots up...I'll try switching the jumpers but does anyone have any other advice, both my drives are sata by the way?

 

[Asus]

Sounds like it needs to be partitioned. Did it come with a setup CD or anything?

In your control panel go to Administrative Tools then to Computer management. Under storage/disk management can you see the drive? If you can right click on it and make a partition and then format (NTFS).

 

[The Brick]

The new drive probably isn't partitioned yet.

Go to your control panel > Performance and Maintenance > Administrative Tools > Computer Management. Then click Disk Management.

Your drive should be in there and you can right-click it and make a partition on it (reformatting).


EDIT: AGH! so slow lol. I was checking other threads for 15 minutes before I opened this tab.

 

[FieryGoose]

yea, i went to seagate's website and it took me through the steps of formating, thanks for the tips. I feel so stupid, i tried to put the jumper onto the default pins and in the process of doing so i dropped it, and well, bye bye jumper. So i guess i'll go pick a few up tommarow if i even need them. ah... its just so aggrevating, especially when you don't have any spares.
Also could i format the drive now and put the jumper on later, or would that screw something up?
Thanks alot for all the help thusfar.:thumbs:

 

[3ssence]

I see you got the seasonic 700W beast in the end !! Nice choice, should last you beyond this and into future PC's !