Really noob monitor question...

[Spaceboy]

I currently have 2x17" tft's. Both use the blue plug analog cables and are connected to my X1600's analog out and a dvi converter.

1 of these monitors is dying (needs several power cycles to display) so I'm going to replace it.

I'm also due to buy a new rig using a gtx460 in the near future - so the question is, what should I look for on the new monitor connection-wise ?

I'm probably going to grab another 17" 1280x1024, but should it def have a digital input, and would I benefit getting a digital input over analog ?

Advice appreciated :)

[NickCPC]

Some are adament there is no difference between VGA and DVI, others are. I'm personally in the "there is a difference" camp, especially at higher resolutions, so yeah - I'd make sure DVI is there.

TBH DVI and VGA are the two main connectors you're going to get on 17" screens as bigger ones are so much more popular these days - you'll probably struggle to get a 17" with HDMI or DisplayPort.

[Cutshaw]

There will surely be a more informed person along to answer this, but at that res/monitor size I think VGA would be fine. I don't think the benefits would be that beneficial.

[marsey99]

id second that, digi input is a must for any screen you buy today.

dvi or hdmi it makes no difference but compared to vga its worlds apart.

[wonderlust]

Using a quality cable (not the Dell supplied one) I cannot tell the difference between VGA and DVI/HDMI @ 2048x1152.

With the supplied cable i can see a difference

[Smifis]

It is very hard to tell the difference between VGA and DVI, but it's pretty hard anyway to buy a decent monitor without DVI

[Spaceboy]

righto, cheers for the advice :thumb:

[Bandred]

I'm also due to buy a new rig using a gtx460 in the near future - so the question is, what should I look for on the new monitor connection-wise ?


The NVIDIA specification for the GTX 460 is for two dual DVI and one mini HDMI connectors. Some GTX 460 cards incorporate only these 3 connectors, my own inno 3d version included :)

The Aria products page includes some manufacturers models that also have a VGA connection. So, if you decide you want to use VGA, you will need to make sure you get a GTX460 card that includes it.

[Spaceboy]

Cheers bandred, if it comes to it I'll just use a couple of dvi -> analog converters I've got lying about :D

[f12f12]

really the difference is very small, even more so on a 17".

But what i will say is less adapters = less things to go wrong, if the card is dvi and the screen is dvi then the choice is clear.

[Guest]

I tried both cables on my 19" lcd but couldn't see any difference. My resolution is only 1440x900 wxga+. The difference might be noticable on higher resolution monitors. I agree with f12f12, for fault finding purposes using a lead without adapters is best, saves having to check if its a faulty cable of a faulty adapter.

[Gunslinger]

they "should" all start drifting towards display port as standard soon, with the others only remaining for legacy reasons, HDMI should not be present on monitors, it's the same signal as DVI, re-packaged in a new connector that is noob-consumer user friendly.

In theory, you should see no difference in digital signals over cheap cables and expensive ones, it's a bit of a myth when it comes to digital cables, sure if you compare the very cheapest piece of crap you can find against something like a kimber cable, (http://www.kimber.com/products/interconnects/digital/dvi/dv24/) then your gonna see a difference :rolleyes: but in general you should not see a difference really, maybe you could measure a difference if yu had the kit, but with your eyes... nah you shouldn't

[Smifis]

With cables, its more about the connector quality and soldering more than anything.

I've had to touch up a few scart cables a while back, joy.

[Gunslinger]

ah now with scarts you can see a huge difference, cable type (silver is best i think) screening, and quality of it, and then the connector type and type of solder all make a huge difference on the analogue signal

[Faz]

the difference between VGA and DVI is very noticeable! Don't scrimp out on a VGA only, get a DVI - you won't be disappointed.

[Mr. Grapes]

I use 2x17" 1280x1024 monitors at work. they are nothing special, acer run of the mill AL1723's

everyone round here swears blind that they can't see any difference between VGA and DVI.

however I'll take the pepsi challenge any day of the week and tell you with absolute certainty if one is running on VGA rather than DVI, as analogue (VGA) on LCD's quite often end up with shimmering on high contrast areas with sharp edges, like text.

when you get analogue links to LCD's this is the path:

[Image formed on Display adapter frame buffer (digital obviously)] -> [RAMDAC (the device that converts the digital frame buffer to analogue waveforms - the DAC part being Digital to Analogue Converter)] -> [Cable - which will pick up interference] -> [monitor's ADC (Analogue to Digital Converter)] -> [Display panel (Digital - though in essence is another DAC, but that's not so important) ]

the point being whenever you convert between digital and analogue, there are a number of estimations involved, and it's harder to filter out noise on analogue signals. when you convert between digital types, there is error correction involved which can negate the effects of noise (up to a point - what happens when the signal on freeview or sky digital gets too much interference? you see something totally unwatchable, but up to that point the picture is usually near perfect - in the old days of analogue TV, the picture would degrade gradually, usually being still watchable for longer than the digital counterpart) so if you have DVI/HDMI or display port all the way between the graphics card ad your display, you miss out somewhat hit-or-miss DAC/ADC operations. the devices with better DAC's and ADC's will fare somewhat better, but noise is still usually an issue
more info:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Analog-to-digital_converter

[Spaceboy]

That is a top-notch post my good man :thumb:

I'm almost humbled by your geekery :D

[Mr. Grapes]

no problem :D

[Hax]

Don't think it has been mentioned, having to either use the auto button or manually setting up the picture positioning/clock phase etc... really sucks :D

[Cleeecooo]

DVI isn't too much more, so go for it

Future proof yourself