Could my Monitor be incompatible with new Graphics Card

bose301s

Weaksauce
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Jul 26, 2019
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I am using an old Acer S211HLbd monitor from 2011, it only has VGA and DVI inputs, I bought a new video card and of course it only has HDMI and Display Port outputs, I have display port to DVI and HDMI to DVI adapters that I tried with the new 5700XT but couldn't get a signal either way in either of 2 PCs I tried. I was thinking the video card was DOA but am wondering if the monitor being that old could cause it. I have used the HDMI and Display Port adapters on my current card and both work on the monitor, but I wanted to ask to see if it could be the monitor instead of the card.
 
You can get a decent 24" monitor for about $80 bucks... superior to anything from 2011.
 
OK, reading that is telling me it was the card as there are people using 5700XT with DVI just fine using converters. Both HDMI and DP to DVI work on my other card to this monitor so it has to be the card.
Um... okay. The best option would be to borrow any other monitor to test and find out definitively.
 
I am using an old Acer S211HLbd monitor from 2011, it only has VGA and DVI inputs, I bought a new video card and of course it only has HDMI and Display Port outputs, I have display port to DVI and HDMI to DVI adapters that I tried with the new 5700XT but couldn't get a signal either way in either of 2 PCs I tried

What sort of DVI to HDMI adapter did you try?

DVI and HDMI are actually completely compatible up to 1080p 60hz or so. That is basically the limit of single-link DVI. Beyond that, the specs diverge in how they handle higher resolutions (You would need a more complex active adapter to convert between higher-resolution HDMI and Dual-link DVI). Your monitor only does 1080P 60hz though, so that shouldn't matter; that is still doable with single-link DVI. Even a passive (no electronics whatsoever in the adapter) HDMI to DVI converter should work fine in this case. They even sell cables with HDMI on one end and DVI on the other, with no electronics whatsoever in the cable because the signal is compatible. There is no reason it shouldn't work going from HDMI on the card to DVI on the monitor using a simple passive adapter if all you want is 1080P @ 60hz, unless you are using some really wonky/broken adapter where the adapter itself is causing some sort of problem.

Displayport to DVI is a bit more complex, but should still work with the proper adapter.

This is the very basic HDMI to DVI adapter that was included in the box with my RTX 2080, which also has no DVI ports on it. You can see just how simple the passive adapter is, and that it's obviously doing no sort of conversion, etc:
DVI_HDMI.jpg
 
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What sort of DVI to HDMI adapter did you try?

DVI and HDMI are actually completely compatible up to 1080p 60hz or so. That is basically the limit of single-link DVI. Beyond that, the specs diverge in how they handle higher resolutions (You would need a more complex active adapter to convert between higher-resolution HDMI and Dual-link DVI). Your monitor only does 1080P 60hz though, so that shouldn't matter; that is still doable with single-link DVI. Even a passive (no electronics whatsoever in the adapter) HDMI to DVI converter should work fine in this case. They even sell cables with HDMI on one end and DVI on the other, with no electronics whatsoever in the cable because the signal is compatible. There is no reason it shouldn't work going from HDMI on the card to DVI on the monitor using a simple passive adapter if all you want is 1080P @ 60hz, unless you are using some really wonky/broken adapter where the adapter itself is causing some sort of problem.

Displayport to DVI is a bit more complex, but should still work with the proper adapter.

This is the very basic HDMI to DVI adapter that was included in the box with my RTX 2080, which also has no DVI ports on it. You can see just how simple the passive adapter is, and that it's obviously doing no sort of conversion, etc:
View attachment 183337
I used an HDMI to DVI adapter that works on my other two computers without issue and works on my pfSense box, so the adapter is good.
 
HDMI to DVI is easiest. DP to DVI, even with passive adaptors, still needs a DP++ port, which is capable of driving at DVI/HDMI voltages (afaik, native DP uses a lower voltage). Now, nearly any DP/mDP port is DP++ (USB-C DP alt mode is not, however), so it's usually a non-issue. However, if a passive adapter still doesn't work, but an active adapter does, then the only logical explanation I can think of is the port is not DP++.
 
Are you using other monitors at the same time? Despite having many connectors some video cards can't use them all of them at once.
 
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