DVI Cable with lcd question

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markho

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May 23, 2006
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i have a video card that supports a dvi output, and an lcd. i have only been using the regular blue connector (not sure what its called ) from the video card to the lcd. the video card is a ati 9800xt. could i use the dvi output for regular computing and gaming?
 
thanks. but, theres no dvi input on the lcd. its that blue trapazoid plug with the finger screws. sorry dont know the name of it. :eek: would i still benefit?
 
It's called a VGA connector (or sometimes HD15) and no, DVI is only beneficial if on both ends.
 
doh! my lcd does have a dvi input!! what kind of perfomance difference should i see?
 
Sharper text, less distortion perhaps, it depends on the monitor. Cheap monitors tend to do DVI better, the more expensive you go the better the VGA (analogue) usually is. Apparently the VGA is nearly, if not, as good as the DVI on high end Eizo monitors but they are about $3000+ I think.

As with Hi-Fi it's all down to the expense of the internal processing of the signal and quality of the cable, digital has always been easier to make higher quality on the lower end because the difference between quality of digital is much lower. For example:

'copper' vs 'Fibre optic'
'Component' vs 'HDMI'

The difference in the quality through the analogue versions compared to digital is much bigger. Analogue quality starts much lower and only in the highest quality reaches digital standards. I'll stop now as I think this may confuse some people even more.
 
Basically it goes like this: Your monitor is digital, so it will show the highest quality possible when fed a digital signal. It is possible it could look just as good on analogue, but never better. Given that DVI cables are exceedingly cheap, there's no reason not to use it if your monitor supports it.
 
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