Tom's Hardware > Forum > Graphic & Displays > Graphics Cards > Prob a stupid Question: What is the Value of a DVI on a screen?

Prob a stupid Question: What is the Value of a DVI on a screen?

Forum Graphic & Displays : Graphics Cards - Prob a stupid Question: What is the Value of a DVI on a screen?

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cobalt16   07-28-2008 at 08:24:36 PM

Ok, I'm trying to save as much money in my budget for my new comp as possible.

I can choose from 2 LCD 19" screens...both have a 2000:1 aspect ratio...both have 5ms response...both are the same make...

Is it worth paying the extra cash for that DVI connector? Its gona be connected to a 4850...duno if that makes a difference!

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zipz0p   07-28-2008 at 08:43:34 PM
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You mean that one monitor comes with a DVI cable, and the other doesn't? If you don't have a DVI cable, you will need one. You can look around to see if you could buy a DVI cable cheaper than the price differential. But you will almost certainly need the DVI cable to connect your monitor to the graphics card and it's much better to use DVI than an old VGA cable.

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aevm   07-28-2008 at 08:48:20 PM
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How much can you afford to spend? What country are you in?

 

Normally a HD 4850 includes a DVi to VGA adapter, and any monitor that doesn't have DVI will have VGA and a VGA cable. Still, if you can get a monitor with DVI it's worth it, because it avoids converting the images to analog and back and they are crisper.


Message edited by aevm on 07-28-2008 at 08:50:44 PM
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Nik_I   07-28-2008 at 09:10:38 PM
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DVI has better image quality. The first thing i noticed when i started using DVI instead of VGA on my monitor was that text looked noticably sharper. When i was connected to an older computer using the same monitor through vga, colors looked less vibrant, and the text was much less clear. it's worth your while to get a DVI-equipped monitor.

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Cleeve   07-28-2008 at 10:42:46 PM
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DVI doesn't necessarily have better image quality. If your video card is putting out a decent analog signal you won't be able to see the diffrence.

The only real scenario I can see that DVI is necessary is if you plan to playback protected HD video - blu-ray, for instance. Most software won't play back HD disks unless the monitor is HDCP compliant, and to be HDCP compliant you need to use a digital connection. But the DVI connection isn't in itself enough, you have to make sure the monitor is also HDCP compliant as well!

------------------------------ Cleeve
Hardware Editor, Tom's Hardware Guide
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bydesign   07-28-2008 at 10:55:40 PM
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What Cleeve said.

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San Pedro   07-29-2008 at 01:22:12 AM
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Cleeve is spot on.

DVI is more efficient because it uses straight digital signal throughout the chain. When using VGA the graphics card has to convert signal from digital to analog then the LCD monitor takes the analog signal and converts it back to digital.

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robx46   07-29-2008 at 05:38:44 PM
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Yeah, I remember when I first got my 1st LCD and switched to a DVI cable. I really didn't see any glaring improvements over vga. However, I would bet that you could see very slightly higher quality if you had 2 LCD's side by side, one with VGA and one with DVI.

It still totally makes sense though to get an inexpensive DVI cable. If nothing else it is convenient (no need for DVI adapters, and with DVI & HDCP support you can get a DVI to HDMI cable and hook up your monitor to your PS3, dvd players, or whatever else).

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