I have an ATI Radeon video card that features a single DVI-I output and 2 DisplayPort outputs. I have one DisplayPort to DVI-D adaptor. The problem is that I don't have a monitor with a DVI-D connector.
I DO have an HP LCD monitor with a VGA output and a VGA to DVI-I cable. I want to run dual monitors on this PC so I am already using one monitor on the DVI port on the video card.
What I am wondering is if I can get a DVI-D to DVI-I adapter and use it to connect that monitor to the video card?
I've read that you can't convert DVI-D to VGA without a $200-300 converter box, but will it work if I use that DVI-D to DVI-I adaptor? It'll be a heck of a rig hanging out the back of the PC, but I don't care. I just want it to work without having to buy a new monitor or video card.
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So you think I'd be better off getting a monitor with DVI input? I was considering that or just getting a different video card. This is for my work and my boss told me just to figure out the cheapest solution and go with it. I think a dual-VGA video card would be cheaper than a new monitor. This is all for a PC that won't be used all that often, anyway, so we don't want to sink a whole bunch of money into it.
DVI-D - Digital Signal
DVI-A - Analog Signal
DVI-I - Analog and Digital in one cable.
VGA - Analog
Those adapters do NOT -convert- signal types from anaolg to digital or back.
All they do is adapt the wiring from one kind of plug to another.
Your DVI-D [digital signal] will not work going to a VGA [analog signal] without an actual electronic circuit to convert the signal from digital to analog.
Are you S-U-R-E it's DVI-D ??
If it is then only a monitor with a digital input will work.
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by: Frosty555Posted on 2009-03-20 at 09:48:58ID: 23941218
A better understanding of how DVI and VGA works will help you:
DVI connections are a bit weird. Take a look at the attached image of various kinds of DVI plugs. Notice how DVI-I has four additional pins that DVI-D does not have. Those four pins are the analog component of the signal cable. It's a copy of what is going out the digital pins.
Traditional DVI->VGA adapters are very simple. They just take those four pins and map them to the appropriate pin locations for VGA, ignoring the digital output entirely. This means a DVI->VGA adapter can ONLY convert DVI-I to VGA. A DVI-D connector does not have those four analogue pins, it only has digital data output so a traditional adapter doesn't work. The solution is to get a box that will actually read the digital data and convert to the appropriate analog version. This requires some muscle, not just a remapping of the pins. That's why those boxes are $200.
DisplayPort I believe is another digital display technology. It doesn't have any analog pins on it. So your DisplayPort->DVI adapter is just remapping digital pins from the DisplayPort form factor to the DVI-D form factor. Since there's no analog signal in this entire process you can't get the extra four pins for DVI-I.
So what you're asking is if there exists a digital-to-analog converter out there that can go from the digital data to the analog data. Such a device could just as easily go directly from DisplayPort->VGA as it could go from DisplayPort->DVI-I, or from DVI-D->DVI-I.
Devices like these are made by Apple for their macbooks: http://www.macmall.com/mac
But conversion from digital to analog will result in you losing some picture quality, and interference. Perhaps it really is time to invest in another monitor with DVI input?
dvi ports