Hi all,
My current desktop is using DVI to connect to a single monitor. I'm thinking of getting a replacement monitor, but the new one should be a little future-proof, that means it shouldn't only be able to do DVI because if and when the PC gets replaced then DVI might not be a thing any more.
Current monitors seem to have a mixture of VGA, DVI, HDMI and DisplayPort, with no single favourite. I understand that you can get adapters to convert between some (or all?) of the cables, but I don't know how clever / problematic / active / passive these adapters are for all the possible combinations. I'm assuming that VGA is not interesting because it's analogue, correct me if I'm wrong.
So when I'm looking for a monitor, should I look for one with DVI and DisplayPort? Or just DisplayPort if I can connect my current DVI to it? Or just HDMI or multiple sockets? Is there any particular adapter which it would be good to avoid?
(Yes I know this isn't really a Debian issue but I'm guessing that 'Hardware' is a reasonable place for this)
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Monitor - DVI / HDMI / DisplayPort?
Re: Monitor - DVI / HDMI / DisplayPort?
It depends on what you require.
VGA tends to be good for backwards compatibility if you ever need to hook up something quite old. It is an analogue signal though so the length and quality of your cables may have an impact on the quality of your display. Though old VGA is still very much in use and is unlikely to die anytime soon.
DVI has been around for a while and will likely be around for a while yet. This is a digital signal, you have single link capable of 1920x1200 and dual link capable of 2560x1600. As it is a digital signal it doesn't get degraded in the same way as VGA.
HDMI is newer than DVI and has become the de facto standard for TV's, DVD and BD players, it hasn't been adopted as quickly by monitor manufacturers but is still relatively prevalent. HDMI can also carry audio. There are various versions of HDMI the latest being 2.1 which is capable of up to 10328x7760 (10K). As with DVI it is a digital signal, avoid buying gold-plated HDMI cables it makes no difference to the quality of your picture.
DisplayPort tends to be used on graphics cards as more of a 'universal connector' because you can buy converters from DP to practically anything else. There are various versions, the latest (1.4) is capable of up to 5120x2880 (5K). There are some monitors with DP inputs but they seem to be fairly rare.
You probably wouldn't go far wrong with a monitor supporting VGA, DVI, and HDMI. These seem fairly common at a reasonable price. If you prefer a monitor with fewer connections choose what you think will suit you best from above.
VGA tends to be good for backwards compatibility if you ever need to hook up something quite old. It is an analogue signal though so the length and quality of your cables may have an impact on the quality of your display. Though old VGA is still very much in use and is unlikely to die anytime soon.
DVI has been around for a while and will likely be around for a while yet. This is a digital signal, you have single link capable of 1920x1200 and dual link capable of 2560x1600. As it is a digital signal it doesn't get degraded in the same way as VGA.
HDMI is newer than DVI and has become the de facto standard for TV's, DVD and BD players, it hasn't been adopted as quickly by monitor manufacturers but is still relatively prevalent. HDMI can also carry audio. There are various versions of HDMI the latest being 2.1 which is capable of up to 10328x7760 (10K). As with DVI it is a digital signal, avoid buying gold-plated HDMI cables it makes no difference to the quality of your picture.
DisplayPort tends to be used on graphics cards as more of a 'universal connector' because you can buy converters from DP to practically anything else. There are various versions, the latest (1.4) is capable of up to 5120x2880 (5K). There are some monitors with DP inputs but they seem to be fairly rare.
You probably wouldn't go far wrong with a monitor supporting VGA, DVI, and HDMI. These seem fairly common at a reasonable price. If you prefer a monitor with fewer connections choose what you think will suit you best from above.
Re: Monitor - DVI / HDMI / DisplayPort?
Hi, and thanks for the detailed summary!
I've heard that all sorts of adapters are available, but it's far from clear whether such an adapter is just a passive, physical adapter to change the connector shape (which I assume would be cheap, reliable and have no effect on signal quality) or whether some of the combinations require some kind of active electronics to change signal levels or do some processing (which I assume would be more expensive, power-hungry, perhaps unreliable or introduce some loss of quality / artefacts / may possibly be temperamental).
I understand that they're advertised as being "compatible" and you can "just buy an adapter" but I can't believe they're all the same apart from the shape of the connector. Of all the possible combinations of DVI->HDMI, DVI->DP, HDMI->DVI, HDMI->DP, DP->DVI, DP->HDMI, is there any adapter which is ridiculously simple, or any adapter which is definitely worth avoiding?
So you're saying that if my next computer only had DisplayPort, that would be no problem "adapting" the output to either the DVI input or the HDMI input?monday90 wrote:You probably wouldn't go far wrong with a monitor supporting VGA, DVI, and HDMI.
I've heard that all sorts of adapters are available, but it's far from clear whether such an adapter is just a passive, physical adapter to change the connector shape (which I assume would be cheap, reliable and have no effect on signal quality) or whether some of the combinations require some kind of active electronics to change signal levels or do some processing (which I assume would be more expensive, power-hungry, perhaps unreliable or introduce some loss of quality / artefacts / may possibly be temperamental).
I understand that they're advertised as being "compatible" and you can "just buy an adapter" but I can't believe they're all the same apart from the shape of the connector. Of all the possible combinations of DVI->HDMI, DVI->DP, HDMI->DVI, HDMI->DP, DP->DVI, DP->HDMI, is there any adapter which is ridiculously simple, or any adapter which is definitely worth avoiding?