VGA to DVI adapter as good as a DVI cable?

jonesey

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Oct 18, 2006
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i just bought a radeon x1600 pro and it came with a VGA to DVI adapter. The card has a seperate DVI connector on it. My question is should i buy a seperate DVI cable or is using the VGA connector good enough.

The TV/Monitor i'm connecting to is a viewsonic n2750w with a DVI-D connection.

Also the viewsonic instructions say
"Preset Timing Mode (pre-adjusted to VESA 1024x786 @ 60hz
WARNING: do not set graphics card to exceed these refresh rates doing so may damage your LCD display"

does this mean that i can't go higher than 1024x786? and if so does it still apply if i connect using DVI?
 

smooth1_1

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Nov 1, 2006
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For the best quality, use the DVI cable separately. Your PC processes the video digitally, then converts it to an analog signal via VGA, then back to digital with the adapter, which can degrade quality. Using the DVI cable will keep the signal digital all the way to the TV, keeping it cleaner, and more true. 1024x768 is a resolution, not a refresh rate, which would be 60Hz (1024x768 @60Hz). That is how fast the picture on the monitor/TV redraws itself. If you change the refresh rate too high, you can damage the monitor, so to be safe, stay at the 60Hz (to check, it's usually at: right click desktop>properties>settings tab> advanced>monitor tab and in XP, check the "hide modes that this monitor cannot display" box.) If you can, set the monitor at it's native resolution, I believe the specs say it's 1280 x 720 pixels. That will also increase the picture quality because the monitor won't have to change the picture to fit the 1280 x 720 resolution that it always displays. A CRT monitor can change resolution, an LCD monitor has set pixels that don't change. Instead, it takes the 1024x768 image and changes it to make it fit a 1280 x 720 space (which should stretch quite a bit also). Hope that helps.
 

TeraMedia

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Jan 26, 2006
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VGA is an analog-only signal. DVI-D is a digital-only signal. These are not compatible. If your Viewsonic connector is truly DVI-D and not DVI-I, then the VGA-to-DVI-A cable will not work.
 

rhys0121

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Aug 3, 2014
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yes it does, otherwise why would they make them, sell them, include it in the box. most importantly, im using mine right now and its working great
 

Burndaddy

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Feb 10, 2015
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Wrong. TeraMedia is right. If you're using an adapter than you card has DVI-I out, not DVI-D.
Just sayin'. Google it if you don't believe it....