Dvi to VGA or Display Port to VGA splitter?

[DKM1129]

Hi I'm doing an AMD A10-7850k build for my girlfriend. The motherboard I'll be using is the MSI A88x-G45 gaming motherboard which have 1xvga 1xDVI-i(please correct me) 1xHDMI and 1xdisplay port. It'll be running 2 screens which only have VGA connectors. So would it be better to run eyefinity with the VGA and VGA to DVI or 1 display port to VGA splitter? I am open to suggestions on the particular config so long as both screens work using on board graphics.

[comicsansms]

If the DVI port is a DVI-D port, use DVI.

If it is not, use displayport.

 

DVI-A is analogue, can be adapted to VGA

DVI-I is analogue and digital, can be adapted to VGA and HDMI

DVI-D is digital, can only be adapted to HDMI

 

I am an idiot, Ignore the crossed out parts!

[Glenwing]

Hi I'm doing an AMD A10-7850k build for my girlfriend. The motherboard I'll be using is the MSI A88x-G45 gaming motherboard which have 1xvga 1xDVI-i(please correct me) 1xHDMI and 1xdisplay port. It'll be running 2 screens which only have VGA connectors. So would it be better to run eyefinity with the VGA and VGA to DVI or 1 display port to VGA splitter? I am open to suggestions on the particular config so long as both screens work using on board graphics.

 

It's a DVI-D port, not DVI-I. So in this case a DVI-to-VGA adapter will not work. You will need to use a DisplayPort-to-VGA adapter.

[Oshino Shinobu]

Based on MSI's page for the board, it is a DVI-D port. In which case it doesn't matter which one you use, as both will have to use an active adapter to convert to VGA, as both DVI-D and DP are digital only. 

 

You'll need one of these http://www.amazon.com/gofanco%C2%AE-DVI-D-VGA-Active-Converter/dp/B00RWFT8NG/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1446424264&sr=8-1&keywords=dvi+d+to+vga+active

 

Or one of these http://www.amazon.com/StarTech-com-DisplayPort-Video-Adapter-Converter/dp/B003V4TV8O/ref=sr_1_5?ie=UTF8&qid=1446424356&sr=8-5&keywords=dp+to+vga+active+adapter

[DKM1129]

If the DVI port is a DVI-D port, use DVI.

If it is not, use displayport.

Thanks it is DVI-D just confirmed on the manufacturer website .... Any old DVI-D to VGA will work then?

[DKM1129]

Based on MSI's page for the board, it is a DVI-D port. In which case it doesn't matter which one you use, as both will have to use an active adapter to convert to VGA, as both DVI-D and DP are digital only.

You'll need one of these http://www.amazon.com/gofanco%C2%AE-DVI-D-VGA-Active-Converter/dp/B00RWFT8NG/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1446424264&sr=8-1&keywords=dvi+d+to+vga+active

Or one of these http://www.amazon.com/StarTech-com-DisplayPort-Video-Adapter-Converter/dp/B003V4TV8O/ref=sr_1_5?ie=UTF8&qid=1446424356&sr=8-5&keywords=dp+to+vga+active+adapter

Ok you basically answered the question I just asked... Difference between an active adaptor and "inactive" adaptor?

[comicsansms]

Thanks it is DVI-D just confirmed on the manufacturer website .... Any old DVI-D to VGA will work then?

Shit, sorry DVI-D is the one you don't want.

Sorry, I got a bit scatterbrained!

 

DVI-I and DVI-A can be passively adapted but not DVI-D

[Oshino Shinobu]

Ok you basically answered the question I just asked... Difference between an active adaptor and "inactive" adaptor?

A passive (inactive) adapter is basically just making it so that the pins from one connection can be used with a different cable. This works fine for digital to digital connectors/signals and analogue to analogue connectors/signals, but it does not work between digital/analogue because the signal will need to be converted (digital is in 0s and 1s, while analogue is in waves). Active adapaters have a chip that converts the signal from digital to analogue or the other way around. They tend to be a fair bit more expensive than passive adapters for obvious reasons, as well as often needing power for the chip (though quite a lot can use the small amounts of power delivered over some connections, rather than external power)

 

A lot of adapters are marketed as DVI-D to VGA (or similar) but are not active, so they literally do nothing. 

[DKM1129]

A passive (inactive) adapter is basically just making it so that the pins from one connection can be used with a different cable. This works fine for digital to digital connectors/signals and analogue to analogue connectors/signals, but it does not work between digital/analogue because the signal will need to be converted (digital is in 0s and 1s, while analogue is in waves). Active adapaters have a chip that converts the signal from digital to analogue or the other way around. They tend to be a fair bit more expensive than passive adapters for obvious reasons, as well as often needing power for the chip (though quite a lot can use the small amounts of power delivered over some connections, rather than external power)

 

A lot of adapters are marketed as DVI-D to VGA (or similar) but are not active, so they literally do nothing. 

Thanks hey I was actually looking on the website I ordered the parts on and they have HDMI to VGA adaptors.....would something like this work? 

http://www.takealot.com/hama-hdmi-converter-for-vga/PLID32843592

[Oshino Shinobu]

Thanks hey I was actually looking on the website I ordered the parts on and they have HDMI to VGA adaptors.....would something like this work? 

http://www.takealot.com/hama-hdmi-converter-for-vga/PLID32843592

Looks like it should. 

 

There's a dell one, which may be better quality http://www.takealot.com/dell-hdmi-to-vga-adapter/PLID38668867

[DKM1129]

Looks like it should.

There's a dell one, which may be better quality http://www.takealot.com/dell-hdmi-to-vga-adapter/PLID38668867

It's a tiny bit more and it has a 3 year warranty... I'm ordering the Dell! Thanks for the help guys! Didn't wanna look like an idiot in front of my girlfriend

[Glenwing]

On 11/1/2015 at 4:35 PM, DKM1129 said:

Ok you basically answered the question I just asked... Difference between an active adaptor and "inactive" adaptor?

 

It's really a misnomer. There are adapters and converters.

 

An adapter only changes the physical shape of the plug. These don't change the electrical signals, they are only for situations where you just need a way to literally hook to the two devices together, and a regular cable won't work because the plugs are a different shape. The electrical signal that goes in is exactly the same thing as what comes out on the other end, hence "passive" adapters. There is no signal conversion involved, so it is not a "converter".

 

A converter takes in one signal and converts it to a different signal format. These involve actual signal processors which convert a signal into a different signal, and they often are large and require additional power plugs and such, though not always. These are what people call "active" adapters.

 

What most people say is "you use an adapter for digital-to-digital connections, but for analog-to-digital or vice versa you need a converter" but this is almost complete nonsense. You can't convert any signal into any other signal format without a signal converter. Whether it's digital-to-digital or digital-to-analog is completely irrelevant.

 

The only reason adapters work is because some devices like the DisplayPort controllers built into every modern graphics card are pre-programmed to output many different types of signals, not only DisplayPort signals. When you use a DisplayPort-to-HDMI "passive" adapter, that little thing doesn't somehow magically transform the signals from DisplayPort into HDMI without any kind of processing.

 

What happens is the DisplayPort controller detects an HDMI device plugged in on the other side, and sends HDMI signals instead of DisplayPort signals. The signal is HDMI from beginning to end. Don't let the shape of the connector fool you, just because it's shaped like DisplayPort on one end and HDMI on the other doesn't mean the electrical signals are going into the adapter in the DisplayPort format and then coming out as HDMI on the other side.

 

This is an important distinction, because saying "adapters work for digital-to-digital" leads people to believe that connections like HDMI-to-DisplayPort or DVI-to-DisplayPort will work because they're both digital, when in fact they won't. The reason DP-to-HDMI and DP-to-DVI work is again because the DP controller on most devices (though not all) are pre-programmed to send DVI/HDMI signals when those devices are detected, and all that is needed is a physical adapter to change the shape of the plug so you can physically connect them together. However, these connections will not work in reverse, because DVI/HDMI controllers do not have the ability to output DisplayPort signals, and so when a DisplayPort display is detected the DVI/HDMI controller on the GPU will have absolutely no idea what to do.

 

There's a similar setup with DVI-I and VGA. DVI-I is essentially DVI-D with a VGA port built-into it which can be accessed with a simple adapter to get native VGA output. Again these adapters do not somehow "transform" DVI signals into VGA, when you use the adapter the entire DVI port outputs VGA instead of DVI signals.

 

So "passive" adapters have absolutely nothing to do with what type of signal format it is. They work in specific scenarios where the designers have purposely intended it to work. DisplayPort adapts to HDMI because the designers of the DisplayPort standard specifically gave it that capability. DVI-I adapts to VGA because the designers of the DVI standard specifically gave it that capability. HDMI does not adapt to DisplayPort because the designers of the HDMI standard did not specifically give it that capability.

 

There are no "general rules of thumb" for what works and what doesn't when it comes to "passive" adapters. There is just The List, of every combination that works, and every combination that doesn't.

 

Of course, if you have a signal converter, you can convert any signal into any other signal, there are no restrictions whatsoever provided you can find a device for the specific combination you want.