VGA vs HDMI

[BenR31415]

Hey LTT,

I just bought a XFX r9 280x used (DD Black edition for reference). I have a 32" 1080p TV, with 3 HDMI inputs and a VGA input with audio in. Plugged into the TV is the desktop, chromecast and my laptop, all on HDMI, and that worked out fine, until I worked out that the HDMI port which my chromecast plugs into has borked colours. I know that everyone hates VGA because it is analogue, but is it really that much worse than HDMI at 1080p 60 (at a distance of around 1m, 3ft)? I would be using a cable like this one to connect it to my graphics card: http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/3-FT-Premuim-DVI-I-Dual-Link-Male-24-5-to-VGA-Male-M-M-Video-Cable-Adapter-Cord-/131825384760?hash=item1eb167bd38:g:Wb4AAOSwQaJXRCGT

 

Cheers, Ben

[Shiv78]

One question:

What is the point of having a laptop and a desktop connected to the same monitor  TV?

 

[BenR31415]

7 minutes ago, wrathoftheturkey said:

My only concern is that adapters don't always work perfectly for some reason. For the most part, though, it's a bloody display cable. It'll either work or it won't.

So do you think that I should just try it and see if it works? I've heard that DVI-I to VGA adapters are fairly reliable due to the DVI containing the analogue signal? I could be wrong though.

6 minutes ago, Shiv78 said:

One question:

What is the point of having a laptop and a desktop connected to the same monitor  TV?

 

Haha good point. My laptop is pretty fast (I've put an SSD in it), however it can't play games (got a 710m, barely better than the 3rd gen intergrated graphics). My desktop is really slow (not enough ram although will be upgraded, 5400RPM hard drive, 1st gen core i7), however it should be able to play games really well due to my r9 280x (coming tomorrow) and hopefully upgraded RAM. If I've got work to do, i'll use my laptop, but if i want to play games or run google earth, I have to use the desktop.

[Glenwing]

19 minutes ago, BenR31415 said:

So do you think that I should just try it and see if it works? I've heard that DVI-I to VGA adapters are fairly reliable due to the DVI containing the analogue signal? I could be wrong though.

That is correct, DVI-I is just a DVI-D + VGA combo port, so a VGA adapter from that port provides you with a native VGA connection, the same as if the graphics card had an actual VGA port.

 

43 minutes ago, BenR31415 said:

I know that everyone hates VGA because it is analogue, but is it really that much worse than HDMI at 1080p 60 (at a distance of around 1m, 3ft)?

 It's not that much worse usually, although the quality can very pretty widely based on location and equipment, and it's a lot less reliable than DVI or other digital connections. But mostly people over-exaggerate how "bad" it is.

[othertomperson]

Quality wise, there's no difference. Not at this length of cable, resolution and framerate. The real killer for VGA is that, being analogue, it does not support HDCP DRM meaning you cannot watch blu-rays, Netflix, Amazon Prime Video... etc over it. I've pirated films before for this reason, back when the only shared connector between my laptop and my monitor was VGA. Because heaven forbid I actually watch the content I've paid for, I might be tempted to pirate it!