New Monitor

I have a Dell Dimension 9150, 2048 mb RAM, and wish to upgrade the monitor to something better. The graphics card is an 256mb nVidia Ge Force 6800. The question is; do I buy a monitor with DVI input. I assume my graphics card has a DVI output (?). And, should I be looking at 1280x720 or something better.
Thanks
Stan

 

You don't know? Most likely, it has DVI but you should know for sure before you make the monitor purchase. Also, your card may have both DVI and VGA outputs. DVI ports look like the one you see >here<. And, VGA looks like this: VGA

If your graphics card has DVI, I suggest you get a monitor with DVI connector. However, a DVI-to-VGA adapter can be used to connect a VGA monitor to a DVI port.

 

I've now checked for sure and it does have a DVI output. So, that being the case, a monitor with a DVI input is the one to choose?? Presumably because the DVI connection is better than VGA, and the difference detectable on a 19" monitor?
Thanks
Stan

 

The D stands for digital, and generally, digital offers superior performance over analog. And yes, if the 19" is a good quality LCD monitor, and it supports a digital input, the difference would be noticeable.

 

Thanks. Is the DVI connection a universal plug like HDMI? I only ask because I've seen different DVI connections and want to make sure I buy a compatible monitor.
Stan

 

Yes it is, all DVI are the same, and quite honestly if your upgrading your monitor wont be bad idea to upgrade your vid card, the 6 series is a little old, get a 8 or 9 they not to expensive maybe hundred bucks or so, then you can get a nice 22inch widescreen monitor and have everything look gorgeous!

 

Sorry, but that is incorrect, as a simple search of Google shows.

There are 3 major types of DVI, a couple minor.

DVI-D - digital only
DVI-A - analog only
DVI-I - digital & analog

Most cards support DVI-I and monitors use what they need - depending on if the monitor supports full digital, or just (in the case of entry level LCDs) analog or CRT monitors - which are all analog.

There is also the M1-DA which includes USB, and Mini-DVI and Micro-DVI too.

Generally, the monitor will come with the cord it needs, and any current card will support almost any monitor made (as most cards come with 1 or 2 DVI to D-Sub adapters).

I just recently switched to two 22" Samsung WS monitors - so I have gorgeous and I can gorge on lots of desktop real estate!

 

Okay, so if the monitor comes with DVI-D but my card has DVI-I will that be compatible. Is it just a case of it not using "unwanted" pins?
Stan

 

As I indicated, that means your card supports both analog and digital and yes, the plugs are compatible. The unused pins just won't connect to anything.