Can an APU support dual monitor?

[Miguel Lopes]

Hi,

I've just built my new computer, with an AMD A-10 APU and Asrock FM2A75M-DGS mobo.

My question is: without a supplemental GPU, can I use two monitors? I would like to use the "extended monitor" option in two different monitors.

Thanks!

 

[Novuake]

Yip, an APU supports two monitors. On some board at least one of the two monitors has to be digital(HDMI or DVI).

 

[Miguel Lopes]

Yip, an APU supports two monitors. On some board at least one of the two monitors has to be digital(HDMI or DVI).

Thanks! I only have monitors with vga connectors, and my mobo only has 1 vga and 1 dvi entrance. Can I use an adapter vga->dvi on the second monitor? Or that wouldn't work?

Thanks again

 

[Novuake]

Yip, an APU supports two monitors. On some board at least one of the two monitors has to be digital(HDMI or DVI).

Thanks! I only have monitors with vga connectors, and my mobo only has 1 vga and 1 dvi entrance. Can I use an adapter vga->dvi on the second monitor? Or that wouldn't work?

Thanks again

No, unfortunately the DVI port is digital only on your board. http://www.asrock.com/mb/photo/IO/FM2A75M-DGS(m).jpg

See the image. The adapter need 4 more pins around the line on the right of the DVI port.

 

[Miguel Lopes]

Yip, an APU supports two monitors. On some board at least one of the two monitors has to be digital(HDMI or DVI).

Thanks! I only have monitors with vga connectors, and my mobo only has 1 vga and 1 dvi entrance. Can I use an adapter vga->dvi on the second monitor? Or that wouldn't work?

Thanks again

No, unfortunately the DVI port is digital only on your board. http://www.asrock.com/mb/photo/IO/FM2A75M-DGS(m).jpg

See the image. The adapter need 4 more pins around the line on the right of the DVI port.

What? I didn't understand your answer, sorry.

Just to clarify, I have two monitors with this connector:
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/81/Vga-cable.jpg

My mobo has 1 DVI-D socket and 1 VGA socket.

Can I use this: http://www.amazon.com/Male-DVI-D-Female-VGA-Adapter/dp/B007EA48MA on one of the monitors?

Would it work?

 

[Novuake]

That will not work.
The one plug on the mobo(DVI-D) is digital ONLY, since VGA is analog only, it can not be converted with that adapter.

 

[Miguel Lopes]

That will not work.
The one plug on the mobo(DVI-D) is digital ONLY, since VGA is analog only, it can not be converted with that adapter.

Oh, ok... That's bad.

Is there any way of making it work? Or do I have to buy a digital monitor?

 

[rich1051414]

DVI-D to HDMI to VGA

This works and is the only way i know of to make this work without an expensive box to convert the signals.

This setup SHOULD work:

http://www.amazon.com/AmazonBasics-HDMI-Adapter-Cable-Meters/dp/B001TH7T2U/ref=pd_sim_e_5
http://www.amazon.com/PTC-Premium-Series-Female-Coupler/dp/B001EPVOQY/ref=pd_sim_e_4
http://www.amazon.com/Cable-Matters-Active-Adapter-Charger/dp/B00879DM56/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1369678874&sr=8-2&keywords=hdmi+to+vga+converter

 

[Novuake]

DVI-D to HDMI to VGA

This works and is the only way i know of to make this work without an expensive box to convert the signals.

Only works if the mobo supports it, which is hard to know for sure despite the fact that Asrocks site says it supports to analog displays.

 

[rich1051414]

DVI-D to HDMI to VGA

This works and is the only way i know of to make this work without an expensive box to convert the signals.

Only works if the mobo supports it, which is hard to know for sure despite the fact that Asrocks site says it supports to analog displays.

You have to have an ACTIVE hdmi to vga adapter. Which the links above i provided had.

 

[Novuake]

DVI-D to HDMI to VGA

This works and is the only way i know of to make this work without an expensive box to convert the signals.

Only works if the mobo supports it, which is hard to know for sure despite the fact that Asrocks site says it supports to analog displays.

You have to have an ACTIVE hdmi to vga adapter. Which the links above i provided had.

Active will work for sure, yes. 😀

 

[rich1051414]

The only question you have to ask is, is this wire spaghetti for around 30 bucks worth it, or getting a new monitor a better choice.

 

[Miguel Lopes]

That will not work.
The one plug on the mobo(DVI-D) is digital ONLY, since VGA is analog only, it can not be converted with that adapter.

If that is true, the question is: why is there an adapter like this one??

If what you said is true, this adapter wouldn't work in any situation.

It makes no sense...

 

[Novuake]

That will not work.
The one plug on the mobo(DVI-D) is digital ONLY, since VGA is analog only, it can not be converted with that adapter.

If that is true, the question is: why is there an adapter like this one??

If what you said is true, this adapter wouldn't work in any situation.

It makes no sense...

DVI-I ports can be converted with that adapter because DVI-I is both digital and analog output.

 

[Miguel Lopes]

That will not work.
The one plug on the mobo(DVI-D) is digital ONLY, since VGA is analog only, it can not be converted with that adapter.

If that is true, the question is: why is there an adapter like this one??

If what you said is true, this adapter wouldn't work in any situation.

It makes no sense...

DVI-I ports can be converted with that adapter because DVI-I is both digital and analog output.

But it says it's a vga/dvi-d adapter, not dvi-i

 

[Novuake]

http://www.addin.co.th/wboard/product/Tip/dvi-d-dual-link-digital-video-interface-cable.jpg

Look at that image on the right, that is DVI-D dual link, meaning its digital only. VGA only monitors and analog only. So they will not work.

 

[rich1051414]

That will not work.
The one plug on the mobo(DVI-D) is digital ONLY, since VGA is analog only, it can not be converted with that adapter.

If that is true, the question is: why is there an adapter like this one??

If what you said is true, this adapter wouldn't work in any situation.

It makes no sense...

DVI-I ports can be converted with that adapter because DVI-I is both digital and analog output.

But it says it's a vga/dvi-d adapter, not dvi-i

It all depends on the capabilities of the video card. dvi is capable of analog, or digital, or both. If the video card is not capable of analog, it will not work on analog sources, UNLESS you use an active adapter, that converts a digital signal into an analog one. Just like how a telephone line could carry dsl and/or landline, a dvi cable can carry digital and/or analog video. In some cases, the video card will not send an analog signal, so unless you use an active adapter, it will not work.

 

[Miguel Lopes]

http://www.addin.co.th/wboard/product/Tip/dvi-d-dual-link-digital-video-interface-cable.jpg

Look at that image on the right, that is DVI-D dual link, meaning its digital only. VGA only monitors and analog only. So they will not work.

So you're saying vga/dvi-d adapters make no sense at all, right? They wouldn't work in any situation. It's strange that they are for sale. But what you're saying makes sense.