Going from VGA to DVI-D

[gorgis]

For many years I've been using VGA to connect my GTX560ti GPU to my monitor, without an issue. My GPU is finally dead, following 2 or 3 years after I reflowed it, so I'm gonna replace it. I'm going to get a GTX1050 as a replacement, but the current generation of graphics cards use digital outputs only.

My Monitor supports digital signal too (has a DVI-D input), so I should be fine I guess. Model is LG L1980U to be specific. I only have a few questions, before I finally make the analog to digital transition though:

1. Right now I run my monitor @75Hz refresh rate. I've seen a few threads saying it's not really that possible with a digital signal and I will only be able to reach 60Hz, even if my monitor supports up to 75Hz. Is that true?

2. Do I need a single link or dual link DVI cable, or either will work?

3. For a ~2m cable, will there be a significant difference between a cheap and an expensive cable?

 

[blockhead78]

the GTX 1050 can output higher than 60hz over DL-DVI, DP & HDMI

for your resolution, single link will work

as far as price goes... personally I never buy the cheap bargain cables

 

[BFG-9000]

1. You can change refresh rate with DVI
2. Lol 1280 x 1024 only needs single link. Dual link is required for 2560x1440
3. There is no difference with digital, unlike analog. If it was a very long cable then a high quality one would work at longer distances, but at 2m it's a non-issue

 

[blockhead78]

1. You can change refresh rate with DVI
2. Lol 1280 x 1024 only needs single link. Dual link is required for 2560x1440
3. There is no difference with digital, unlike analog. If it was a very long cable then a high quality one would work at longer distances, but at 2m it's a non-issue

for higher than 60hz, then dual link is required

*edit* sorry, only just noticed the monitor spec. updated my original response 😀

 

[BFG-9000]

Yeah single-link only has enough bandwidth for 1920x1080p up to 67Hz, but I think 75Hz will be fine at that 1990's resolution! With a GTX1050 I'm going to suggest using DSR to run games at higher resolutions and downsample them.

New-in-package Dell single-link DVI cables are only $2 here. If you'd have to pay a lot more than that, may as well consider a dual-link one just for future-proofing.

 

[gorgis]

but I think 75Hz will be fine at that 1990's resolution!

Unpopular opinion but I prefer that aspect ratio to the 16:9 current standard haha
My monitor used to be great a few years back and still outperforms many mid range monitors, so I won't change it until it dies 😀

Also, back to the subject, I'll post this post regarding my first question. From what I can understand, it's basically I can go from 60Hz to 120Hz, if my hardware supports 120Hz. No 75Hz possible.
http://www.tomshardware.co.uk/forum/62125-3-monitor

And regarding my 2nd question, I could find only dual link DVI cables available. Those will work too, right?

Mod Edit for Language

 

[SkyNetRising]

From what I can understand, it's basically I can go from 60Hz to 120Hz, if my hardware supports 120Hz. No 75Hz.

If your monitor is 75hz, then it will not go higher than that.

I could find only dual link DVI cables available. Those will work too, right?

Any DVI-D cable will do - single link, dual link, any. Your monitor doesn't require additional bandwidth, dual link cable provides.

I seriously suggest you consider upgrading your monitor. It's from year 2005 after all.

 

[gorgis]

From what I can understand, it's basically I can go from 60Hz to 120Hz, if my hardware supports 120Hz. No 75Hz.

If your monitor is 75hz, then it will not go higher than that.

I'm not looking for more than 75Hz. I just want to be know if I'll able to reach 75Hz. According to the thread link I posted above, I won't be able to reach 75Hz, even if my monitor supports up to 75Hz.

 

[BFG-9000]

There used to be LCD monitors that could accept a 75Hz signal but only refreshed the panel internally at 60Hz (which could cause a telecine judder problem), however by 2005 actual 75Hz panels were widely available.

I see nothing in that thread mentioning your monitor or 1280x1024, and the OP in it has a 1080p monitor.
You don't have a high-refresh rate monitor, so the only choices you will see are 60Hz and 75Hz unless you untick the box for "Hide modes that this monitor cannot display." If you do and choose 120Hz you will see an out of range error on a black screen. There are also more refresh rates under the "List all modes" button, which shows every resolution supported by the graphics driver. As I pointed out in my previous reply, there's not enough bandwidth in single-link to do 75Hz at 1080p--and HDMI is equivalent to single-link DVI too. So if you had a 1080p monitor and single-link or HDMI cable, you would not see 75Hz or 120Hz options even if the monitor was capable of it. You might possibly be able to use a custom resolution utility (I used to use Powerstrip long ago, actually now the nVidia control panel lets you set custom resolutions too) to set 65-67Hz but the monitor may not like it.

Dual-link cable would also work fine, and will additionally still be usable when you get a new DVI monitor.

4:3 standard aspect is usually considered best for productivity, plus digital camera photos are nearly always 4:3
16:10 is also fine for productivity, as it allows two side-by-side letter pages. 3:2 film photos also fit best here
16:9 widescreen is the new standard thanks to TV so most modern games and DVDs are formatted for it
21:9 ultrawide is best for cinema but the very limited vertical height makes for lots of scrolling

So 4:3 is fine, but your monitor has less vertical resolution than even 1080p!.

 

[gorgis]

There used to be LCD monitors that could accept a 75Hz signal but only refreshed the panel internally at 60Hz (which could cause a telecine judder problem), however by 2005 actual 75Hz panels were widely available.

I see nothing in that thread mentioning your monitor or 1280x1024, and the OP in it has a 1080p monitor.
You don't have a high-refresh rate monitor, so the only choices you will see are 60Hz and 75Hz unless you untick the box for "Hide modes that this monitor cannot display." If you do and choose 120Hz you will see an out of range error on a black screen. There are also more refresh rates under the "List all modes" button, which shows every resolution supported by the graphics driver. As I pointed out in my previous reply, there's not enough bandwidth in single-link to do 75Hz at 1080p--and HDMI is equivalent to single-link DVI too. So if you had a 1080p monitor and single-link or HDMI cable, you would not see 75Hz or 120Hz options even if the monitor was capable of it. You might possibly be able to use a custom resolution utility (I used to use Powerstrip long ago, actually now the nVidia control panel lets you set custom resolutions too) to set 65-67Hz but the monitor may not like it.

Dual-link cable would also work fine, and will additionally still be usable when you get a new DVI monitor.

4:3 standard aspect is usually considered best for productivity, plus digital camera photos are nearly always 4:3
16:10 is also fine for productivity, as it allows two side-by-side letter pages. 3:2 film photos also fit best here
16:9 widescreen is the new standard thanks to TV so most modern games and DVDs are formatted for it
21:9 ultrawide is best for cinema but the very limited vertical height makes for lots of scrolling

So 4:3 is fine, but your monitor has less vertical resolution than even 1080p!.

Thanks for clearing things up. I was very confused when I read the thread I posted. It would suck if I wasn't able to reach 75Hz...

Tbh I still find 1280x1024 sufficient for me atm. As long as everything is not pixelated it's fine I guess...