Should I buy a DVI cable?

**jphudy** · December 29th, 2003, 02:06 PM

I have an IBM P260 CRT display and it has both an analog and DVI input. I also have a 9600 Pro that has both the DVI and analog inputs. I have been running the CRT with the analog connection.

Does it make sense to buy a DVI to DVI cable for the monitor? Will the CRT actually use the digital signal, or is it actually going to use the analog signal on the DVI cable?

**thekingofpain** · December 29th, 2003, 02:12 PM

I have an LCD and also a 9600 Pro that I was running in analog mode since the cable wasnt long enough, extension cable alone was 43$ to go completely digital but it sure made a difference when I got it...

It didnt come with both cables???

Edit----> Hmmm, not sure if that will make a difference or not?
Got a friend that will loan you a cable for a few mins???

**thekingofpain** · December 29th, 2003, 02:16 PM

Ive purchased from these guys before, I couldnt find a better price for odd stuff--- http://www.cablesnmor.com/dvi-cables.html your cable is more common then what I needed so you may be able to find it cheaper...

**jphudy** · December 29th, 2003, 02:38 PM

Yeah, these DVI cables are expensive. This is why I am hesitant to buy one. Since an LCD screen could be purely digital the DVI cable sending a pure digital signal to the LCD screen should be much better than an analog signal.

But, a CRT can not be purely digital. I mean, the fact that the thing is still shooting electrons at a screen means that even if it accepted a digital signal from the DVI cable, it would only have to convert it to analog before using it anyway.

Because a DVI cable sends both analog and digital signals on the same cable, I think that if I use a DVI cable to hook up DVI on my 9600 to DVI on my CRT, the CRT will just accept the analog signal on the DVI cable and that's it. Why would this be better than the regular analog cable?

I guess my point is that I am assuming that a CRT will NEVER gain the benefits of a DVI cable since the CRT will only accept the analog portion of the singal sent on the DVI cable. So, why bother going to a different cable if the CRT will never use the digital signal anyway?

Or, am I mistaken?

**videobruce** · January 6th, 2004, 09:00 AM

CRT's are anaglog. I never heardof a anaglog monitor having a "digital" connection. I would venture to say it wouldn't be a improvement.

BUT, you could be the first to see if I'm right and get the cable and use Display Mate (or something as good) to test both connections and let us ALL know!

That would be really cool.................

(Can you borrow a cable from a friend?)

**Beemer** · January 6th, 2004, 09:53 AM

Puprchase one and try it out. You can return it when finished your experiment.

I'm running a DVI adapter on my P110 and my 19" Optiquest on the other port of my 9600. I love dual monitors.

Cheers!