Have I made a mistake?

[JM Aggie08]

Here is my setup:

• Two 24" Dell Monitors
• Dell Docking Station - Work Laptop
• Desktop

I have a DVI from one monitor and VGA from the other running to the docking station (it's an older dock). This obviously works fine.

For the desktop, I purchased two Display Port -> DVI Cables, with the intent of connecting the display port ends to the monitors, and the DVI ends to the video card. This has resulted in zero output on my monitors, and an inability to detect the display over the Display Port -> DVI Cable.

Can someone shed some light on where I went wrong? Am I mistaken in my understand of how these Display Port -> DVI Cables should work?

For reference, the cables -> http://www.amazon.com/Gold-Plated-D...014KIIZV8/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_product_top?ie=UTF8

 

[Elixer]

What vid card you hooking this up to?

 

[JM Aggie08]

Gtx 750ti

 

[SolMiester]

At work, I have both my monitors hooked up to the desktop and just RDP to my laptop to use one of the monitors. This way, you only need hook up the monitors to the desktop with the better GPU.
If your monitors support dual input, i cant see any reason why they wouldn't be working, otherwise you could just setup as I have for same result.

 

[topmounter]

I could be wrong, but I didn't think that you could go from DVI on the video card to DisplayPort on the monitor since DVI predates DisplayPort by nearly ten years, while DisplayPort was designed to drive existing DVI displays.

 

[JM Aggie08]

I could be wrong, but I didn't think that you could go from DVI on the video card to DisplayPort on the monitor since DVI predates DisplayPort by nearly ten years, while DisplayPort was designed to drive existing DVI displays.

That's what I suspect I just figured that digital = digital, but that's apparently not the case.

 

[Chicken76]

What model are your monitors?

 

[xorbe]

That's what I suspect I just figured that digital = digital, but that's apparently not the case.

It's hdmi and dvi that are "the same". DP is something else.

 

[Elixer]

I could be wrong, but I didn't think that you could go from DVI on the video card to DisplayPort on the monitor since DVI predates DisplayPort by nearly ten years, while DisplayPort was designed to drive existing DVI displays.

That is wrong, you can indeed have DisplayPort converters to DVI (or HDMI).
If the monitor is saying no signal, then, it seems those cables were not the right ones, or perhaps it needs active converters.
Unsure here, never tried with that video card, but, that card has native DP output, so, that should work, then you just need either the DVI or HDMI converter to DP.
What make is that card, there might be some limitation in the specs.

 

[topmounter]

That is wrong, you can indeed have DisplayPort converters to DVI (or HDMI).
If the monitor is saying no signal, then, it seems those cables were not the right ones, or perhaps it needs active converters.
Unsure here, never tried with that video card, but, that card has native DP output, so, that should work, then you just need either the DVI or HDMI converter to DP.
What make is that card, there might be some limitation in the specs.

Right, but you need an "active" converter like this one:

http://www.startech.com/AV/Converters/Video/DVI-to-DisplayPort-Adapter-with-Audio~DVI2DPA

As opposed to DisplayPort being designed to map to DVI using a passive cable.

 

[Pariah]

You're trying to send a DVI signal to a display port monitor, but you bought an adapter that converts a display port signal to a DVI one. You can't flip the direction of the cable and expect it to convert in the other direction.

A quick search turned up nothing that goes from DVI to display port. An active adapter may exist but those cost considerably more than passive, and you would still have to find it anyway. A new video card would probably be cheaper than 2 active adapters.

 

[JM Aggie08]

That is wrong, you can indeed have DisplayPort converters to DVI (or HDMI).
If the monitor is saying no signal, then, it seems those cables were not the right ones, or perhaps it needs active converters.
Unsure here, never tried with that video card, but, that card has native DP output, so, that should work, then you just need either the DVI or HDMI converter to DP.
What make is that card, there might be some limitation in the specs.

There is no native DP output -- 2x DVI and mini-HDMI.

I'm fairly certain I am hosed and will need an alternative method. The monitors are Dell P2414H, which has 1x DP, 1x DVI, and 1x VGA. Looks like I'll be rocking an one analog and one digital display :thumbsdown:

 

[xorbe]

What does that "DP to DVI" cable actually do? Can a gfx card's DP port emit a DVI/HDMI signal? edit: Apparently, yes. I did not realize that!
http://www.displayport.org/faq/faq-archive/
"DP is designed to work with your older technology. With simple adapters you can be backwards compatible to VGA, DVI even HDMI."

I have the XB270HU which has just a single DP input. PITA, because I can't hook it up to any older machines in a pinch. I have to keep a spare vga/hdmi/dvi screen in the closet for family tech support.

(What ElFenix says in the next post, if I wasn't clear.)

 

[ElFenix]

a displayport source can drive all sorts of other connections (if designed for it). but the same isn't true the other way around.

hdmi is basically just DVI with different pin layout. nothing electrically needs to be done to convert it. so cheap adapter cables are available. a displayport signal is a completely different signalling protocol, so a monitor expecting a displayport signal is going to either need a displayport source or an active converter (not cheap).

 

[Denithor]

Looks like DP -> DVI is passive, handled by the cable. DVI -> DP is active, you need a special adapter to do the conversion.

I'm guessing your dock has 1xVGA and 1xDVI? And you are using both to connect to both screens?

If so, just do this.

Buy one of these:
http://www.amazon.com/StarTech-Fema...TF8&qid=1457359568&sr=1-3&keywords=dvi+to+vga
-or-
http://www.amazon.com/HDE-DVI-DVI-I...TF8&qid=1457359568&sr=1-6&keywords=dvi+to+vga

Use that to connect dock to second monitor (so dock will have analog connection to each screen). Then just use 2xDVI cables to output from desktop GPU to the two monitor DVI ports.

 

[JM Aggie08]

Great, simplified recommendation that I hadn't thought of (and feel silly for). Thanks!

 

[Denithor]

LOL no problem man. If you're like me, you may even have a few of those adapters around from previous GPU purchases (used to be included standard, not so much in recent years).

 

[xorbe]

I'm guessing your dock has 1xVGA and 1xDVI? And you are using both to connect to both screens?

If so, just do this.

If that DVI output is DVI-I (and not DVI-D). DVI-I has the 4 pins around the blade, and the blade is wider, iirc.

 

[JM Aggie08]

If that DVI output is DVI-I (and not DVI-D). DVI-I has the 4 pins around the blade, and the blade is wider, iirc.

There-in lies my problem. It's DVI-D output on the dock, and I can't find a damn converter for it!

 

[xorbe]

DVI-D only drives DVI or HDMI. I'm actually a little fuzzy from your first post what you are trying to drive. I thought you had screens with DP inputs, and that the docking station was already working.

 

[JM Aggie08]

Looking to have all analog on the docking station (by use of DVI-D to VGA Adapter...if I can find one with the 24-1 pin configuration), and all digital DVI-I coming from my desktop.

 

[xorbe]

Looking to have all analog on the docking station (by use of DVI-D to VGA Adapter

Not possible, DVI-D lacks analog. The 4 pins around the slotted pin are the analog pins, iirc. The pins literally aren't there.

 

[JM Aggie08]

Son of a bitch. Oh well, thanks all.