LCD Cable Questions

[Caveman]

My understanding is that the original LCDs were analog and could plug into a standard vid card...

Then, DVI became standard...

I have a friend who has got a 2-3 year old Dell PC, and a 1 year old Dell PC. Both have CRTs and he want to equip the old PC with an LCD. I'd assume his vid card only has an analog out. And I'd also assume that even "new" LCDs can still use an analog cable (albeit not as good of a picture as DVI)... So, he should be able to use an LCD but he's stuck with analog.

Is it correct to assume that all PCs built now (i.e. an off the shelf, garden variety Dell with an integrated vid card) have DVI capability? If yes, when about did that become "standard"?

 

[zagood]

If he needs to get a DVI LCD, you can use a VGA to DVI adapter. Lower picture quality than the LCD will be capable of, but it'll work.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16814999901

Most "standard" onboard video is still VGA.

Unless he's going to upgrade to a DVI video card though, try to look for older, cheaper analog LCDs.

-z

 

[tomt4535]

Most LCD's with DVI also have VGA Inputs. Use DVI if possible, if not VGA will work fine as well. Just check the specs of the LCD you are putting on there, it should say if it has a VGA input or not. Most onboard video solutions dont offer DVI standard. There are a few boards out there that do, but they are few and far between.