What DVI cable should I get?

[Achilles97]

I just got an NEC LCD with a DVI-D port, and I have a Radeon 9500pro with a DVI port. The monitor does not come with a DVI cable. What cable should I get? Does it matter? Are there quality differences?

Thanks!

 

[Bozo Galora]

Dunno,

Belkin has the single and dual link (1600 res and higher) DVI ($55 $66)
http://catalog.belkin.com/IWCa...&Product_Id=105267
http://catalog.belkin.com/IWCa...&Product_Id=105278

Lifetime warranty.

Will you see a difference between those and a $20 cable???
Its all about ones financial condition and how important it is to you to have peace of mind

 

[Bozo Galora]

of course if you put one of those in the belkin shopping cart and put 12345 in redeem, you might get a big surprise.

 

[Spikesoldier]

Originally posted by: Bozo Galora
of course if you put one of those in the belkin shopping cart and put 12345 in redeem, you might get a big surprise.

:thumbsup:

 

[YabbyU]

I tested a $125.00 dvi monster cable and a $30.00 generic dvi cable with my50" sony LCD TV and Upscaling DVD player. I couldn't tell a difference no matter how close I looked. I tried to convince myself the $125.00 cable was neccessary....... Buy the cheapest.

 

[Garlic]

Originally posted by: YabbyU
I tested a $125.00 dvi monster cable and a $30.00 generic dvi cable with my50" sony LCD TV and Upscaling DVD player. I couldn't tell a difference no matter how close I looked. I tried to convince myself the $125.00 cable was neccessary....... Buy the cheapest.

Thats because it dosnt matter...

Back in the analog world it made a difference. The analog signal entering the cable was never the same at the other due to the capacitance of the cable and other factors so a quality cable did make a difference.

In the digital world it makes absolutly no difference. The digital signal entering the cable is exactly the same at the other end with a cheap-o cable or a $120 monster cable. Same thing with USB cables. Its impossible even for a cheap-o cable to change the digital bits it carries....

 

[sharkeeper]

It will matter when you start to increase the length. For standard lengths of three meters or less, shop by price.

Cheers!

 

[Garlic]

Nope. As long as the cheap-o cable is certified it wont matter. Long or short its not going to change the digital bits it carries. Why spend more on a brand name cable when the digital bits at both ends of the cables are identical....

 

[boggsie]

There are different types of dvi cables that support the following:

dvi-I = carries both analog and digital signal
From what I understand, most video cards that have dvi output will send signal to both of the analog and digital sides of the dvi connector.

dvi-D = carries only digital signal
There aren't any CRT's that I am aware of that can use the digital signal. Not all LCD's support using the digital signal.

dvi-A = carries only analog signal
From what I understand, this is all that a CRT can use, but some LCD's can also use the analog signal.

So, the cable you buy depends on what your video card and monitor support. If you are only talking DVI-D, then don't spend the extra cash on a DVI-I cable.

 

[buleyb]

The quality of cables makes a difference for error correction. For most people, this does not matter, but for longer runs or runs with large sources of interference, high quality/shielded cables are good. Error correction on most of these chipsets is intended for single bit correction.

This is usually an industrial installation problem, but I have seen a few morons run video cables behind their refrigerators...

 

[Achilles97]

Thanks a lot guys. I only want a 6' cable, so I'm just gonna shop by price.


My LCD has DVI-D, and my vid card has DVI-I, so does that mean I should get a DVI-D cable because the monitor cannot do DVI-I? Do I even need DVI-I?


One more thing, what's the difference between dual-link and single-link?


Thanks!