Is there a real difference between vga and dvi??

IgsTer

as i will be getting a monitor along with a new pc in just a few weeks..im now deciding on what monitor to get..im now looknig for a monitor for around the 225-250 mark and have found a

acer 19inch widescreen 8ms VGA 215euro
benq 19inch fullscreen 8ms DVI 225euro
samsung 19inch widescreen 4ms DVI 256 euro

now for a while i was just going to get the acer but then came acrosss the other two monitors that had dvi and were not that expensive..now i heard many people say that dvi is the way to go and it offers superior quality compared to vga input..such as better colour,contrast,detail and less ghosting etc..now im just wondering is there a real difference between the two..like is ti something that is worth the extra 40 euro..

i will be using the pc for mainly games as i will be getting a 1950xtx which should do nicely at the monitors max resolution..

Ghost Train

the differance is dvi is digital, vga is analog
lcd vga screens that I've used have been no problem, pixels are exactly where they should be, colours look fine after adjusting, no ghosting or problems with detail. dvi is better, colours should be perfectly accurate(to what the factory sets it), it's a more direct representation of what the video card is outputting. Doesn't bother me having a vga monitor though, i don't really think is makes that much differance. the samsung brand sounds the best though, they seem to make good screens and might be worth the extra money

simplified view of things
vga
video signal -> digital to analog converter -> vga cable -> analog to digital converter ->screen
dvi
video signal -> dvi cable -> screen

8T8

A lot also depends on the quality of the components some VGA display are excellent picture quality & some are poor due to lower quality parts being used.

I'd go with the Samsung as the safe bet.

IgsTer

kk..thanks alot guys..i think ill go with the samsung then just got to get the extra 60 euro needed to get the whole pc..and then i order the parts..

when i was in peats the other day i saw a 19 inch widescreen and the screen looked sort of squashed down in height and more squezzed out in width..like it looked like if i were to play games i would hardly be able to see whats above me...would this be the case with a 19inch widescreen..or would the screen size be good for games..than a full screen monitor..

thanks

duridian

Chances are that they had the widescreen monitor set to the wrong (maybe a 4:3 ratio) resolution in Peats and thats why things looked squashed. Some games support widescreen res., others don't (eg. I believe the Need For Speed games don't, for some strange reason the makers didn't provide the widescreen support so it looks squashed on a ws monitor)

IgsTer

alri yeah i getya..it could have been but it wasnt actually the stuff on the monitor that confused me it was actually the screen size...it looked like it was for example more pulled out in width and not pulled up in height so it looked like there wouldnt be much room for vertical stuff..only width..like just for example the screen was like 15 inchs wide and only 8 inchs in height..

Ghost Train

a 19" wide screen will have less screen area than a standard 19" so maybe thats what youre noticeing
http://www.cavecreations.com/tv2.cgi

IgsTer

yeah probably..just hope the screen isnt that small...will a 19" widescreen be ok for gaming on or would it be a little small compared to getting a 4:3 19inch?

Ghost Train

IgsTer wrote:

yeah probably..just hope the screen isnt that small...will a 19" widescreen be ok for gaming on or would it be a little small compared to getting a 4:3 19inch?

I went for a 4:3 19" last year cause it was cheaper, afterwards i was half thinking i should have gone with a widescreen. It's pretty hard to know, the way things are going widescreen probably makes more sense. watching a 16:9 movie on a 4:3 19" actually gives you a bigger picture than a 17" widescreen display does though, works out as 17.4" which aint too bad. Really just a decision you have work out which will suit you best. Newer games no doubt will be making better use of wide screen displays I think

edit: actually most monitors are 5:4 not 4:3, so a 16:9 movie on a 19" display is about the 17"

it also means a 4:3 picture on a 19" windescreen would only be slightly bigger than a standard 15" monitor

IgsTer

well if i do go ahead and get the 19" widescreen..i wont be playing any content in full screen mode..games dvds etc will all be in widescreeen 16:9..so once the 19 inch widescreen has same area of a 19inch full screen or at least a good bit more than a 17 inch fullscreen i think ill go for the samsung..

thanks for all the help