DVI TO VGA?

I see what look like good buys on Ebay for Dell Optiplex 780 systems,
including W10 OS.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Dell-Optiple...AOSwm0JYDQo N

I am pretty sure the video on said machines is DVI, but I am buying it
for my son who now has a VGA monitor. So shud I look elsewhere for a
cheap system that is VGA? I remember trying an adapter a few y back,
and it failed. I can't afford buying a DVI monitor.

Thanks

JW#

On 11/26/2016 1:53 PM, wrote:
I see what look like good buys on Ebay for Dell Optiplex 780 systems,
including W10 OS.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Dell-Optiple...AOSwm0JYDQo N

I am pretty sure the video on said machines is DVI, but I am buying it
for my son who now has a VGA monitor. So shud I look elsewhere for a
cheap system that is VGA? I remember trying an adapter a few y back,
and it failed. I can't afford buying a DVI monitor.

Thanks

JW#


There are loads of DVI- VGA adapters out there ranging from $5. I've used
various types in the past and all of them worked just fine -- the
technology involved is super simple. Just Google 'DVI TO VGA ADAPTER' and
pick one you like. If you have doubts, pick a vendor who has a good return
policy -- maybe Amazon.

wrote:
I see what look like good buys on Ebay for Dell Optiplex 780 systems,
including W10 OS.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Dell-Optiple...AOSwm0JYDQo N

I am pretty sure the video on said machines is DVI, but I am buying it
for my son who now has a VGA monitor. So shud I look elsewhere for a
cheap system that is VGA? I remember trying an adapter a few y back,
and it failed. I can't afford buying a DVI monitor.

Thanks

JW#

Look at the pictures *very carefully*. There are
three pictures on that Ebay page.

In the upper section of the back view of the computer,
is a 15-pin VGA connector. That's connected to the chipset.
Maybe they decided the chipset GPU driver wasn't
going to be suitable for Win8/Win10.

Now, the advert says there is a Radeon video card.
But, it doesn't say what *model* of card.

Now, zoom in to the connector on the card.
There is what looks like a Mini-Din with Composite
and S-Video. We don't care about that. The big
connector is what we care about.

So what's the first thing we notice ? No "cross" for the
analog connector contacts. Have a look at the DVI
article on Wikipedia. Does it match ? No.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dvi

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikiped..._Types.svg.png

The two DVI-D connectors don't have a cross. They
lack the VGA analog signals on the cross portion.

The DVI-I connectors have a cross. The blades carry
RGB for VGA analog.

But the connector on that Radeon is not a DVI.
It's a DMS-59 connector, intended for dual monitor
output. The machine *must* come with the hydra cable
to be useful.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DMS-59

Now, the sad part, is there are several versions
of wiring patterns for DMS-59. There is DMS-59
hydra to dual VGA. There is DMS-59 hydra to
dual DVI-I perhaps. There may not be any
visual indication by looking at the connector,
what treasures it holds. Some really early video
cards might have only had VGA on the DMS-59.

It might be one of these. Or, it might not.
The hydra on this one is fully capable, and
all you'd need is a DVI-I to VGA to use it
with VGA. This boxed product comes with not
only the hydra cable, but it also comes
with two DVI-I to VGA adapters. Fully
singing and dancing product. A rarity.

http://accessories.dell.com/sna/prod...&mfgpid=210421

Can you find DMS-59 cables at Best Buy. No.
That's why you want the sellers info that
the cabling is included. While you can
cough up your own DVI-I to VGA connector,
the hydra is really useful to get with
the product. And we know that actual used
(not refurbed) computers, may lack accessories.
This is Ebay after all.

Paul