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Thread: What kind of cable do I need?

  1. #1
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    What kind of cable do I need?

    Hello,
    I bought a DELL OPTIPLEX SX280 from eBay but now I just realized that my VGA and or HDMI cables do not work with this PC. Please have a look at the attachment.
    This is the link for my monitor: http://www.p4c.philips.com/cgi-bin/d...&slg=en&scy=US

    I really hope you don't tell me I should buy another PC or change my monitor! Please let me know what kind of cable I should buy for it.

    I guess I need some sort of conversion but I don't know its name! My VGA cable has 15 pins in 3 rows. There is no such a thing at the back of this PC. As I said I also have an HDMI cable.

    Thanks
    Attached Images Attached Images
    Last edited by boyboy400; January 12th, 2011 at 04:13 AM.

  2. #2
    Senior Member wiskic10_4's Avatar
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    DVI. You can buy a DVI to VGA at Best Buy or wherever for like $10-$15 or buy it online for even cheaper. http://www.google.com/search?q=DVI+t...ef8cda26d1a6ec
    My Corner of the Intarwebz: Jeremy Dean Online

  3. #3
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    Thanks..Now that I wanna buy, is it better to buy a 25pin male DVI to female HDMI or is it better to buy the same DVI to VGA?
    I had some problems with my current VGA cable but I can get another one I guess...

  4. #4
    Senior Member wiskic10_4's Avatar
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    Obviously, the HDMI would get a better picture - in theory...

    Hard to say. Why don't you give us the specs of your computer and display device. Also, what problems are you having w/ your VGA and how do you know it's the cable to blame?
    My Corner of the Intarwebz: Jeremy Dean Online

  5. #5
    Senior Member nihil's Avatar
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    Hmmmmm,

    Basically you have a relatively modern monitor and an old office desktop device. The original kit shipped with a 15" monitor and I believe that a 17" was available?

    The Dell Optiplex SX280 has an integrated Intel video chipset and NO expansion slots. This limits you to performance values that the video chipset supports, which are way lower than the monitor's capabilities.

    The device was designed for office use, like spreadsheets, word processing and forms, not for gaming and home entertainment.

    In theory, DVI-I and HDMI are newer technologies than VGA, but in this case I doubt if it would make much difference

    I really hope you don't tell me I should buy another PC or change my monitor!
    Errrrr...........................yes! Actually, you need a computer with better graphics capabilities to take full advantage of the monitor.

    The danger is that that if you run the graphics chipset at its maximum or beyond, you will burn it out. And remember that the small form factor makes the Dell difficult to keep cool.

    I would recommend that you check out what the video chipset is supposed to support, and bear in mind that it probably isn't intended to do that for long periods under full load, as that isn't how office desktops are generally used

    I am afraid that it is a basic fact of life that when you buy ex-office kit, you are going to want to upgrade it, so you need to check whether this is possible and if the end result is economical.

    Good luck!

  6. #6
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    Quote Originally Posted by wiskic10_4 View Post
    Obviously, the HDMI would get a better picture - in theory...

    Hard to say. Why don't you give us the specs of your computer and display device. Also, what problems are you having w/ your VGA and how do you know it's the cable to blame?
    Thanks wiskic10_4...this link provides you with all what I know from the computer: http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rt=nc&nma=true&item=370461640759&si=9kwT%252BuRivxdUYYyV%252FAWepM0U1VQ%253D&viewitem=&sspagename=ADME%3AX%3AAAQ%3AUS%3A1123

    The problem was flickering. When I changed VGA to HDMI it was gone. There is one old thread from me describing the full story but the result was as I said.

    Nihil: I bought it for 125$ and used to think it was a deal considering its specifications If it only allows me to watch high quality full screen (22" monitor with 1920*1080 resolution) movies and surf internet I will be fine with it!!!!!! since I do all the other stuff mostly in my office and that's a DELL studio XPS 435T/9000 ... anyways .....
    Last edited by boyboy400; January 13th, 2011 at 12:57 AM.

  7. #7
    Senior Member nihil's Avatar
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    I just looked at a machine my wife bought from her workplace that has the same chipset. In theory they will support 2048 x 1536, so you should be OK but please keep an eye on the temperatures to begin with, that is a pretty cramped case you have there.

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    I seem to have lots of problems.......!!!!!!!!!!!

    So I ordered a DVI to VGA adapter and I got it yesterday. Now the one I got has 25 pins (24 needle-like pins and one big horizontal one) but it doesn't work...
    I tried another adapter which has all the 25 pins as above PLUS 4 other ones around this big horizontal pin and it worked...

    My question is that does the adapter not work because of being short those 4 pins or it has some internal problems? I mean should I have ordered a 29 pins instead of 25 pins or they are just the same?

    Thanks

    Answer:
    So apparently there are I and D models and some video cards only work with one of them and mine is like this....
    D Model 24+1
    and
    I Model 28small +1large pin
    Last edited by boyboy400; January 21st, 2011 at 11:23 PM.

  9. #9
    Senior Member nihil's Avatar
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    You don't have much luck do you mate! I am looking at 5 DVI connections on the table in front of me and all are the type "I". The range is from early VGA to PCI-e x16. I don't believe I have ever seen a type "D".

    Looking at these 4 video cards has got me thinking about your other problem. I noticed that they all have an S-video TV-Out connection.

    Now, the GMA900 supports TV out AND HD, but it appears to be only implemented in the mobile versions. I presume because laptops of the era had TV-Out to allow for presentations on large TV screens?............yes they did!.............I just looked up the rear end of one waiting for its new HDD and DVD drives..........it has an S-video socket

    The problems would be how to connect to a device that doesn't have a TV out socket, how to install the management software, and how to circumvent the BIOS and existing video drivers.You would need to trick it into thinking that it was attached to a TV not a monitor.

    http://www.intel.com/support/graphic.../CS-020172.htm

    I think that it would be a lot easier to get a new PC

    EDIT:

    I have been rooting around and found a cable with what looks like HDMI at one end and USB at the other. I think it is to connect a mobile phone/camera to an HDTV. I wonder what would happen if you connected that way?

    In theory, the PC should see a USB device attached and Windows will go and look for drivers for it?

    I will see if I can test that later today, but it will be with a proper Windows 7 laptop and an HDTV rather than a monitor. The reason for the emphatic caveats is that the laptop was built for Windows 7 and has a native 16:9 screen with supporting video chipset, so it must have the right drivers/management software. Also the TV supports a whole range of input methods: PC VGA, HDMI/DVI, AV and S-video.

    If you don't have one yourself, see if you can borrow such a cable from someone with a cellphone or digital camera that does.
    Last edited by nihil; January 22nd, 2011 at 01:41 PM.

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