VGA Vs HDMI

cmndr_andi · 8 Dec 2009 at 14:33

paradisiac said:
will the Nvidia control panel give me more options than windows screen resolutions?

Sure does, but I suspect your mode of connection (VGA-PC mode) may be limiting the resolution. If you connect via DVI/HDMI - you will have no problem outputting at full 1920x1080 (1080p).

paradisiac · 8 Dec 2009 at 14:34

cmndr_andi said:
Sure does

ok kool. will have a play tonight and see how i get on, bit odd why it isnt offering the full HD resolution though.

SsSsSsSsSnake · 8 Dec 2009 at 16:05

yes its the vga connection that is limiting the res, i had the same prob on the sony 40 " bravia, perfect now with the dvi to hdmi lead .

paradisiac · 8 Dec 2009 at 16:08

SsSsSsSsSnake said:
yes its the vga connection that is limiting the res, i had the same prob on the sony 40 " bravia, perfect now with the dvi to hdmi lead .

kool, is there a noticable difference getting the res up to true HD?

cmndr_andi · 8 Dec 2009 at 16:13

Aye, there will be. But its not really about "True HD", more about actually using the proper resolution of the screen.

The screen actually only has 1920x1080 pixels, any other resolution (ie 1600x1200) will be using sub-pixel rendering to try and create new resolutions with the fixed number of pixels. As you can imagine, this doesn't look particularly good compared to using the native resolution (where each actual pixel is simply treated as a normal pixel).

paradisiac · 8 Dec 2009 at 16:15

cmndr_andi said:
Aye, there will be. But its not really about "True HD", more about actually using the proper resolution of the screen.

The screen actually only has 1920x1080 pixels, any other resolution (ie 1600x1200) will be using sub-pixel rendering to try and create new resolutions with the fixed number of pixels. As you can imagine, this doesn't look particularly good compared to using the native resolution (where each actual pixel is simply treated as a normal pixel).

ah right i get you, so my tv is def 1920x1080?

cmndr_andi · 8 Dec 2009 at 16:18

Aye, it definitely is. Just google your model number and you will see the product pages advertising the resolution as "1920x1080". I would link, be we aren't allowed to link to competitors.

paradisiac · 8 Dec 2009 at 16:23

cmndr_andi said:
Aye, it definitely is. Just google your model number and you will see the product pages advertising the resolution as "1920x1080". I would link, be we aren't allowed to link to competitors.

thats kool, so hopefully plug the hdmi lead in and it should adjust the res accordingly. should this stop the resizing process that seems to take place at the moment where once another screen opens it takes a min or 2 to adjust it to fit on the screen. dunno how to explain it clearly, sorry

Rroff · 8 Dec 2009 at 16:51

Aslong as you can get the full native resolution on both - there isn't a huge difference between VGA and HDMI (or DVI) - unless your TV is one thats poor with VGA which isn't completely uncommon. Digital will be a little more crisp and vibrant but unless you are literally switching over from source to source or running 2 of the same display side by side on different sources you'd be hard pressed to tell the difference - I doubt any one could in a double blind test.

TAC4U · 8 Dec 2009 at 17:42

Go digital where possible. At the end of the day you've always got your eyes to tell you which works better.

Stonedofmoo · 8 Dec 2009 at 17:50

I doubt any one could in a double blind test.

Having seen the difference side by side I can assure you that you can.
Theres no reason to use VGA unless you're desperate really. Why convert a digital signal to analog only to convert it back to digital again. Best to stay digital the whole way for picture quality.

paradisiac · 8 Dec 2009 at 18:06

well how disappointed am i, got home, went to connect it up via HDMI and i dont have a HDMI socket on my 9500GT, i did on my 8400 and thought this one did too, oh well, will have to get an adaptor from work tomorrow.

minikayslay · 8 Dec 2009 at 23:03

HDMI-Btw never spend more than 20quid o a hdmi cable.

paradisiac · 9 Dec 2009 at 08:43

minikayslay said:
HDMI-Btw never spend more than 20quid o a hdmi cable.

we get 5m HDMI leads in for about £3 and they seem pretty decent picture quality through my ps3 and sky hd so will use one of them on this.

ebilcake · 9 Dec 2009 at 09:22

Stonedofmoo said:
Having seen the difference side by side I can assure you that you can.
Theres no reason to use VGA unless you're desperate really. Why convert a digital signal to analog only to convert it back to digital again. Best to stay digital the whole way for picture quality.

Oftern you don't have a choice, allot of even recent TV's simply don't work correctly when you connect them to a PC using HDMI, even onces which are also labeled DVI.

As for telling the difference with them side by side, I bet if you never know which were which and somebody told you to identify the HDMI you and many others would get it wrong.

creed said:
A lot of TVs are limited to 1360x768 over VGA even if they do 1080p on HDMI.

Never seen this, all 1080p dispays i've used do 1080p fine over VGA.

paradisiac · 9 Dec 2009 at 10:55

am i right in thinking if i do manage to get it to output 1080p, it is only going to be for the desktop as the graphics card wouldnt be good enough to run games at that res?

Biffa · 9 Dec 2009 at 10:59

Depends on the game mate, you could probably run old games on it

Witor · 9 Dec 2009 at 11:01

9500GT...probably not for newer titles i'd hazard a guess. Not playably anyways.

Originally Posted by creed
A lot of TVs are limited to 1360x768 over VGA even if they do 1080p on HDMI.

I also found this with my Sony KDLu400 40". Soon as I switched to a HDMI cable, full 1080p was available on my media center PC (8600GTS)

paradisiac · 9 Dec 2009 at 11:01

Biffa said:
Depends on the game mate, you could probably run old games on it

at the moment been playing NFS:Shift, Fifa2010, L4D2 and hopefully tonight will have a chance to play COD:MW2

cmndr_andi · 9 Dec 2009 at 11:02

It really depends on the games. If you try to run less intensive/older games like Battlefield 2 or KOTOR on a 9500GT @1920x1080 I think you will be fine. However, playing newer games (Far Cry 2, Call of Duty 4, Crysis) will not be a very nice experience ie less than 25FPS.