The Notebook Review forums were hosted by TechTarget, who shut down them down on January 31, 2022. This static read-only archive was pulled by NBR forum users between January 20 and January 31, 2022, in an effort to make sure that the valuable technical information that had been posted on the forums is preserved. For current discussions, many NBR forum users moved over to NotebookTalk.net after the shutdown.
Problems? See this thread at archive.org.

    Display port vs. DVI vs. HDMI

    Discussion in 'Dell' started by dgposton, Jun 8, 2012.

  1. dgposton

    dgposton Notebook Consultant

    Reputations:
    0
    Messages:
    120
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    30
    My Latitude E6400 has Display Port and DVI, I believe. No HDMI. Can someone explain why Display Port and which external monitors it will be compatible with?

    I am looking for a new monitor, the slimmest LED available, something like this:

    Dell S2230MX 21.5" Ultra-Slim Monitor with LED

    But it doesn't have Display Port, and I suspect many don't. What to do?
     
    dgposton, Jun 8, 2012
    #1
  2. sgogeta4

    sgogeta4 Notebook Nobel Laureate

    Reputations:
    2,389
    Messages:
    10,552
    Likes Received:
    7
    Trophy Points:
    456
    Hdmi is a consumer port and this is a business laptop. It just needs a passive adapter to connect it with dp. Dp was supposed to replace vga.

    Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk
     
    sgogeta4, Jun 8, 2012
    #2
  3. dgposton

    dgposton Notebook Consultant

    Reputations:
    0
    Messages:
    120
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    30
    Two questions:
    1. Is there any downgrade in quality by using an adapter to go from Display Port to HDMI?
    2. Am I better off using DVI or Display Port --> HDMI?
     
    dgposton, Jun 8, 2012
    #3
  4. Robin24k

    Robin24k Notebook Deity

    Reputations:
    274
    Messages:
    1,700
    Likes Received:
    5
    Trophy Points:
    56
    No, single link DisplayPort and HDMI are pin-wise compatible so it's just a pin rearrangement.

    Either cable will work, but you don't have DVI on the laptop (you'll need a docking station or DisplayPort to DVI adapter).
     
    Robin24k, Jun 8, 2012
    #4
  5. dgposton

    dgposton Notebook Consultant

    Reputations:
    0
    Messages:
    120
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    30
    I have the E-port docking station, so I have DVI there (and DisplayPort too methinks), and DisplayPort on the laptop. I guess I should just go with DVI?
     
    dgposton, Jun 9, 2012
    #5
  6. Robin24k

    Robin24k Notebook Deity

    Reputations:
    274
    Messages:
    1,700
    Likes Received:
    5
    Trophy Points:
    56
    If you would like to be able to connect the computer to the monitor without the docking station, go with DisplayPort.

    Otherwise, if you always use the docking station, DVI is more common and many monitors come with the cable (UltraSharp monitors all come with one, don't know about consumer models).
     
    Robin24k, Jun 9, 2012
    #6
  7. elpee_2001

    elpee_2001 Notebook Enthusiast

    Reputations:
    0
    Messages:
    21
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    5
    Off topic a bit.
    Just saw a new MacBook Pro has 2 thunderbolt ports. What is it? Thanks.
     
    elpee_2001, Jun 13, 2012
    #7