P-6831FX On A Seperate Monitor - Which Output?

Hi all ... Been trolling here for a bit. THANK YOU for suggesting the P-6831FX Gateway laptop! I love it! But now I want to be able to hook my laptop up to a bigger monitor to watch TV and play games. My question is ... which output provides the best visual outputs from the P-6831FX? (Either the VGA or HDMI.) I have a desktop which desperately needs a new LCD I have an old 19" CRT (ack!). So the new monitor has to have two inputs - obviously a DVI for the desktop and the other needs to be VGA or HDMI for the laptop to connect. If the VGA is as good as the HDMI then I'm getting Samsung. If the HDMI is a better choice, then I'm going with the Gateway. Any suggestions would be appreciated! Thanks!

Bottom line - is the VGA output on the P-6831FX Gateway as good as the HDMI outputs?

 

There should be no compromise in image quality between DVI-D and HDMI. Both are digital signals.

 

HDMI is better, especially on higher resolutions. So, if you are planning on getting a monitor with 1680x1050 or above, get one with dual DVI or DVI and HDMI.

 

Yes, you will not tell the difference for your intended use. The HDMI cables tend to be overly expensive as well, unless it comes with monitor of choice. In my case not!

 

As the digital signals sent through DVI are the same on HDMI, all that's required is an adapter that's either plugged into the display or the laptop. So, like Budding said, go for a screen with Dual-DVI or DVI+HDMI.

Oh, and you haven't been trolling, you have been lurking. Trolling is to deliberately post inflammatory remarks in order to provoke a vehement response from other users. That is bad. Very, very bad. Lurking is to read posts and whatnot, but not particapate.

 

Well, Ok. Since you agree with others on the HDMI, which I use both with my Sony HD TV, what am I missing? I see no dot crawl, color shifts, noise or any visual degradation. May I ask what you are using and what you see different?

For now I'm using HDMI, for the audio convenience, direct to Sony HD from my DVD player. I use the VGA or HDMI to HD TV when set up for music server or odd move using the laptop. I'm not set up for HD Audio. Between VGA, component video or HDMI I see no difference in video on Sony HD set.

The point was that the OP and myself will not exceed the video bandwidth with our respective laptop, so IMHO, use whats cheaper or most convenient.

 

Ummm, what? See what differently? I don't get the question... I just said that HDMI=DVI, except that HDMI carries audio and some extra remote control things. A Screen with dual DVI-I Inputs will accept analogue signals as well. The difference in image quality will be very little. Using DVI on a LCD screen is a better idea though, as it doesn't need to first convert the digital signals to analogue in the gpu, send them out, and then convert them back to digital. This could lead to image degradation, especially on cheaper LCD's.

And Remember that LCD-TV's are set up differently. On many, the PC mode looks differently than the standard HD mode. And from my experience with my brothers Sony LCD tv, even when connected to a PC, it runs in HD mode (aka, no 1:1 pixelmapping). This could have changed though, or there was a setting that we didn't find.

And from the prices I see, A DVI-HDMI cable cost just about the same as a VGA cable. Or you can buy an adapter and use the DVI cable that comes with the screen.

Bottomline though, get the best screen you can afford.

 

Ah yea, sorry I was referring to the OP question to overall PQ between the two interfaces. I tend to see a bad signal easier on the big screen.

As to the Sony HD, yea the set will always up or down sample whatever you input so you tend to get a border or slight over-scan depending on laptop rez.

I find the VGA 6' around $12US. The HDMI can be had for around $20 for the non boutique cables, unless you get a sale. The Monster brand cables are ridiculous.