15 R2, 2012 U2212HM monitor, which cable?

Question

Hello Everyone,

I recently received an old 2012 Dell U2212HM monitor. I wanted to use it alongside with my Alienware 15 R2 laptop as a second display. But since the monitor is pretty old, I am not sure which cable to buy exactly? I have been looking for an HDMI to DisplayPort cable (since the monitor doesn't have a HDMI port) but all I can find online is the DisplayPort to HDMI (not bi-directional) cable. I am not sure if that will work. Or should I look for an HDMI to DVI adapter? My laptop is a 4k display and the monitor is 1080p. I wanted to use the monitor for basic things like (Google, Microsoft Office, Mail etc). I have been looking for a solution for quite some time but didn't find any. Can someone please suggest me on what is the right cable to purchase? This will be really helpful.

DELL-Chris M · Accepted Answer

PC HDMI to monitor DP rarely works. As you saw, most converter cables are one way, PC DP to monitor HDMI.

15 R2 video out ports = Thunderbolt 3/USB Type-C, HDMI
U2212HM video in ports = DP, DVI, VGA

Possible connections =

15 R2 Thunderbolt 3/USB Type-C --> USB Type-C to DP cable --> U2212HM DP

15 R2 HDMI --> HDMI to DVI cable --> U2212HM DVI

jphughan · Accepted Answer

@Jensen0122  The answer above is entirely correct. There are a very small number of DP to HDMI adapters meant to go from HDMI source to DP input, the opposite of the typical way, but they are rare and somewhat expensive. And they would also be unnecessary in this case. Either of the above options would work and they would both deliver identical image quality. Given the choice I’d probably go HDMI to DVI simply because the USB-C/Thunderbolt port can be used for many other purposes, whereas the HDMI output is only meant for video output, so I’d rather keep the multi-purpose port free than use it for video when I could have used a video-only port for that purpose.

Jensen0122 · Answer

Thank you so much for the recommendation. I will try the HDMI (Laptop) to DVI (Monitor) cable and hopefully it works out.

Alienware

15 R2, 2012 U2212HM monitor, which cable?

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