What really IS the diff between analog and DVI modes for LCDs ?!

Question

I have a stacked DELL XPS Gen 4 with 2 Dell LCDs, a 19' and a 20.1'.  I've had the 20.1' monitor as my primary one and realized today that it's been plugged into the analog output of the ATI X850XT PE video card while the 19' monitor has been DVI plugged.  So I switched them around since I use a the very graphics intensive MS flight simulator 2004 with a lot of add-ons.    I am not sure but I think it's possible that using the DVI cable for the primary monitor, the display is maybe slightly brighter than with the analog cable.  Other than this, no difference at all in frames, fluidity, or anything else.   Should I really see a significant diff between the two connections or is it mostly hype?  Or is my XPS + ATI 850 card really the key and are they driving 98% of the show for my eyes?   JS

drew-and-not-u · Answer

The biggest difference will be text. I have two 20.1's and one goes from the DVI and the other from the VGA. Text on the DVI is vastly superior. Once you auto-adjust the LCD on the VGA line, the differences become less apparent. Not a huge deal, but you want your primary on the DVI.

JSACKS · Answer

Hey, Drew:   You're bouncing around as much as me here!   Yeah, well, I changed and re-changed twice today and finally decided to just stick with the DVI-D on the primary and finished.  Actually, there is very little visible diff and in fact the bigger change for the better came as a result of re-setting the color controls on the 20.1' LCD and making things brighter and more saturated.  The image is totally breathtaking now.   I do think the X850 XT PE card does a lot for the machine and monitor.  I mean, it's like real life.   Thanks for posting.  See you back at the VIDEO forum then, eh?!   JS

drew-and-not-u · Answer

The x850 does have an excellent VGA output! ooooh, I'm a bouncer! =P

niteriderxp · Answer

In most cases I really doubt anyone will notice any significant difference between DVI and VGA. The only time you would notice it is if there is some sort of interference (bad shielding) on the line. Then in that case you may have a noisy picture on VGA and if the signal isn't too bad a perfect picture on DVI. I have seen it happen before. Plus these days most video cards VGA outputs are terrible, I know my videocard has a cheap ribbon cable for VGA instead of actually being soldered on. Soon I will receive the 24" FPW I ordered and I will hook it up to DVI, can't wait.

Nite Rider

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What really IS the diff between analog and DVI modes for LCDs ?!

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