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Connect laptop to monitor -which port to use
Just purchased a refurbished Dell 7550. I want to connect the laptop to a Dell monitor to use both the laptop and monitor for an AutoCad application. The monitor has VGA and DVI dual link ports. Back of the laptop has mini DP1.4, HDMI 2.0 and RJ-45 available. Which port on the laptop should I be using?
mkletka
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May 8th, 2021 03:00
Thank you. The monitor works fine w/ a VGA to HDMI cable.
jphughan
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May 2nd, 2021 07:00
@mkletka RJ-45 is for Ethernet networking, not video. You say the display has dual link DVI? Is that because its resolution is higher than 1920x1200? If so, you’ll need a Mini-DisplayPort to Dual Link DVI adapter or a USB-C to Dual Link DVI adapter — you have USB-C ports that can be used for video output. Either one will work the same and deliver the same image quality, but note that the overwhelming majority of adapters on the market are single link DVI, and the dual link DVI versions can be quite a bit more expensive because dual link DVI was rare even when it was on the market and is now obsolete.
If on the other hand your display is 1920x1200 or lower, then it is in fact single link DVI, in which case you can use HDMI to DVI, Mini-DisplayPort to DVI, or USB-C to DVI. They’ll all work the same way, though I’d recommend either of the first two to keep your multi-purpose USB-C ports available for other things. With dual link DVI you might not have many choices though.
jphughan
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May 8th, 2021 07:00
@mkletka If you're happy with the result, then ok, but anything involving VGA is going to look noticeably worse than any other option because VGA is an analog signal, whereas everything else is digital.