But, that said, there is good quality construction (that will stand the test of time) and bad quality construction (that will fall apart the first time you try to pull it out)... The Dell cable seems pretty robust and solidly constructed in comparison to others I've seen, at least as much as you can tell by eye-balling it.
DVI is digital and therefore, if you get a signal, it is a good cable.
I'm sure monster will try to release some ultra-sheilded dvi cable that is supposed to make your picture 25% better, but that is not the case with digital.
DVI cables are subject to signal attenuation and interference, in the same way that USB or Ethernet cables are. Just as there are non-compliant USB and Ethernet cables out there, it is quite possible there will be non-compliant DVI cables.
You can get degradation from a poor cable. Though given the short length of cable it would have to be an exceptionally bad cable.
DVI testers work by testing the DVI signal "eye". You test that a generator (vid card) has a nice big eye, you test that the cable only shrinks the eye a certain amount. And you test the sink (monitor) to ensure that it accepts the specified smaller eye.
The result of that testing is a system that should work together. If your card or monitor aren't quite up to spec, a high quality cable might deliver slightly less reduction in the signal eye and make the difference between perfect and non perfect result.
I remember some web site tested the signal eyes of various vid cards a few years back and some of them were out of spec at high res. This was the era of the ATI 9700/9800 and the ATI were definitely more compliant than the Nvidia cards. But that probably doesn't apply today where DVI is becoming a more dominant standard.
Still it is probably not a bad idea to pick up a spare cable to rule out cable issues if you are having problems.
@bytor65 wrote:
You can get degradation from a poor cable. Though given the short length of cable it would have to be an exceptionally bad cable.
DVI testers work by testing the DVI signal "eye". You test that a generator (vid card) has a nice big eye, you test that the cable only shrinks the eye a certain amount. And you test the sink (monitor) to ensure that it accepts the specified smaller eye.
The result of that testing is a system that should work together. If your card or monitor aren't quite up to spec, a high quality cable might deliver slightly less reduction in the signal eye and make the difference between perfect and non perfect result.
I remember some web site tested the signal eyes of various vid cards a few years back and some of them were out of spec at high res. This was the era of the ATI 9700/9800 and the ATI were definitely more compliant than the Nvidia cards. But that probably doesn't apply today where DVI is becoming a more dominant standard.
Still it is probably not a bad idea to pick up a spare cable to rule out cable issues if you are having problems.
I'd really have to agree and disagree. I agree that you can get degradation from a poor cable, and that it would have to be exceptionally bad.
However I must disagree with picking up a spare--they are too expensive to buy as a spare! The likelihood of getting a bad DVI cable from Dell that gives only intermittant issues (vs. simply not working at all) is probably way too low to really bother with.
As to different cables giving different image qualiy, I would put money on people not being able to tell the difference between them. A digital signal is a digital signal.
If you're having trouble and using DVI, my first guess would not be the cable.
People at work say these guys deliver a quality product. I plan to splurge and get the high quality 24gauge dual link for $12.
But hey if you are strapped for cash, I suppose you could get 28gauge single link for $5.45.
I didn't suggest wasting your money on monster cable, just a spare to keep around to rule things out if you have to call tech support. Tried another cable. Check...
GPRO: Nice bunch of links. Thanks, the extreme tech one was what I read previously. I think today Nvidia has probably matched ATI.
DingoJunior
50 Posts
0
June 9th, 2006 02:00
But, that said, there is good quality construction (that will stand the test of time) and bad quality construction (that will fall apart the first time you try to pull it out)... The Dell cable seems pretty robust and solidly constructed in comparison to others I've seen, at least as much as you can tell by eye-balling it.
DingoJunior
hardcorea100
3 Posts
0
June 9th, 2006 02:00
I'm sure monster will try to release some ultra-sheilded dvi cable that is supposed to make your picture 25% better, but that is not the case with digital.
gpro
2 Intern
•
2K Posts
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June 9th, 2006 09:00
bytor65
211 Posts
0
June 9th, 2006 13:00
DVI testers work by testing the DVI signal "eye". You test that a generator (vid card) has a nice big eye, you test that the cable only shrinks the eye a certain amount. And you test the sink (monitor) to ensure that it accepts the specified smaller eye.
The result of that testing is a system that should work together. If your card or monitor aren't quite up to spec, a high quality cable might deliver slightly less reduction in the signal eye and make the difference between perfect and non perfect result.
I remember some web site tested the signal eyes of various vid cards a few years back and some of them were out of spec at high res. This was the era of the ATI 9700/9800 and the ATI were definitely more compliant than the Nvidia cards. But that probably doesn't apply today where DVI is becoming a more dominant standard.
Still it is probably not a bad idea to pick up a spare cable to rule out cable issues if you are having problems.
RandallC75
5 Posts
0
June 9th, 2006 20:00
I'd really have to agree and disagree. I agree that you can get degradation from a poor cable, and that it would have to be exceptionally bad.
However I must disagree with picking up a spare--they are too expensive to buy as a spare! The likelihood of getting a bad DVI cable from Dell that gives only intermittant issues (vs. simply not working at all) is probably way too low to really bother with.
As to different cables giving different image qualiy, I would put money on people not being able to tell the difference between them. A digital signal is a digital signal.
If you're having trouble and using DVI, my first guess would not be the cable.
Also, I like your avatar. Go Canada!
Message Edited by RandallDC on 06-09-200604:49 PM
gpro
2 Intern
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2K Posts
0
June 9th, 2006 23:00
bytor65
211 Posts
0
June 10th, 2006 03:00
You mean expensive like $12? :-)
http://www.monoprice.com/products/subdepartment.asp?c_id=102&cp_id=10209&style=
People at work say these guys deliver a quality product. I plan to splurge and get the high quality 24gauge dual link for $12.
But hey if you are strapped for cash, I suppose you could get 28gauge single link for $5.45.
I didn't suggest wasting your money on monster cable, just a spare to keep around to rule things out if you have to call tech support. Tried another cable. Check...
GPRO: Nice bunch of links. Thanks, the extreme tech one was what I read previously. I think today Nvidia has probably matched ATI.
Message Edited by bytor65 on 06-09-200611:25 PM