Anyone have an XFX 7600GT to hand - DVI cable questions

Specifically the 7600GT 570M 256MB DDR3 with dual DVI ports.

I'm thinking about upgrading from the standard D-SUB cable/adapter combo to a straight DVI cable but I'm a bit stumped.

After a bit of searching I've found there are DVI-D and DVI-I cables and then there are those cables with pins around the tab and those without pins and then those without a tab at all.

I want to know what the DVI port of the XFX card looks like so I don't end up buying the wrong cable.

The monitor is a IIyama E1900 with a DVI-D port, I think.

Finally is any one cable better than another?

:stupid:

http://www.datapro.net/techinfo/dvi_info.html#Page05
;)

When in doubt get a DVI-I Single Link as it should fit in any, but best to check first.
Most monitors/cards work off DVI-D Single Link.
Cost and quality of cable do have an effect, but you shouldn't really notice on 1280x1024 or less (unless your monitor is more than 5m away from your pc)

a 2-3m DVI-D cable should cost around £5 (make sure it's got teh shielding "lumps" (the block of graphite in a plastic cover just before the plugs, it's standard on most but not all)

Pretty much all cards have the same connectors on them (Crossfire cards are an exception), all you need is a standard DVI-D or DVI-I cable, dual or single link won't matter, I've still yet to see a card which didn't have the pin holes for dual link, even the crossfire cards have that on both connectors.

Cable quality doesn't really matter, some people claim to be able to tell the difference between DVI cables by eye, they can't and you won't, it'll either transmit signal correctly or give corrupt images, there is no quality difference other than that.

The "shielding lumps" aren't actually graphite, they're ferrite cores, they're designed to stop any RF signals and help to clean up the signal going down the cable. Strictly speaking they're not a must have, but its a sign that the cable maker has been cost cutting if your cable doesn't have one. I bought the cheapest DVI cable that Scan sells and it does more resolution than you'll need just fine :)

:Oops: Sorry I ment ferrious not graphite, honest guv

Some older cards do have filled in holes restricting them to Single link. but this card shouldn't have that trouble.

The main problem comes with the monitors, older ones and some cheap ones come with filled in blocks. not sure about the illaya, so I err on the side of caution.

Also dvi-i dual costs around £15 :p




I'm a cheapskate at heart :mrgreen:

Thanks for the replies guys.

I've gone for a DVI-I cable. Belkin was my brand of choice due to previous experiences but as you say, they all seem to be pretty much the same.