Dual Link DVI-I?

[dankellys]

I am looking at buying the Gigabyte HD7850 OC AMD/ATI Graphics Card - 2GB. It only has 1 DVI output (that I can see from the photo) but in the Tech Spec is described as having:

1 x Dual Link DVI-I
1 x DVI-D
1 x HDMI
2 x mini DisplayPort

Can someone explain to me what this is? I am looking to run 2 monitors from this card, does that mean I can buy a dual link cable of some description, which would allow me to run 2 monitors off one output port???

[IronWarrior]

Dual Link DVI just allows for a bigger resolution then normal DVI outputs.

To show two desktops, you would need to use two outputs.

[Bugbait]

Dual Link DVI just allows for a bigger resolution then normal DVI outputs.

Just to expand on this, Dual Link DVI is pin for pin compatible with DVI-D. It has allowances for extra pins for higher resolutions, ie. 2560x1600. If you are not running that resolution or higher then you can use any "regular" DVI-D cable, one for each monitor (so 2 in your case).

[Funkstar]

All you need to know (and probably more besides) about the DVI interface:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Digital...face#Connector

[scaryjim]

In terms of the difference between the picture and the tech specs, the specs seem to be based on a reference card, which does indeed have two DVI outputs, one dual-link DVI-I and one single-link DVI-D. The pictures seem to show that Gigabyte have eschewed the second DVI port on that card to increase the area for venting hot air out of the back of the computer. This means that to run two DVI monitors you'll need to attach one directly to the DVI port, and use an adapter to connect the second to either the HDMI port or one of the mini-Displayport ... ports. I would imagine the card will come bundled with at least an HDMI to DVI adapter.

[dankellys]

Thanks for all your replies. The 2 monitors I am going to go for are http://www.scan.co.uk/products/236-a...m-800001-black, which have both HDMI and DVI ports (and VGA for that matter), so I should be fine.

Thanks Again.

[Pob255]

Just want to clear one thing up, you can run two monitors off a single dvi dual link, it's not a simple or cheap thing to do as it requires specialist hardware, you run the dvi cable to a spliter box and then run multiple monitors off it.
you couldn't get this stuff retail and these day the higher resolutions used and far better cheaper solutions available in both home and specialist areas means it's dropped out of sight