PC to monitor connection problem.

Lataxe

Member
A new PC is about due as the one I have is now long in the tooth (9 years old) and still running Windows7. I may also be at the beginning of some hardware problems - it's hard to know as various glitches could equally be due to running Windows7, for which various software updates (Perhaps including TRS19) is not the ideal O/S.

Well, whether I have a need or merely a want for a new PC, I don't need or want a new monitor. I have a 30" NEC Multisync that's a very fine thing, especially for photography ... but everything else too.

Imagine my dismay, then, to discover that the latest GPUs with the sort of oomph I require no longer have a DVI-D dual link output to drive a 2560 X 1600 screen. This is the only high-res input my NEC has. There seems to be only a couple of active conversion leads available (display port to DVI-D) that will run anything above 1080p resolution - but both have serious issues, from poor reliability to a refusal to handle DRM-protected content. Our PC is also the tele and stereo, so that would be a nuisance.

Will I have to fork out for a new monitor, then? A new NEC of the sort I have costs nearly £2000! I suppose there may be less expensive high quality monitors but nevertheless.....

****
Has anyone else found and solved this connection-of-new-to-old problem somehow or am I to be condemned to an even greater bout of consumerism than that involved with buying a fine fat PC?

Lataxe
 
I would take the time to do more research for your specific exact monitor make / model. You aren't the only one in this kind of situation.
 
I run two games machines and an all purpose machine through an Aten Masterview DVI KVMP Switch the controller and cables of which are all DVI-D but have successfully used DisplayPort to DVI adapters to save an expensive replacement as I've updated the graphic cards. The one thing you may need to consider is the PSU of a 9 year old computer when upgrading. As for Windows 7, I installed TRS19 SP2 onto a swappable hard-drive a week ago which I just installed Windows 7 onto as a trial run. My mistake was that Trainz would not install onto Windows 7 but will very successfully onto Windows 7.1 and in turn likely runs better than Windows 10. Peter
 
StarTech do a Display Port to DVI-D USB powered adaptor that will give 2560x1600 designed for monitors with only a DVI input.

On Amazon https://www.amazon.co.uk/StarTech-com-DisplayPort-Active-Adapter-Converter-Black/dp/B00A493CNY it's a bit pricey though I haven't look at other sources.

Clam,

Yes, this is the only such connector that I've been able to find also, that would send full res to the NEC. However, extensive reading of reviews on Amazon and elsewhere suggest that the cable is not always successful, depending on a) some mysterious factors that cause colour problems and interference speckles for some and b) on the cable's non-compliance with the standards that allow DRM content to run over it. The major complaint is that the likes of Amazon Crime and Netflicker filums won't run over it - not that I want either of those. But what of iPlayer, the only tele-watching mode we have or ever use?

If the cable only cost ten bob I might try one but it costs hundreds of ten bobs!

I fear that my lovely NEC monitor as well as the old PC, will be going to grandson 2, who is hardware mad and will play PC hardware jigsaws (or is it Meccano) with it for weeks or even months. (It will enhance his already considerable abilities at PC stuff, I suppose).

Perhaps I can find a new NEC 36" 4K monitor that does full Adobe RGB for that ten bob? I wish.

Lataxe
 
A cheaper solution might be to buy a new PC and monitor.

dellrefurbished.co.uk workstation has one for 500 quid tonight. 32 gigs of memory and a tower case. The 700 quid one might be better with a
Nvidia Quadro M4000 which has directx 12. The performance wouldn't be spectacular and you could drop in an RTX 30xx when the price drops. They have a nice power supply but watch the height of the video card.

Cheerio John
 
A cheaper solution might be to buy a new PC and monitor.

dellrefurbished.co.uk workstation has one for 500 quid tonight. 32 gigs of memory and a tower case. The 700 quid one might be better with a
Nvidia Quadro M4000 which has directx 12. The performance wouldn't be spectacular and you could drop in an RTX 30xx when the price drops. They have a nice power supply but watch the height of the video card.

Cheerio John

The new PC (and perhaps new monitor) must last another decade; a refurbished summick seems unlikely to do this. Also, I am a proper consumer and can't bear to compromise on what I have been induced by an advert Svengali to want. (I believe resisting the consumer impulses is now a thought crime in the UK, after a secret agreement with some Yanker-men from The Chicago Skool of Ekkkonomics).

Anyway, the grandson has got wind of my vague intentions and is even now working on firming them up, as he is coveting the old PC & monitor, despite all that hymn singing he does at skool each morning. (Well, did - I think his skool is closed just now).

Mind, whatever I buy will probably end up stuck at Dover for the next 10 years.

Lataxe
 
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