DVI-to-VGA adapters

Eventually, Thinkpads, even though they are business machines may be manufactured with DisplayPort or HDMI ports but since the current ones aren't, I have this question! LOL!

I was wondering if any Thinkpad owners hook up their notebooks to their 'desktop' LCD monitors with a DVI adapter. That is, would that convert the connection from analog to digital or is it still going to stay analog but just allows the use of the connection to the monitor to be via DVI?

I guess the difference between VGA and DVI is not much but for some people, they can notice, right?

I like the Thinkpad T400 for the options you can choose except I wanted a notebook with either a HDMI (or DVI) or Displayport interface. The Thinkpads (T400, anyway) don't have this. I know it's a business notebook but still...

I like that the Thinkpad can be configured with DDR3 RAM, LED backlight but still have the Centrino 2 CPU P8400.

I was just curious about options and still deciding between a few notebooks (mostly Sony, Lenovo and Dell).

 

Just a quick correction, the R series (R400 and R500) now come with DisplayPort.

The converters you are thinking of use part of the DVI spec called DVI-A. DVI comes in three flavours (4 if you include DualLink, but ignore that for now). DVI-D, DVI-A and DVI-I. The first is purely digital, the second purely analogue (very rare) and the third is both together in one plug. That's what the converters you see are doing, simply pushing a legacy VGA signal down the analogue lanes on the cable and plug.

 

mrjohn is right, you can only go from DVI to VGA, not the other way around (unless you have a monitor with a DVI-A input [I have never seen one], and even then you would get no benefit over standard VGA).

DisplayPort is HDMI/DVI compatible. It is included on the T500, x301, W500/700, apparently the new R series, and the x200 docking station. At the moment that is your best option for digital video out.

In my opinion VGA is adequate to at least 1280x1024, and still works for higher resolutions. However, I can start to tell a difference (pixel stability) at 1680x1050 or higher.

 

You can convert analog (VGA) to digital (DVI-D/HDMI) signal, but you need a video/conversion box for that, not just an adapter. They are usually a few hundred dollars, at least the better ones that scale. So probably that's not exactly what you are looking for.

This below explains how it works and you could find similar devices that convert to DVI-D if you Google.
http://sewelldirect.com/articles/vga-to-hdmi.aspx


Anyway, I would suggest you buy a notebook with a built-in digital interface instead.

 

Yeah, sounds like the best option. I didn't really want to carry around additional hardware like a docking station anyway.

I don't mind a displayport but I am not too keen on the Thinkpads with ONLY a VGA port (as external display interfaces go).