What's the difference between analog D-sub, vga and DVI?

Question

I am planning on buying a monitor and it says it supports Analog D-sub and DVI but I think I have a VGA connector and my monitor is a Compaq MV540 if that helps...

Please help I am confused!

Answer 1

Analog D-sub is the same as VGA.

It is really a HD 9 pin D-shell connector. VGA really is a graphic chip standard, but they have become synonymous.


DVI is a much newer standard and comes in three flavors:

DVI-A is analog. This has exactly the same signals as a VGA connector but in a DVI connector shell. Signal quality is a bit better. You can get adapters that will remap the signals from a DVI-A connector to a VGA connector.

DVI-D is digital. This will give a better image for flat panels as the video signal stays digital from the GPU through to the panel. VGA it gets converted from digital to analog, pushed up the (lossy) cable, sampled and converted back to digital.

DVI-I is analog and digital. Usually seen on the back of video cards. Since the analog signals and the digital signals use different pins you can fully populate the connector and support either.


Your Compaq MV540 is an analog CRT monitor, so it should have a VGA connector.