small hardware tech question

[Lorddog]

I just switched out my computer for a newer one. on my old one I had a video card with 2 avi plugs for 2 monitors, which I was using. both video card cable connections were this thing.

my new computer has a geforce 9400 gt which has 1 of above slots and 1 15 pin slot.

I went to best buy and bought a vga to avi and could not get the avi side to go into the slot. it seems to hold up on going in where the slit bar is. I tried my other cable and it still goes in correctly. I also see I have a vga on my monitor so I guess I could get a vga to vga cable.
Do I have a wrong cable? is it dvi and not avi or something?

burns me up that I had gotten a couple of those converters with my monitors but cant find them.

Also is there any advantage to using the avi slot or does the vga one do the same thing (on the monitor side)?

I must have both my monitors working by tonight - it's killing me without!

Lorddog

 

[Lorddog]

back of the card is like this

 

[Bruin]

It's a DVI cable and not an AVI.

Technically, all you should have to do is plug the VGA to DVI adapter into the back of your video card and then plug in the cable from your monitor into the bank of the adapter.

Just a warning though, VGA is generally considered inferior to DVI so the monitor that is plugged in via DVI will probably look better than the monitor plugged in via VGA.

The other issue is there technically is DVI-A (analogue) and DVI-D (digital) but I think they both use the same plug.

 

[Quira]

It is indeed DVI and VGA we are talking about. The DVI-A is not a problem, DVI-I and DVI-D may be a problem though...
You can see the connectors here... the difference is the 4 pins around the horizontal flat pin.

http://www.bluejeanscable.com/store/dvi-cables/dvicabletypes.htm

Get the right cable and you should be okay.

Kind regards

 

[Rykus]

See the following excerpt from:

http://www.datapro.net/techinfo/dvi_info.html

WHAT ARE THE DVI FORMATS ?

There are three types of DVI connections: DVI-Digital, DVI-Analog, and DVI-Integrated (Digital & Analog)
DVI-D - True Digital Video

DVI-D cables are used for direct digital connections between source video (namely, video cards) and digital LCD (or rare CRT) monitors. This provides a faster, higher-quality image than with analog, due to the nature of the digital format. All video cards initially produce a digital video signal, which is converted into analog at the VGA output. The analog signal travels to the monitor and is re-converted back into a digital signal. DVI-D eliminates the analog conversion process and improves the connection between source and display.

DVI-A - High-Res Analog
DVI-A cables are used to carry a DVI signal to an analog display, such as a CRT monitor or budget LCD. The most common use of DVI-A is connecting to a VGA device, since DVI-A and VGA carry the same signal. There is some quality loss involved in the digital to analog conversion, which is why a digital signal is recommended whenever possible.

DVI-I - The Best of Both Worlds
DVI-I cables are integrated cables which are capable of transmitting either a digital-to-digital signal or an analog-to-analog signal. This makes it a more versatile cable, being usable in either digital or analog situations.
Like any other format, DVI digital and analog formats are non-interchangeable. This means that a DVI-D cable will not work on an analog system, nor a DVI-A on a digital system. To connect an analog source to a digital display, you'll need a VGA to DVI-D electronic convertor; to connect a digital output to an analog monitor, you'll need to use a DVI-D to VGA convertor.

To re-phrase the bottom paragraph. You will need more than just a cable to convert between digital, and analog formats. I can't see the DVI connector in that pic well enough, but if it's a DVI-D, you will need a converter box of some sort to use it with an analog monitor. If you have a DVI-I connector, then you're in luck. Also see what your monitor will accept, as you might be able to just buy the right cable to use with your monitor's digital input.