Options for an external monitor

[subwoofa]

I got the G73JW and it's pretty awesome; the only thing is the screen is only 17". I could set up a monitor at work but I'm not sure how I would hook it up.

There's a great deal through LogicBuy for the Alienware Optx here: http://www.logicbuy.com/deals/alienware ... 18615.aspx

Since the monitor only has an HDMI 1.3 input, it looks like I'd need to use the DVI DualLink input for 3D. My notebook has an HDMI 1.4 output and a VGA output.

If I got this monitor, how should I hook this up? Or, should I wait for the 27" Acer or Asus models to come out, which might have HDMI 1.4?

Thanks!

[cybereality]

HDMI 1.4 sucks for PC gaming. You are limited to 720P. With DL-DVI you can use the full 1080P@120Hz of that Alienware monitor. HDMI 1.4 is only really needing for HDTVs and consoles, not PCs.

[subwoofa]

Thanks. So, since I only have VGA and HDMI 1.4 outputs from my notebook, will a HDMI to DL-DVI adapter cable do the trick? (HDMI out from notebook into DL-DVI input on monitor).

[cybereality]

To be honest, I don't know. I do know that HDMI doesn't support this (ie 1080P@120Hz), but if you are using a converter that may work. I'm not sure. VGA should work at 120Hz, but you may have to lower the resolution a bit (ie to 720P). So I would guess that it could work, it just might not be the full quality.

[subwoofa]

Thanks. I reposted the question on the 3D Monitors forum, maybe someone else knows for sure.

Also, do you say HDMI 1.4 isn't good for PC. Is that because of the restrictions on framerates: "720p 60fps, 720p 50fps, and 1080p 24fps"?

[cybereality]

Mainly because it does not allow 3D at the full speed 60fps in 1080P. For PS3 this is not a big problem because the PS3 itself cannot actually handle greater than 720P 3D anyway, so its a non-issue. The PC can, however, support 1080P 3D and beyond. So HDMI 1.4 is the limiting factor. There were some 120Hz LCD computer monitors shown at CES that will work with both Nvidia 3D Vision and HDMI 1.4, so that is like the best of both worlds. And monitors coming out in the future (maybe in the next year or two) should be able to support HDMI 1.4 @ 1080P60. But for now you should not really worry about it if you are just doing PC gaming.

[Fredz]

The Wikipedia page about HDMI says that type B HDMI (dual-link) is electrically compatible with dual-link DVI-D, but has not yet been used in any products. Also I'm not sure HDMI is capable of sending 120 Hz signals (the 720p@120Hz of the HDMI 1.4 spec is in fact technically 1440(+30 invisible pixels)p@60Hz), but you could try to see if someone has tried using a HDMI to dual-DVI converter on this type of configuration.

The highest resolution image that a graphics card could be able to send on a VGA port at 120 Hz would be 1680x1050 (306 MHz of the 400MHz of the VGA spec) but you'd need to be sure that the display can handle this and that the VGA cable is of a good enough quality to allow this. Again, you would need to find some infos posted by people who tried that with this Alienware monitor to be sure.