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Thinking of buying Dell 3007WPF monitor: Question about duallink DVI Video Cards (1 Viewer)

Ronald Epstein

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I am getting very close to upgrading from my 24" Dell monitor
to the new 30" monitor that is getting very positive reviews.

That monitor is now retailing for $1500 or less, and I can get
a special deal for $1200 through a friend that deals with Dell.

In upgrading to this new monitor I understand that I also
need to upgrade my 2-year-old video card.

The Dell 30" monitor requires a dual-link DVI card -- perhaps
a 2x duallink card (if that's the same thing).

I know very little about these cards and I understand that
it can be very tricky when choosing the RIGHT card because
some dual DVI cards are not the type needed for this monitor.

I am looking at the Nvidia 7900GS and 7900GT as possible
candidates.

Here is my question......

The 30" monitor has only ONE DVI input. The graphic card
has TWO DVI outputs.

How does this get connected when the cable is only 1 DVI
to 1 DVI connector?

Does one DVI output on the graphic card get priority over
the other for single output but yet will give fully needed support
for the 3007wfp 2560x1600 native resolution?

Thanks in advance!
 

Ken Chan

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Basically, dual-link has extra pins. Some cards will do "dual dual-DVI", i.e. two separate dual-link connections, so you can drive two 30"s at same time. Dunno the particulars for the cards you're considering, and the actual implementation of whatever nVidia chipset is used may matter, depending on the manufacturer. (Unlike ATI, which makes its own cards.) For example, sometimes you'll see one card with a DVI and a VGA, and other cards using the same chipset with two DVIs.

Shorter answer: as long as the card does "dual-link DVI" it should work for your single monitor, as long as you have the right cable.
 

Ronald Epstein

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Ken,

Thanks. I decided on the Nvidia GeForce 7900 GT.

Dell supplies the cable with their 30" monitor, which I just ordered.

The BIG question here is that the cable is essentially single
DVI to single DVI. So, though there are dual DVI slots, I just
plug it into one of them on the video card. Should it matter which one?
 

Ken Chan

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Right, a single dual-link DVI connector -- not to be confused with a "single-link" DVI connection -- on both ends.

There's definitely a decent chance that it matters which one to plug into. One is the primary, and the other is the secondary. You'd have to read the docs for the card if you don't want to guess. (There might be some labeling on the card itself, the circuit board or the port bracket.) If you did guess, you should see the POST when the computer first boots. It's also possible that the card starts in clone mode, so that the two ports show the exact same thing unless told otherwise. And/or there is some simple detection to see if something is plugged in. As usual, "it depends" :)
 

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