Hi all, I thought I would kick off here regarding something to look out for. Here is some sage advice. If you have any old PCI video cards laying around don't be tempted to throw them out. Finding an old driver is not normally a problem. If you are up to installing your VGA screens into the MIP you will need to connect them to your video card or cards. So far so good, however if you need to update your video card you will find that very few new cards have VGA connectors. So unless you have monitors that have DVI inputs you will need DVI-I converters for the VGA cables. You can also source VGA to Display port converters. Do your homework on the internet as they can be pricey. I have an AMD HD 6870 with two VGA monitors PFD1 and PFD2. I also have the windows screen which is a DVI-D and the CDU which is a VGA. I was able to spread the three VGA screens over the DVI-I and the 2 mini Display Ports. I did have another small AMD video card installed which took the CDU VGA, but I uninstalled it to reduce the fault finding. The reason I am discussing this is because the PFD2 screen is randomly going into sleep mode. Not fun when you are flying ! There are a number of variables possibly at fault and one is the video card. If you need to purchase another you have to be very mindful of what converters you own and whether you will need 2 cards or even shift one of the screens to another computer. Just food for thought. Regards Mark S. As a further addition to my previous post. I just checked on line for a HDMI to VGA connector. One quote was for $59.95 but I have had a quote from a local computer store for $20, so it pays to shop around. Hey Mark, that is great advice! VGA connectors are on the way out if not gone all together just like the 15" standard monitors. Actually, it is for this reason we are sort of painted into a corner. We have no choice but a 15" monitor which is older technology and only had the VGA video plugs at the time. The good news is these monitors can be found on sites that sell second hand office equipment so we should be good for several years into the future. As a further update. As I previously said the reason for the card update was because the monitor was going into sleep mode. Basically you look for either a video card, cable or monitor as the problem. Well I had to slum it and replace the old AMD card with a GTX 1070 ! Well with all the hullabaloo of swapping and updating drivers the monitor still went to sleep. As any of you with shells and MIPs, the monitor is already embedded so the last thing you want to do is pull everything apart again. So next probable is the cable/port. So I swapped from a VGA cable to the DVI port. Voila. Success. So take home message for everyone. Start simple and swap cables. I connected the DVI straight to the DVI-D port on the 1070 and not with a converter to HDMI or Display Port. They may have worked but I didn't need to try them out. I did find that the only DVI cable I had was 3m. It plugged in but a tight fit. I will pick up tomorrow a 2m DVI Ext cable, which will do the job nicely reducing the tension. Ah, the fun of building, but the maintenance and upgrading never ends. For those of you who are building, and see a long tunnel ahead of you, trust me, when you start flying it is worth every hour you have spent toiling away. I flew from Palm Springs to Tucson to Sierra Vista, because I can. And let me tell you I was in awe of the view. Regards Mark SpeechleyVideo Card Updating Discussion
The take home message is be wary of the new cards outputs.
Mark
Forum Navigation
#1 · December 5, 2017, 7:21 pm
#2 · December 6, 2017, 1:36 am
#3 · December 6, 2017, 9:23 am
#4 · December 18, 2017, 6:35 am
2017-10-10