Mid-range - Gaming PC

[J_Th4ng]

Not to derail but regarding cabling, I actually want to know if it makes a difference at all?

The cable between my GFX card to screen is DVI (GFX card port) to HDMI (screen port).
Do I REALLY need to go and buy an overpriced HDMI cable and will the difference most certainly be noticeable?

I guess for breakdown purposes, what is the difference between:

DVI to DVI
DVI to HDMI
HDMI to HDMI

They are both digital connections, so there should be no difference between HDMI and DVI.The only issue is Bandwidth, an HDMI cable doesn't necessarily have as much BW as DVI. However, for any resolution up to 1080p (60Hz), HDMI will give you a perfect picture. HDMI 1.4 supports 120Hz 1080p, and is needed for 3D or faster refresh rates than 60Hz. Most modern monitors should have HDMI 1.4 support.

[Skouperd]

Not to derail but regarding cabling, I actually want to know if it makes a difference at all?

The cable between my GFX card to screen is DVI (GFX card port) to HDMI (screen port).
Do I REALLY need to go and buy an overpriced HDMI cable and will the difference most certainly be noticeable?

I guess for breakdown purposes, what is the difference between:

DVI to DVI
DVI to HDMI
HDMI to HDMI

Phatso, no it doesn't. Anybody that tells me they can distinguish between an overpriced HDMI cable and a normal DVI cable is talking crap. (I am not talking a damaged DVI cable, I am talking a normal DVI cable).

Read the below article for more information
http://www.howtogeek.com/howto/32524/whats-the-difference-between-hdmi-and-dvi-which-is-better/

Unless you use some really, and I mean REALLY!, dodgy components between your graphics card's output and your monitor, you will not see the difference.

[TygerBS]

The major difference is that hdmi allows devices to communicate their settings naively to each othere. Ie resolution.
It also allows for content protection.

[Skouperd]

It also allows for content protection.

Another reason why I will not support it. Not because I am in favour of piracy, but because the way that the guys are trying to protect IP is not the right way. I like the iTunes model, all my music is bought on their and paid for. However, there is still no easy way to obtain digital content in South Africa at a reasonable price.

When we start talking just DRM and all those things, then I am starting to have serious issues with it. I for instance don't like CD's/DVD's and though all my games are legal, I would rip the DVD/CD the very first day and then just launch the install files etc from that. Instead of spending so much money on trying to "protect" the digital content, rather spend that money on making the game more enjoyable / fun / great / less patchy, and people will pay for the game. Reality is that if you price your product at such a point that people believe they get good value for money, then they will be buying the game.

Suppose the question is, do yuo believe most people will do the right thing, or do you believe they will all do the wrong thing unless policed. As such, I am not a big fan of HDMI cables, but that is just me.

[Megageth]

+1. Nicely worded. People who can afford to do the right thing, I believe will. When I was poorer, a large percentage of my games were cracked. Now that I can afford to pay for games, I do. DRM should follow the model, poorer people who crack their products will be more likely to pay for sequels/originals if they have expendable income later and will contribute to verbal marketing in the meantime.

[Skouperd]

I have no problem to "test" a pirated game at a LAN party for instance, but if I like the game and I will be playing the game again afterwards then I will go out of my way to find a legal copy and buy it. If I don't like the game, I will uninstall it immediately. A clasical example is Borderlands which was played at RAGE. I had no problem to play it there in multiplayer mode and test it out, but I did not enjoy the game enough to buy it and removed it from my PC as soon as the LAN was finished.

Bottom line, anything that promotes DRM does not get my stamp of approval and as such, HDMI is one of them.

[Paul]

There is some research (don't know how valid) that says people who pirate music/games/etc spend more money on these items than people who don't pirate at all

So you have 20 games, 15 are pirated and 5 are bought where as some one who doesn't pirate at all will have 1 or 2 games. So even though you have a large percentage of pirated games you have contributed more to the industry as a whole than some one who does.

I think these type of people would be the Skoups of the world i.e. Try then buy

[Megageth]

And then we have Stu.

[Paul]

Sorry just back onto the screen, I want to make sure that my thinking is correct, the size of the screen won't affect my GFX ability to produce high frame rates, it is the resolution?

So if the res is 1920 x 1080 I will get the same fps whether the screen is 23", 24", 27"?

[SlipperyDuck]

Correctus