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I have repeatedly made bad decisions about my choice of computer. I bought a desktop, read the side of the box and it looked pretty good. Did not check the type of motherboard. It's a Camphor motherboard, which means its got integrated graphics. And only a half pci slot, basically a laptops motherboard in a desktop (its not a compact case either). I have to replace the motherboard or buy a special graphics card that costs more than the computer to upgrade it.

I have two VGA monitors, it supports 1 and has a DVI-D port and supposedly can run both at the same time. Now I bought a passive converter for 3 bucks, it did not work and I found out I need an active converter. I found a few of those for pretty cheap, but every person on the internet says they are supposed to be rare and expensive....

So my question is will this active converter cable work? Or is this a ripoff? If it helps the answer, the 2 monitors are of a different size, ones 1600x900 and the other is 1200x800 I think. How can I tell the difference between an active and passive convert and please don't waste time telling me all about the difference between dvi-d, div-a, and dvi-i. I get the difference.

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  • Just curious: What is 'half an PCI-e slot'? Is it a PCI-e x8 slot (which should work fine with full length PCI-e cards).
    – Hennes
    Commented Oct 22, 2015 at 22:16
  • @Hennes He means PCI Express half-length mini card socket. That kind of slot doesn't support graphics so he's stuck with integrated graphics.
    – misha256
    Commented Oct 22, 2015 at 22:35
  • Aye. For a half length semi-laptop PCI-e slot he would need a rather rare convertor to normal PCI-e. And space to mount a normal graphics card. And sufficient power to the card. At which point a new motherboard might be cheaper.
    – Hennes
    Commented Oct 22, 2015 at 22:36
  • Active converters usually require power...
    – Daniel
    Commented Oct 22, 2015 at 23:24
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    I think you are bettered off investing your money on a monitor with DVI or HDMI input. Monitors with DVI are very common these days, A new 20" can be found for $80 or less. I can easily find a handful laying around in my company waiting to be recycled. Check craigslist, goodwill or computer surplus stores if you want cheap. I am curious what kind of desktop you bought. I wonder what company would sell a desktop with a big case and no expansion slot.
    – some user
    Commented Oct 23, 2015 at 0:27

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every person on the internet says they are supposed to be rare and expensive

That's not true. Active DVI-D to VGA converters are reasonably easy to come by these days and they are cheap.

However, I would not buy the one you mention because proper technical details are not listed. At that price, it may actually be a mis-labled passive adapter which won't do you any good.

For comparison, take a look at this adapter. This is a proper active adapter. The chipset used for D/A conversion is identified. A quick Google of the chipset model number reveals some technical specifications. I see that the adapter doesn't utilize all of the chipset's potential functionality (for example, no audio support). But the key stuff is there and it even supports HDCP decryption which is good if you want to play HDCP protected video.

Considering the price (currently $19.99), I would say go for it. It's still far cheaper than replacing a motherboard or buying a new monitor.

NOTE: Your motherboard does not support discrete graphics cards. You do have a PCI Express half-length mini card socket, but that can't be used for graphics (such graphics cards don't even exist).

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