With the newly released NVIDIA RTX graphics card coming out on September 27, we are all very excited to see its capabilities and what display technologies it will offer to the world. However a graphics capability is only as good as the video interface it can drive through. The VGA interface is still commonly used these days in older equipment such as older PC monitors, TV and projectors but is slowly being phased out and replaced by HDMI and DisplayPort. Graphics card manufacturer such as NVIDIA or AMD do not have VGA Ports on their graphics card for newer models. This means an adapter is required for your VGA equipment.

The different types of VGA adapters

There are many adapters that can convert video ports on a graphics card to VGA. There are HDMI to VGA adapters, DVI to VGA adapters and finally DisplayPort to VGA adapters. DisplayPort to VGA adapters are beneficial from a practical and performance point of view.

Will signal quality be affected?

As the DisplayPort interface can display greater video data, it can easily support the use of VGA which requires less video data. Note that video signals are converted from digital to analog.

Why choose a DisplayPort to VGA adapter?

It is best to plan ahead when purchasing a VGA video adapter as the getting the wrong adapter may have you buying another adapter for the same VGA equipment if another more commonly used port is required. As DisplayPort are found on higher end PC monitors and virtually non-existent on TV’s, DisplayPort cables are less commonly provided with the purchase of PC monitors and TV, while HDMI, DVI and VGA cables are more commonly provided. This means a dual or triple monitor setup will occupy your HDMI, DVI and VGA ports quickly. However as VGA is not integrated on newer graphics card, getting a DisplayPort to VGA adapter will mean you can avoid having to limit your PC monitor or TV use by swapping out your in-use cables to use a HDMI to VGA adapter or DVI to VGA adapters for your VGA equipment.

Planning smartly

Unless you have devices which needs to specifically use DisplayPort then selecting the right DisplayPort to VGA adapter can help you enjoy not having to swap cables all the time for you VGA equipment if planned correctly. 

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