Most current graphics cards feature a Digital Video Interface (DVI) connector for connecting a digital flat panel LCD monitor or projector to the card. A DVI connector is characteristically colored white (as opposed to a VGA connector which is colored blue). For every graphics card that features a DVI connector, the number of pins and layout of the pins on the DVI connector will vary depending on what type of DVI connector is found on the graphics card.
There are currently two prominent types of DVI connectors, DVI-I (Figure 1) and DVI-D (Figure 2).
Figure 1. DVI-I | Figure 2. DVI-D |
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A DVI-D connector on a graphics card sends out a digital signal only, while a DVI-I connector can send out a digital signal (for digital displays such as flat panel LCD monitors) as well as analog signal (for older displays such as a CRT monitor) using a DVI to VGA adaptor shown below. The graphics card shown in Figure 1 which shows a DVI-I connector contains more pins than the DVI-D connector shown in Figure 2. The extra pins on a DVI-I connector carry the analog signal which the DVI-D connector does not have.