Where to start with this shitstorm of a messy day.. hmm, it started of tracking the position of the person delivering the DVI-D to VGA adapter I needed. Was quite cool watching it, and when to get up and he was there at the door.
Opening it up, it fit perfectly into the socket. Connected the VGA cable to the other end and turned on my primary monitor… ‘No Signal’ it shows. Windows also says it can’t find the monitor. What the FUCK?!?! Did I just fucking waste $17.35 on something I didn’t need!?
…Yep! And sadly I didn’t do my research on this card, as there are several threads on Google saying they can’t get their VGA monitor (with an adapter) to work. Most of these cases, involved the end user sending the card back, due to a ‘faulty DVI-D port’. Others say to get a ‘HDMI to VGA adapter’.
The one that recommended the card, said to get a Display Port to VGA adapter (and said it should work). But since I had already wasted money on something that won’t help me.. I wasn’t in the mood to waste more on a prayer that my monitor would display a picture. *sigh*
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But, I did it anyway. And this time I went to a store (Best Buy) instead of buying it online (to avoid the S&H cost of fast shipping). They didn’t have what was recommended (even though I saw it online). The closest thing they had, was the HDMI to VGA adapter, for $30.
After expressing my concerns to one of the workers about this thing I keep hearing with the Oculus (and the Vive)(…of when (or if) I decide to upgrade from WMR), about needing a free HDMI port for it, the guy suggested I get an HDMI Hub; to where I could connect multiple devices.
I will discuss this in detail a bit later, and why I might actually need one (or something similar in nature (like an ‘HDMI Splitter’)), sooner than I thought.
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Returning home, I was (understandably) skeptical this adapter was even going to work (having wasted money on a rush order I didn’t need, and can never get my money back, because no online store will refund S&H costs). I took a ‘gamble’ (apparently), and lost.
But I plugged it in.. the light turned green, and I GOT A PICTURE!! 😀 ..Well, sort of. It was blinking off and on for some strange reason. It was also semi-freezing my computer when it happened.
I finally fixed it by switching the cables. I still don’t see how that worked, as I learned that it seems the second HDMI port of the card, will only work for a single monitor. Yet the first port works if there’s a cable in the second. So weird. I never had this issue with my 750Ti… though of course I never had the DVI to VGA issue either with that old (but highly reliable) card.
Rest well in your static protective bag, pal. For you’ve served me for many, many
years (that no other Nvidia card has lasted). It pained me when I pulled you out of that PCI-E slot, but.. the future of gaming is here.
Anyway, this weirdness (with the ports) is slightly concerning me, of when I eventually get WMR. Basically, I asked one of the friends who suggested I start with WMR, and he said that yes.. I do need a free HDMI port. The headset isn’t as wireless as I’d hoped. So.. fuck! But at least (unlike the apparent faulty DVI-D port), I now know about it in advance.
In Best Buy, I remembered seeing one of those HDMI Hubs there for $140. And that, greatly sickens me. So I decided to see if there’s such a thing as an ‘HDMI Port Splitter’, and they actually exist (similar to telephone jack splitters back in the day). They’re also ridiculously cheap.
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But before I buy one (after I get the PSU, as it’s next on the priority list), I need to do some much needed research on the Oculus and the Vive (to ‘futureproof’ my investment). I need to figure out just how many HDMI ports they require (including the body trackers).
I also need to make an account with something like Paul’s Hardware (or maybe ask in the VRChat Discord), if they of them have the RX 580 (with a similar monitor setup), and ask how a splitter would work (to have both monitors working + my future VR headset).
Both of these things would save time and money, with one of them I don’t have a lot of.
Late EDIT: For anyone still reading this blog post, I asked in the VRChat Discord server if it was worth getting one of these HDMI Port Splitters. Basically, I wondered how would this even work; if it would be possible to connect both monitors to one splitter, and connect that to one of the HDMI ports.
I was told it wouldn’t work like that. The person also couldn’t believe me that I only have two HDMI ports. After trying to explain how I have an RX 580, I was recommended to buy two Display Port to HDMI adapters (which would free the two HDMI ports for VR), and also told that the existing HDMI to VGA adapter that I have for my primary
monitor, should work with this.
I don’t want a ‘should’, I want a ‘will’. I’ve spent ENOUGH money already this month.