Best VGA adapter for 150 bucks?

Dodger

Hey all, i'm looking to buy something of a good VGA for around 150ish dollars. The reason being is because I want to play my console games on my spiffy monitor. But before I purchase anything I want to confirm a few things...

Question:

Will hooking up my GC to a VGA adapter increase the resolution of my games hense reducing (if not annihilating) little jaggies?

Will I be able to snap screenshots of games via the VGA adapter?

Some features I would like:

- support for component cables.
- possibly progessive scan support, but that's not a neccessity.
- will last me a good while.

csimon

check newegg refurbished section to see what is available ...highly recommended.

edcentric

There is a 9600pro on the referb list right now for $126.

I got a non-pro a couple of weeks ago for $90. Sweet.

Garg

Correct me if I'm wrong, but I think he's talking about the little boxes that take the video out of a console and convert it to VGA out for monitor hookup.

I have one for my Dreamcast, but to my knowledge, the Dreamcast is the only system that was intended to work with a VGA adapter, and therefore is the only one that actually changes it's output to 640x480 when one is plugged in. All the other ones actually do conversion in the box.

That's not to say that video games still wouldn't look better through an adapter, even if the system was never intended for one. I've just never used one for any system besides my DC so I can't testify to their effectiveness.

Here's a pic of one (this one from liksang)


Check www.liksang.com or www.gamestop.com for adapters. Alternatively, you could get a video card with VIVO or a TV card and hook up video games through that. I use my All-in-Wonder to play my PS1 sometimes. I would say that "jaggies" should be eliminated with a VGA box. Quality TV capture/tuning cards can de-interlace as well, which makes it look much better.

Enverex

Dodger wrote:

Hey all, i'm looking to buy something of a good VGA for around 150ish dollars. The reason being is because I want to play my console games on my spiffy monitor. But before I purchase anything I want to confirm a few things...

Question:

Will hooking up my GC to a VGA adapter increase the resolution of my games hense reducing (if not annihilating) little jaggies?

Will I be able to snap screenshots of games via the VGA adapter?

Some features I would like:

- support for component cables.
- possibly progessive scan support, but that's not a neccessity.
- will last me a good while.

You have 2 options, either a VGA adapter which doesn't really have any functions other than to let you use a monitor instead of a TV.
Or you could buy a TV card for your PC and connect it to your PC which would allow you to make movies or take pictures from it.

Problem is, you may find it doesn't look as good as TVs tend to have the affect of making everything look AntiAliased anyway, putting it on a monitor will take away that and allow you to see the jaggies and bad textures etc alot clearer...

primesuspect

Dodger:

You want an ATI Radeon A-I-W card. (AIW stands for All In Wonder). You can get a notch lower than top-end for your budget range. I have a AIW Radeon 7000 and it works great for my console games. No, it will not enhance resolution in any way, but you can take screenshots and play games in a window, etc.

shwaip

If you already have a decent video card, you can get an add-on PCI card. I have this one and am pleased with it.

Dodger

Gargoyle wrote:

Correct me if I'm wrong, but I think he's talking about the little boxes that take the video out of a console and convert it to VGA out for monitor hookup.

I have one for my Dreamcast, but to my knowledge, the Dreamcast is the only system that was intended to work with a VGA adapter, and therefore is the only one that actually changes it's output to 640x480 when one is plugged in. All the other ones actually do conversion in the box.

That's not to say that video games still wouldn't look better through an adapter, even if the system was never intended for one. I've just never used one for any system besides my DC so I can't testify to their effectiveness.

Here's a pic of one (this one from liksang)


Check www.liksang.com or www.gamestop.com for adapters. Alternatively, you could get a video card with VIVO or a TV card and hook up video games through that. I use my All-in-Wonder to play my PS1 sometimes. I would say that "jaggies" should be eliminated with a VGA box. Quality TV capture/tuning cards can de-interlace as well, which makes it look much better.

That's exactly what i'm talking about. I don't really want to purchase a video card with VIVO or TV cards or anything. I think i'll continue to save my pennies for a better VGA adapter.

kanezfan

prime, is that a PCI card? it's got TV-in? so I could watch TV on my monitor as well as hook up my consoles to it? that would pwn.

primesuspect

Mine's AGP.. I actually don't know if they have a PCI AIW Radeon.. I know they have PCI Radeon 7500s, but I've never seen an AIW one.

Garg

Kanez, if you want to add-in TV functionality, but you want to keep your main graphics card, get the ATI TV Wonder (note: there are other versions with pack-in remote controls or only mono sound for different prices on their site). Leadtek and some other brands make similar products too.

croc_

I see a 9600 pro AIW refurb on newegg for 150.....