What is a DVI Video Card?

A DVI video card is any video card that outputs data in the DVI format as opposed to VGA. DVI stands for “Digital Visual Interface” and was developed in 1999. While most users are more familiar with VGA than they are DVI, and VGA has certainly performed well since it was developed in the 1980s, most high performance video cards now use DVI because it allows for streaming more data more quickly. DVI plugs are readily identifiable by their one or two sets of pins, arranged into squares, and one large anchor pin on one side. Most high-end monitors now offer, or even require, that a DVI cable be used, since it is the best way for large amounts of data to be transmitted in an uncompressed method over short distances. While there are certainly visual outputs more advanced than DVI, it is generally accepted that DVI is the successor to VGA, at least visually. DVI cannot carry sound the way that HDMI does, and so it is considered “inferior” even though they both offer very similar levels of visual quality. It is, however, possible to convert from DVI to HDMI using a converter box with an audio jack.

Upgrading from VGA to DVI Video Cards Is a Must

Most DVI cards can connect to traditional VGA monitors with nothing more than the use of an adapter. Almost all flat screen monitors currently on the market offer some sort of DVI input, since VGA is considered insufficient for higher resolutions.

Benefits of DVI

DVI offers a significant advantage in the number of frames per second, or FPS, over VGA. It can also display more colors with more clarity, although in general a good VGA card can display with a resolution so high that it borders on the limit that the human eye can perceive. DVI cards have become extremely affordable, and in fact, traditional VGA cards are becoming increasingly difficult to find. VGA has largely been reassigned to “build-in” visual outputs for low-end motherboards that are designed to be inexpensive. Most computers now offer DVI as the standard, if not the only, manner of providing visual output. DVI is generally accepted as the best format for mid-range graphics cards, video cards and monitors, as it offers an excellent compromise between price and performance.

Some high-end cards also offer DVI output as an option, making them backwards compatible with mid-range and low-end flat screen monitors.