[Shermanator49]

Hey, I'm extremely new to computers. Pretty much don't know anything.

I have an old Intellistation Z Pro Computer and I want to hook it up to my HDTV. This is what I know about my computer. Found On http://www.starnet-i...n-zpro-9228.pdf

IBM IntelliStation Z Pro at a glance:
Form factor: Tower/5U
Processor: Up to two Dual-Core Intel® Xeon® Processors up to 3.0 GHz and up to 1333 MHz front-side bus
Cache(max): Up to 4MB L2
Core logic: Intel ESB2M chipset; 1333 MHz system bus
Memory^2(std/max): 4GB/32GB DDR II Fully Buffered DIMM 667 MHz via 8 DIMM slots
Available graphics: NVIDIA NVS 285; NVIDIA FX 550; NVIDIA FX 1500; NVIDIA FX 3500; NVIDIA FX 4500
S.M.A.R.T.^3 hard disk drives^4: SATA: 80GB/7,200rpm; up to 250GB/7,200rpm (optional) Ulta320 SCSI: 73.4GB/10,000rpm (15,000rpm optional); 300GB/10,000rpm (optional)
Controllers: Integrated SAS and SATA
Slots (total/open): 5/4: 2x PCI-Express x8 or x16; 2 PCI-X and 1 PCI
Bays (total/open): 6 bays (2/1) 5.25" external, (4/3) 3.5" external
Operating systems supported: Red Hat Enterprise Linux® (64-bit), Microsoft® Windows® XP Professional (32-bit) and XP Pro x64 edition
Rack mounting Rack kit (39Y9707)

(The video output of the computer is digital, on a wire I have a Digital/Analog converter, which converts to a VGA converter)

I need to know if converting from a VGA to HDMI OR Getting a HDMI graphics card would be easier. Oh, and if I should get a HDMI graphics card, which should I get.

[waldojim]

You are actually best off with a DVI to HDMI converter, as DVI and HDMI use the same signaling method.

[mjd420nova]

Youre specs didn't have any video memory listed, but I suspect it's like mine, over a GB. That's fine, 4 GB RAM leaves loading headroom. A plugin videocard can provide faster speeds and frame rates and is priced accordingly. Most all video displays have HDMI and it will be the next accepted PC port. I've had to shop for a new home amplifier and will have to settle for all new components to support the HDMI connectablity. The first analog to digital information conversion dictates how close to the original content will sound, but the HDMI is digital for all info, audio included. This makes for more added peripheral driver buffers to fail. Connectors aren't thought of as much trouble but can give some strange displays or distorted audio streams.

[LiveBrianD]

waldojim, on 31 March 2012 - 03:00 PM, said:

You are actually best off with a DVI to HDMI converter, as DVI and HDMI use the same signaling method.

That's what I was thinking. The only thing to note is that audio won't be sent through the HDMI cable this way, so you'll need a separate cable. If you don't want to use DVI, you can simply use VGA (which most TVs have), though you'll get reduced signal quality (you'll also need a separate audio cable). Fyi, often the first HDMI input on a tv is labeled something like "HDMI/DVI" and has a 3.5mm audio jack next to it, while the other HDMI ports don't have that. Also, note that TVs sometimes crop the image a little with the other hdmi ports, but not with the first one ("HDMI/DVI"). This is called overscan.

[coastie65]

Hi and welcome to the forums. One thing that hasn't been covered and extremely important, is the PSU ( Power Supply ). If you go to a dedicated card, you will most likely need to upgrade your existing Power supply in order to have enough power as the OEM power supplies are usually only enough for the existing specs and little more. If you should decide to upgrade the card, you will most likely be bottle necked by your processor to some degree in some more intense operations.

[LincolnSpector]

See TheHDTV Has HDMI, but the PC Does Not and From Your PC to Your TV.

Lincoln

[LiveBrianD]

coastie65, on 01 April 2012 - 04:59 AM, said:

Hi and welcome to the forums. One thing that hasn't been covered and extremely important, is the PSU ( Power Supply ). If you go to a dedicated card, you will most likely need to upgrade your existing Power supply in order to have enough power as the OEM power supplies are usually only enough for the existing specs and little more. If you should decide to upgrade the card, you will most likely be bottle necked by your processor to some degree in some more intense operations.

It sounds like has a DVI port, and DVI>HDMI adapters are cheap. NOTE: One little thing I thought of - older machines might not support 1920x1080 (or 1280x720), but instead just 16:10, 5:4, and 4:3 resolutions. However, his machine is new enough that this (hopefully) shouldn't be an issue, as long as you have the latest drivers installed.