My X2GEN monitor's contoller board clearly has the space for a DVI connector (I'll try to get some good pics)
All the traces and solder points are there. If I somehow soldered on a dvi connector do you think it would work?

edit here is a picture
http://i24.photobucket.com/albums/c12/sum0.../Picture890.jpg

that is a pic of the synaps board from antother post but it is the same board as the x2gen

look at the top right corner of the green board

Another thought I had is that perhaps the controller board is the way it is becuse they add DVI to it for a monitor like this

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?...N82E16824222023

I am considering buying that monitor to see if the board is the same then switching the boards and selling off the monitor. Anyone think this would work? Anyone done anything like this?

Another thought is contact x2gen and ask to buy a DVI capable board.

I really want DVI, it was a stretch for me to get an LCD with no DVI on board as I think it is F@#$ing stupid to do a D/A conversion then turn around and do an A/D conversion

Computercowboy,

That is a very interesting idea, and it is getting me thinking.

I have two Viewsonics, one is a 17" for my PJ, and the other is a 19" for regular home use. The 19 inch has a DVI input, but the 17 inch does not. However the 19 inch DVI input is not even used... Now I'm wondering if I could pull out the board from the 19 inch and swap it with the 17 inch... Hmmm that would be interesting.

I will be watching you topic to see you things develop.

Cheers!

Fulcrum

So get out the screwdriver and do it! What are you waiting for?
Seriously if you decicde to investigate please let us know how it works out.

Yea so I called up the people at x2gen and they said that they could sell me a dvi board for $69. I have no idea if it will work and they dont either. All that they could say is that it doesn't fit in the monitor casing. We who #@$@ing cares if it doesn't fit. I am going to buy one when I get paid this week. I will let you know how it works out.

O yea and here is the PO they sent me

very interesting idea. Subscribed for info. I'm considering this route as well. Please let us know what happens.

Yea, this would be a great dela if ou could do this to other models too.

I have to say even though X2gen is kind of a crap company they were very good on the phone and I got everything I wanted from one phone call. The price for replacement parts is good also. The monitor that the boards that I am buying originate from is this one http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?...N82E16824222023

I would say that $69 is a fair price for everything that drives the monitor. A worth gamble for DVI I think.

I can't wait to se eif this works. it will open a lot of oppurtunity up, say like buying a controller board with an OSD that can adjust keystoning.

I have heard of this but never seen anything like it. Can you post a link?

Hmm... I see that your 15.4" lcd is 1280 x 800 and that the controller board for the 19" would most likely support 1280 x 1024 native. I'm not sure if the controller board would support the different resolution. I'm in a similar situation where I'm trying to find a monitor with good specs and dvi for cheap. Unfortunately those things don't normally go together. I'll be interested to see how it goes. If X2GEN made that 15.4 with DVI, I'd be all over it.

I don't give a crap what the price is I want native widescreen and DVI. I might just end up getting the WUXGA setup sooner rather than later.

Yeah why couldn't they just put the damn connector on there
all the solder points are there (Top Right)

Just solder in a connector and try it out

Well great except where to I get an untouched dvi femaile from and how do I solder that tiny crap

you can buy a female DVI socket online.. I have a great site, but the URL escapes me at the moment.. I'll find it tomorrow. If the pcb has vias (holes) for the DVI you could easily solder it.. if there are just pads (which it looks like without zooming in) it will be difficult without a very fine tipped soldering iron, but not impossible whatsoever.

Take one out of a busted controller. I have several

And watch this video to see how easy it is to solder/desolder small connections. :

http://www.maxconsole.net/?mode=news&newsid=11580

Ooops that video was removed.

Heres the thread discussing it though :
http://forums.xbox-scene.com/index.php?showtopic=560275

I wonder if this tool would be usefull... "Cold Heat". It has been advertised on TV.

Click to view attachment

Cheers!

Fulcrum

Well sorry to dissapoint but I am scrapping the idea
I am just going to start saving towards the WUXGA panel and controller.

I found out that the controller that they quoted me is for a widescreen (1440x900) res
I am willing to bet that that res is hard coded into the board so I really don't think this will work.
There is a possiblility that it could damage my monitor also so I would then be out about $220

TO HELL WITH IT!

Why can't someone make a freakin monitor like this with dvi on it? Wouldn't it be easier/cheaper to make a DVI to lcd board anyway forget the VGA entirely

If you look at all the newer video cards they come almost completely with dvi output - no vga output. It looks like the industry is going that way sooner rather than later.

cold heat is complete garbage. You need to short the two part tip (esentially an anode and cathode) for it to send high current through the metal and heat it up. The problem is, for intricate soldering work, there isn't enough metal to short it! It was designed to be placed on the solder, instead of how you're supposed to solder components onto PCBs which is to heat the pad or via, then apply the solder.

Also there are reports of it not even being able to melt solder, but instead, melting its own tip!! rubbish! You'd be better off with a $3 soldering iron from a job lot or walmart

Agreed, Cold Heat is garbage. For any intricate or electrically delicate circuit work, it is useless.

Yea, I have a cold heat myself. It melted the tip.

Ok time to wake up this idea.

I took another look at the controller board and guess what. It has holes with no solder in em where the DVI was left out. So where do I get this connector. I am gonna take a stab at this mod.

tameone hook it up buddy

Also who is really good at micro soldering.

I could have one of these x2gen controller boards shipped to you + the DVI connector.

Anyone want to step up and help out on this very cool mod

im willing to take a hack at it, i looked at the pins on my dvi connector on my mon its not to bad, easier then repairing busted traces harder then installing pinheaders on the 1.0 xbox.

i think this would work on my tft too
it's deffo worth
a dvi connecter can be picked up cheap
maplins.co.uk i dont know the usa version

ok I send you the stuff if i can get a DVI connector

I'm interested in how this worked out, any word?

These cards usually have either a DVI-A (analog) or DVI-I (integrated analog/digital). This means they can use a simple port adapter to connect a standard VGA cable to them. A DVI-I output can support both analog or digital panels. A DVI-A can support analog only.

HOWEVER. The problem with what this guy is doing is that even though the traces and DVI port spot are there on the circuit board, the necessary components are probably not. To save on manufacturing costs when multiple versions of a circuit are used (for example, a VGA and Digital version of the same LCD panel), they design the board to the digital spec, then come up with a way to adapt it to analog using the same traces and component sizes. This means that the VGA and DVI versions have all the exact same traces, but only some of the component spaces are used, and sometimes a common component slot (like the controller microprocessor), can use a different version of the component for VGA versus DVI.

Its a waste of time to even try it. It won't work, and could possibly destroy the controller board. Besides, you gain almost zero advantage with an analog DVI signal over VGA. Don't bother.