External Monitor adapter

[cheeserandyburg]

Quick question,

I have a 4 year old Dell 19" monitor that I want to connect to my 17" Macbook Pro as an external.

Macbook Pro has "mini displayport"

And the Dell has both VGA and DVI ports.

I wanna go:

(MBP) MINI-DISPLAYPORT > (DELL) DVI

Sounded simple until I found out about Passive vs Active adapters?

Here's the two possibilities I have:


Passive Adapter: http://ca.startech.com/AV/Displaypo...ayPort-to-DVI-Cable-Adapter-Converter~MDP2DVI


Active Adapter: http://ca.startech.com/AV/Displayport-Converters/Mini-DisplayPort-to-DVI-Active-Adapter~MDP2DVIS


Which one is for me? Or can I go for either?


Thanks

 

[Detrius]

Active:

Unlike passive video adapters, this Mini DisplayPort to DVI adapter offers an active conversion for use with any Mini DisplayPort output - ideal for graphics cards that are not capable of outputting multi-mode DP++ signals (e.g. ATI Eyefinity).

Passive:

MDP2DVI is a passive adapter that requires a DP++ port (DisplayPort++), meaning that DVI and HDMI signals can also be passed through the port.

From the descriptions on the links you provided, it sounds like passive will be fine, since you're using a normal graphics card with a normal monitor.