Monitor Cable Types: Identify Every Port on Your Desk

Every desk eventually produces the same puzzle: a monitor with one set of ports, a computer with another, and a drawer of cables that don't quite match. Here's the field guide.

The ports, oldest to newest

• VGA — the blue 15-pin trapezoid. Analog, soft-looking at modern resolutions; the port of last resort for old projectors. Needs an active converter from any digital output.
• DVI — the wide white connector. Digital; single-link tops out around 1920×1200@60, dual-link reaches 2560×1600. Still common on older monitors and KVMs.
• HDMI — the familiar trapezoid on TVs and most monitors. Carries audio. Version determines bandwidth: 2.0 = 4K60, 2.1 = 4K120/8K.
• DisplayPort — rectangular with one clipped corner, usually with a latch. The native PC graphics connector: best high-refresh support, adaptive sync, daisy-chaining. Mini-DP is its small sibling on older laptops.
• USB-C — the small oval. Can carry DisplayPort video, but only from ports (and cables) that support Alt Mode — see our USB-C decoder.

Matching ends that don't match

Same port both ends: buy that cable, at the right version — HDMI or DisplayPort, and for gaming or high-refresh work read DisplayPort vs HDMI first. Different ports: direction matters. DP-to-HDMI is a common, well-behaved conversion (our DP collection includes cables and 4K-ready adapters, including DP-to-HDMI/VGA combos); HDMI-to-DP needs a different, powered device. And note the passive/active adapter distinction: passive adapters rely on the graphics card speaking HDMI through its DP port (DP++), which many modern cards no longer do — when in doubt, active.

Send a photo of both ports if you're stuck — identifying connectors from photos is genuinely something we do every week.