DVI / VGA Dummy Plug Thread

[stellan0r]

Hi there,
I was wondering if you guys who use dummy plugs could post what type of dummy plugs (with or without dvi-vgi adapter, what resistors (ohm), put into which holes of the port) you use and with which graphics card.

Which guide did you follow to build your dummy plug?

Did you put the plugs on before installing the OS and drivers or after everything was setup?


I actually had trouble building the 5-second version (putting a 75ohm resistor into the dvi port) for my two xfx 6870 black edition - did not work out and now I'd like to know what you guys do - to decide wether I buy a bunch of dvi-to-vga adapters (cheap) or get kvm switches (expensiv) :-)

[1715152728]

1715152728

[1715152728]

1715152728

[qed]

Got an hdmi switch. Cheap and fast, especially if you don't already have an DVI-VGA plug.

[stellan0r]

can you please post a link to that switch?
do you need to attach a screen to it or is it enough to have the switch attached to the card?

[faille]

http://www.overclock.net/folding-home-guides-tutorials/384733-30-second-dummy-plug.html

I used that guide, though I used 75 ohm resisters, which people in that thread said worked. Mine works fine.

[Freakin]

Followed the same 30 second tutorial

worked fine w/ both 68 ohm .5W resistors and 75 ohm .25W resistors

buying an HDMI switch for this is nuts.  you can build dummy plugs for <$1.50 no problem in literally 30 seconds

[kokojie]

Followed the same 30 second tutorial

worked fine w/ both 68 ohm .5W resistors and 75 ohm .25W resistors

buying an HDMI switch for this is nuts.  you can build dummy plugs for <$1.50 no problem in literally 30 seconds

Simply using a resistor, has worked fine for me, I followed this guide:
http://blog.zorinaq.com/?e=11

bought a pack of 50 resistors for $1, and they all work fine as dummy plug

[qed]

Followed the same 30 second tutorial

worked fine w/ both 68 ohm .5W resistors and 75 ohm .25W resistors

buying an HDMI switch for this is nuts.  you can build dummy plugs for <$1.50 no problem in literally 30 seconds

I'm in japan and a 3+1 switch with remote it's around 20$, each DVI-VGA is about $5. Fry your card for a short will take time (aka bitcoins) .
So yeah, i proudly "wasted" 5$ on a hdmi switch with remote :p

[Freakin]

Followed the same 30 second tutorial

worked fine w/ both 68 ohm .5W resistors and 75 ohm .25W resistors

buying an HDMI switch for this is nuts.  you can build dummy plugs for <$1.50 no problem in literally 30 seconds

I'm in japan and a 3+1 switch with remote it's around 20$, each DVI-VGA is about $5. Fry your card for a short will take time (aka bitcoins) .
So yeah, i proudly "wasted" 5$ on a hdmi switch with remote :p

how much are HDMI cables?  Does your HDMI switch require power?  Does it require intervention when you boot your computer or does it activate each GPU just by being plugged into the HDMI switch?

order DVI-VGA from China for $.99/each

Not quite sure what you are referring to by "fry your card for a short". 

My dedicated miner requires *ONLY* a power plug and boots directly into windows and starts hashing on all GPUs.  No intervention required, and no extra accessories hanging off the back of the rig

[qed]

Followed the same 30 second tutorial

worked fine w/ both 68 ohm .5W resistors and 75 ohm .25W resistors

buying an HDMI switch for this is nuts.  you can build dummy plugs for <$1.50 no problem in literally 30 seconds

I'm in japan and a 3+1 switch with remote it's around 20$, each DVI-VGA is about $5. Fry your card for a short will take time (aka bitcoins) .
So yeah, i proudly "wasted" 5$ on a hdmi switch with remote :p

how much are HDMI cables?  Does your HDMI switch require power?  Does it require intervention when you boot your computer or does it activate each GPU just by being plugged into the HDMI switch?

order DVI-VGA from China for $.99/each

Not quite sure what you are referring to by "fry your card for a short". 

My dedicated miner requires *ONLY* a power plug and boots directly into windows and starts hashing on all GPUs.  No intervention required, and no extra accessories hanging off the back of the rig

The switch is powered by the HDMI cable, just need to be plugged. Here, new gold plated HDMI cables are around 3$ (but i already got 3). False contact, short contact, resistor drops onto your mb can make you lose time. The cheapest DVI-VGA i found from ebay are from china and sold for 2.59$ and around 2 weeks shipping, the switch i got was "same day delivery".

If you are satisfied with your solution and you think it's the best i'm happy for you. But I, being an electronic engineer, i'm not going to stick unsoldered resistors into a vga plug.

[Freakin]

Followed the same 30 second tutorial

worked fine w/ both 68 ohm .5W resistors and 75 ohm .25W resistors

buying an HDMI switch for this is nuts.  you can build dummy plugs for <$1.50 no problem in literally 30 seconds

I'm in japan and a 3+1 switch with remote it's around 20$, each DVI-VGA is about $5. Fry your card for a short will take time (aka bitcoins) .
So yeah, i proudly "wasted" 5$ on a hdmi switch with remote :p

how much are HDMI cables?  Does your HDMI switch require power?  Does it require intervention when you boot your computer or does it activate each GPU just by being plugged into the HDMI switch?

order DVI-VGA from China for $.99/each

Not quite sure what you are referring to by "fry your card for a short". 

My dedicated miner requires *ONLY* a power plug and boots directly into windows and starts hashing on all GPUs.  No intervention required, and no extra accessories hanging off the back of the rig

The switch is powered by the HDMI cable, just need to be plugged. Here, new gold plated HDMI cables are around 3$ (but i already got 3). False contact, short contact, resistor drops onto your mb can make you lose time. The cheapest DVI-VGA i found from ebay are from china and sold for 2.59$ and around 2 weeks shipping, the switch i got was "same day delivery".

If you are satisfied with your solution and you think it's the best i'm happy for you. But I, being an electronic engineer, i'm not going to stick unsoldered resistors into a vga plug.

haha and I had about a dozen dvi-->vga plugs so obviously I prefer dummy plugs

here is an ebay item for $.99 from hong kong with free shipping.  Does shipping from HK to Japan really take 2 weeks?  I figured you guys would at least get the benefit of being close by

i had so many of these things 6 months ago that I threw out 10-20 

[stellan0r]

Simply using a resistor, has worked fine for me, I followed this guide:
http://blog.zorinaq.com/?e=11

bought a pack of 50 resistors for $1, and they all work fine as dummy plug

what graphics card? this was not working with my 6870..

[kokojie]

Simply using a resistor, has worked fine for me, I followed this guide:
http://blog.zorinaq.com/?e=11

bought a pack of 50 resistors for $1, and they all work fine as dummy plug

what graphics card? this was not working with my 6870..

You did it wrong probably, I've done it with 6870, 6970, 5830

[stellan0r]

You did it wrong probably, I've done it with 6870, 6970, 5830

how do i do it right?

if i have the dvi port in front of me, the "square" with the 4 little holes and the cross in the middle on the right side. where do you put the 75ohm resistors in?

[EpicFail]

For what's it is worth, in addtion to using 68 ohm and 75 ohm resistors (which are actually difficult to get because 75 ohm is not a standard resistor value), you can also use 82 ohm and 100 ohm resistors just fine. If you have 150 ohm resistors you can make 75 ohm resistors by connecting 2 x 150 ohm resistors in parallel.

I mention this because if you buy an assorted resistor pack from Radio Shack you don't just keep the 68 ohm resistors and throw away the rest.

If you are worried about blowing up your card, keep in mind that it is safer to go higher than 75 ohms rather than lower. 51 ohm resistors are also included in may resistor packs and those also seem to work, but because they draw measureably more current than 75 ohm resistors wouldn't recommend them.

[stellan0r]

For what's it is worth, in addtion to using 68 ohm and 75 ohm resistors (which are actually difficult to get because 75 ohm is not a standard resistor value), you can also use 82 ohm and 100 ohm resistors just fine. If you have 150 ohm resistors you can make 75 ohm resistors by connecting 2 x 150 ohm resistors in parallel.

I mention this because if you buy an assorted resistor pack from Radio Shack you don't just keep the 68 ohm resistors and throw away the rest.

If you are worried about blowing up your card, keep in mind that it is safer to go higher than 75 ohms rather than lower. 51 ohm resistors are also included in may resistor packs and those also seem to work, but because they draw measureably more current than 75 ohm resistors wouldn't recommend them.

here in Germany you can buy single resistors for 6 cent at Conrad Electronic and they have 75 ohm, too. But if I don't get this to work, I will buy a bunch of 82 ohms and see what happens. Not a fortune to invest

[TeaRex]

Just a question... plugging in an old analog CRT monitor is just as good as a dummy plug, right?

[Cablesaurus]

For anyone not wanting to invest the expense in a KVM, or isn't comfortable crafting a plug, we do offer finished manufactured Plugs @ the cablesaurus.com site.

[Swishercutter]

I used the dvi-vga plugs that came with every one of my vid cards...some 75 ohm resistors from my shop.  Took about a minute each...coated them in nonconductive paint on coating.

[hollajandro]

You did it wrong probably, I've done it with 6870, 6970, 5830

how do i do it right?

if i have the dvi port in front of me, the "square" with the 4 little holes and the cross in the middle on the right side. where do you put the 75ohm resistors in?

You need to put it in the VGA end of a DVI to VGA plug, not in the DVI port!

[Swishercutter]

You did it wrong probably, I've done it with 6870, 6970, 5830

how do i do it right?

if i have the dvi port in front of me, the "square" with the 4 little holes and the cross in the middle on the right side. where do you put the 75ohm resistors in?

You need to put it in the VGA end of a DVI to VGA plug, not in the DVI port!

There is a way to do it that way as well...I don't have the pinout in front of me but I ran across it at one point.