Hey Guys, I'm looking into making a sweet gaming room, and I want to have all the classics in there... SNES, Megadrive, you name it. My question is: If I plug a VGA cable to my computer, and just screen some emulators on my TV, will my computer suffer in any way? Heating up too much? Battery going away too fast? I really need the computer for work, but would like to play some pre-historic games, and pound some beers with the troops... As always, thanks for the help!
If you are worried about that, you could always go for an HDMI cable and box. That way the electricity wouldn't be directly feeding into your tv. It should be safe anyway. VGA port damage is incredibly uncommon, you just have to make sure that the voltage and the currents remain the same. You can fry anything if the voltages don't match up. TLR You shouldn't have to worry as long as the voltage is about the same, and you should probably get a surge protector for extra measure. Edit I've found a thread that may also answer your question Log In
To my knowledge this doesn't damage a computer in any way. My brother has connected his computer throgh the VGA in our flat screen TV on more then one occasion and the computer still runs well. But if you are concern as pointed out above there are options including a streaming player which gives you the convenience of an internet hook up on you TV without having to use a computer. Yes these will also have to be connected and aren't without their problems we are on our third one out in our living room, so make sure you get a good brand when looking for one.
Well I don't know what kind of VGA cable you have but I think if it's compatible with your computer and you don't have to do some tinkering then I guess it's fine, not unless of course if your TV explodes when in contact with something. But if you have an HDMI cable then try it first but I think your computer will do just fine
It shouldn't matter. I've hooked computers to TVs for years and years and years. It won't be a big deal to wire tie things so there's no pressure or anything like that on the dongles. The only thing I can tell you is make sure that your graphics card is truly capable of displaying well on the TV, versus hurting the system. It might just look poor if you have an old TV and new system or vice versa.
I have used the VGA cable from computer to TV in the past... The only thing I'm worried about is overheating the computer or something. And I can't have that, because I really need this computer to stay alive for another year or two. Anyhoo, thanks for the help guys.
Everyone else is right. As long as everything is compatible, you're not going to experience any issues. Your computer and your television are going to be fine, although HDMI is preferable for a number of other reasons when it's an option. Not all PCs and TVs have HDMI ports, though.
My old computers were always plugged to a second monitor and they all eventually failed after a few months after daily use in that way, though I couldn't really pinpoint if it was indeed the second monitor that caused it. I'm sure by now the technology for it is much better though as the last time I did so was a very long time ago.
No, definitely won't overheat, there's no reason to. If you used them in the past, it's exactly the same.
Why do you think it would overheat? It's not like you're computer is needs that much power or processing power to run the display and if your computer can't then I don't think it will work in the first place. But yeah you don't have to worry about anything.
I do not think it will get damaged by such act. It is all about hardware specifications of the laptop. It totally depends on the laptop and now the on TV. If you properly maintain the laptop then there would really be no trouble. All would be working fine.
Nope, it's totally fine. The only minor thing to maybe worry about is if your GPU is old and cant support higher resolutions. I have the almost the same exact setup in my bedroom, except I use HDMI instead of a VGA port because there's no sound on a VGA. I also run the whole thing in a dual monitor setup, with the displays being extended. That way I can play something on the TV and still do stuff on my regular monitor.
No problem at all. Just make sure that it's placed in a ventilated area so some of the heat can dissipate out. I have a similar setup with a laptop to a television for many months and have had zero problems.
I have been plugging my computers into my TV for years. It really does not damage your computer if you have a good chill pad and are gentle with the connections. Sometimes I would plug it in too roughly and then I noticed that I was breaking my ports.
We currently have a computer plugged into our tv with the sole purpose of playing games from CD and as a repository for digital movie and TV show content. It doesn't even have a normal monitor at all. Everything is on the big screen. (This includes my daughter's school work on the computer if she's grounded from her laptop, which allows us to monitor closely.) It's been like that for about a year and our only trouble came from a bunny nibbling on the hdmi cord that I thought was out of reach, which we then needed to replace.
I think it is quite safe to connect your computer in a television as long as you follow all the guidelines set in your manual. It is also advisable to check first the compatibility of your pc to your tv again based on your manual. Try using the hdmi cable I tried it and it works perfectly. Always check the required voltage of both your pc and tv.
I don't think so. back in the early or mid 2000's, like say 2004 and 2005, we first got Windows XP, and a computer, and we came into a lead that we could run from our computer to the TV, and we could play music and watch movies. We did this a lot, and watched movies as a family. Everything still works as it should.
Back when my current laptop had crapped out on me the first time I needed a backup computer so I dusted off my laptop that had a cracked screen and hooked it up to my TV via VGA cable (and later HDMI). It didn't seem to harm the computer any, the laptop was already 5 years old, it lasted another 18 months after that with no issues being hooked up to the TV. I didn't even have problems with it overheating, which I had problems with beforehand.
If your computer comes with VGA output, then I don't see the problem with plugging it into the television and using it as intended. Someone suggested that you could use HDMI, which is good as the cable is smaller and likely uses less power, but honestly I don't see VGA having any significant negative effect on your computer as long as you use it how it's intended.
