DMS-59 is a
connector used to
carry two digital
DVI and two analog
VGA video signals.
An interface cable
is needed for
conversion from
DMS-59 to DVI or
VGA. Different types
of interface cables
exist. The connector
is generally 4 pins
high and 15 pins
wide, with a single
pin missing from the
top row.
The
DMS-59 connector is
used by ATI, NVIDIA,
and Matrox in DELL,
and HP computers
with an NVIDIA NVS
graphics card. The
standard (cheapest)
cable provided by
DELL has a dual VGA
connector, no DVI. A
more expensive type
has a dual DVI-I
connector.
Some
confusion is caused
by the fact that
vendors label cards
with DMS-59 as
"supports DVI". This
means that you may
have a "DVI card"
with a monitor cable
(e.g. DMS-59 to
VGA), DVI monitor
with a signal cable
(e.g. DVI-D to DVI-D),
and still not be
able to connect one
with the other. Such
cases can be
resolved with a
DMS-59 to DVI
adapter cable.
The
DMS-59 connector is
derived from the
Molex Low Force
Helix connector
which can also be
found on some
(presumably earlier)
graphics cards.
These ports are
similar to the
DMS-59 port, but
have all 60 pins
present, whereas
DMS-59 has one pin
(pin58) blocked. You
cannot put a
connector plug with
all 60 pins (such as
a Molex 88766-7610
DVD-I splitter) into
a properly keyed
DMS-59 socket.
