Free Computer... Need help moderizing for my kid

[Sighlass]

Son (kid) got gifted a table computer (no screen)... but I need help help with new tech on hooking a screen up.



Here is the URL to the User Guild PDF (sorta generic for bunch of styles)... this one seems pretty barebones...

https://download.lenovo.com/pccbbs/thinkcentre_pdf/p330_2nd_gen_tower_ug_en.pdf

[Sighlass]

Continued...

Anyhoo, the old computer screen we have does not seem to be new and will not connect... I know nothing about the more modern connections and as advanced as I got was HDMI connections which this computer is missing.



The computer has a slot marked with HDMI would fit, but it is missing...

Maybe an URL to a computer screen on Amazon we could purchase would be handy. Just knowing what ports types they are would help too.

I guess the ports (3 and/or 4, perhaps #2 also?) in first picture are what you would use... what type of port(s) are they? New to me ... and any tech I have... I run about 10 years behind it seems.

[roamer_1]

On your actual photo, the weird looking green port (topmost left side) is a serial port.
Following downward, the next two ports are Display Ports - Those are monitor hookups. You only need use one (probably either, though sometimes single monitor must go on DP port 1 [Probably topmost]).

If your existing monitor has HDMI - Either an inbuilt cable or a port - will determine whether you need an HDMI to DPM (DP, DPMI) adapter (cheap, 10 bucks or so) or an HDMI to DisplayPort (DP/DPM/DPMI [all same thing]) cable (probably under 20 bucks), or some combination thereof, keeping in mind M/F connectors...

If your existing monitor does not have HDMI, it may have VGA port (small, blue) or a DVI port (Larger, white) - It is possible to go from either one to DisplayPort with a proper adapter, though VGA would not be recommended. DVI will do for jump starting you, but even that is old tech, and you need to start scrounging for a newer monitor, capable of HDMI or DP.

Did you glaze over yet, or did you pick up what I'm putting down? 

I mean, it's me... I start talking geek and go right over folks' heads.

Standing by...

[Sighlass]

Thanks Roamer ! I think I will need this (see link below) and a new monitor .... Yeah old screen he was using was VGA with no HDMI input... My screen has HDMI (was gonna loan him, but could not connect).

https://www.amazon.com/Mbiydeg-DisplayPort-Uni-Directional-Compatible-Streaming/dp/B0F3824RLZ

I like that it comes with 3 so we can possible hook one to the TV and watch streaming movies... In a pinch we can use the TV as a computer screen until we get one that will work for us.

BTW... the ports display "++" beside them... does that mean it is a weird different plug ??? A special port or upgrade?

[roamer_1]

Thanks Roamer ! I think I will need this and a new monitor .... Yeah old screen he was using was VGA with no HDMI input... My screen has HDMI (was gonna loan him, but could not connect).

https://www.amazon.com/Mbiydeg-DisplayPort-Uni-Directional-Compatible-Streaming/dp/B0F3824RLZ

I like that it comes with 3 so we can possible hook one to the TV and watch streaming movies... In a pinch we can use the TV as a computer screen until we get one that will work for us.

Well, I dunno  If you go out and buy an new monitor, it should be DP ready (make sure it is), and will likely come with all the cables necessary... And I dunno your TV - whether it has an existing DP port(s) or not - Likely it is/has HDMI, and will require an adapter (like what you've selected) somewhere along the line. All that is cabling and can be manifested in a number of ways.

Me personally, I don't like to buy converting cables, because they wind up single-use. I like buying straight cables (HDMI2HDMI or DP2DP) and then figger it out with an adapter, whichever way... That way, the cable can be re-used some other way.  convertible cables usually wind up one and done. But that's just me, and I am an adapter queen 😁

Before you go running off to the Best Buy, you might check at Sally Ann's or the Veteran's Pantry... There's a whole bunch of HDMI capable monitors out there for about nothing.

BTW... the ports display "++" beside them... does that mean it is a weird different plug ??? A special port or upgrade?

Dunno. That's just the DP symbol. Could be there was an earlier version that I missed, and those plusses mean a later model (kinda like USB2 and USB3 plug into the same hole) and I missed something... But if it plugs in that hole it'll be alright.
 

[Sighlass]

You rock Roamer... now time for me to do my homework... I know the tv has HDMI inputs, but will get my reading glasses out tomorrow and see if it had DP inputs... Very good info my friend. Also good thought about availability of used monitors in HDMI...

[roamer_1]

You rock Roamer... now time for me to do my homework... I know the tv has HDMI inputs, but will get my reading glasses out tomorrow and see if it had DP inputs... Very good info my friend. Also good thought about availability of used monitors in HDMI...

 

Nuther things... I suppose you already have USB KB and mouse... And sound - If your sound is an RCA jack, you better look for a monitor with the RCA jack port on it, or you will have to convert sound to USB or bluetooth. Sound is presented to the monitor through DVI/HDMI/DP so that's where the RCA port will be, if any

[Fishrrman]

What inputs does the display have?

I believe you said it had HDMI.
Does it have displayport?
(there's also a version of displayport called "minidisplayport")
Does it have VGA?

In the pic above, I see on the computer's back panel what looks to be 2 displayport outputs and thinking that "green" port above them may be VGA. (could be wrong about the VGA)

If you want a "modern" monitor, get one that has 4k (not just "1080p").
I'm going to GUESS that most tv's DON'T have displayport inputs (just HDMI)

[roamer_1]

I'm going to GUESS that most tv's DON'T have displayport inputs (just HDMI)

That is incorrect - Though it would have to be a fairly new TV. Mine is at least a year old, and it has DisplayPort inputs. HOWEVER, it also has HDMI inputs, and your assumption is surely the better bet.

[Sighlass]

What inputs does the display have?

I believe you said it had HDMI.
Does it have displayport?
(there's also a version of displayport called "minidisplayport")
Does it have VGA?

In the pic above, I see on the computer's back panel what looks to be 2 displayport outputs and thinking that "green" port above them may be VGA. (could be wrong about the VGA)

If you want a "modern" monitor, get one that has 4k (not just "1080p").
I'm going to GUESS that most tv's DON'T have displayport inputs (just HDMI)

Thanks Fishrrman for the reply.... My tv has HDMI (and I didn't check today if it had the DP input too), but son's computer is very old school and does not have DP or HDMI inputs.. ... but does have some even older tech with RCA plugs and the two screw in cable (what we used on the old computer). Don't know what it is called.

His computer space is right below the big screen tv (so we can watch what he does, just as my computer is in the livingroom also, so I remember to keep my viewing clean too)

I will probable stick with a newer computer screen but don't need 4k ... Heck we rarely watch anything 1080 ... I limit our Roku to 720 because it is less a drain on the wifi. I don't have a blueray just watch streaming stuff (480 usually)... To me 480 is good enough... 720 is somewhat clearer, but 480 is just fine. People now days want clarity that to me just shows the flaws in faces (no matter how pretty the lady is).

I am rambling now... It is good advice to suggest getting a 4k to keep up... but a good 1080 will fit my budget better and serve us just fine. My kid does very little computer stuff, he does not game and mainly uses the computer for school work (home schooled). He loves working outdoors and raising ducks and chickens. He plays the piano and saxophone, and likes to shoot at the gun range on occasion... and is learning Latin and woodworking. About the only video he wants to see is an occasional Christian music group he heard (download the song) and how to play a piano song.

I am probable more excited about hooking up the computer than he is... but it will be a more powerful computer than both of us have.

[roamer_1]

I will disagree with @Fishrrman a wee bit...

I am fixin to buy a new TV for my bedroom right now... Somewhere between 40-43" because that's all that will fit on the bureau... And I am right on the edge of where high resolution would matter a ton... The 55" out in the livingroom is 4k, and it is brilliant! But it is also big enough to matter about it.

Now, if I was angling for a 32" TV in the bedroom, I don't even know if anything over 1080p is even available, because the rendering on such a small screen is such that the resolution would not be all that much better. On a 40". the value added is still questionable. The 43"... well, it is a noticeable difference.

That ain't altogether true of computer monitors though, because as a rule, you are sitting directly in front of it, and fairly close, so pixelation is far more noticeable. So it could be the 4k would seem clearer, but I think 1080p is still mighty serviceable.

And btw, @Sighlass , you were saying how you don't have Blue-Ray DVD... I would wager you can't say that anymore. That Lenovo is new enough that the optical drive in it is very likely to not only be DVD-write but blue-ray compatible too. Movin on up! 

I was just trying to think if I even have an optical drive installed in any of my boxen anymore...  I pretty well stick to streaming, and anything I have in my library is already ripped down to an MP4 or something and stored on a hard disk. I got plumb sick of switching media all the time with songs and movies. It's all digital now.

[Sighlass]

@roamer_1

Heck I have not even got the specks of the computer yet... It may have a high definition dvd reader in it... at one time we had a blue ray player, but it was so slow to read and took so long to render stuff that when it broke we never got another one.

Just like this FLAC (lossless) music everyone wants now days... Good grief the space it takes to store such large files. If my music was all Flac (or Wave) I would have to have a dozen Terabit drives to hold it all (or a expensive cloud monthly). I can't hear a difference between 192kb MP3 and lossless music.

[roamer_1]

@roamer_1

Heck I have not even got the specks of the computer yet... It may have a high definition dvd reader in it... at one time we had a blue ray player, but it was so slow to read and took so long to render stuff that when it broke we never got another one.

Just like this FLAC (lossless) music everyone wants now days... Good grief the space it takes to store such large files. If my music was all Flac (or Wave) I would have to have a dozen Terabit drives to hold it all (or a expensive cloud monthly). I can't hear a difference between 192kb MP3 and lossless music.

Yes, @Sighlass , I am much the same way. I grew up with LPs and 8 tracks - in fact, I get a little nostalgic for the hiss and imperfection of LP music, played across big, monster, home speakers, through an amp pumping 100w per channel...

My music lib is largely MP3 too, with a few Ogg Vorbis files here and tere, merely for their convenience in downloading something rare enough that I couldn't get it any other way. OGG us supposed to be lossless too, whatever that really means... because I can't tell the difference either