looking to purchase, need a little help

[orbital]

OK, first off i have been known as "orbital" on many many forums before i found these lcd displays about a week ago.....and i must say i am highly impressed with what it looks like they can do. Also nice name

ok heres my situation, i am building a new computer in the next couple days and i would love to implement an LCD display.

hardware i have already purchased is as follows:
ASUS A8V deluxe
AMD64 3500+
1GB (2* 512MB matched DDR500{PC4000} Kingston hyperX)
Acrylic Clear Case

Now i am not to sure about what all connections are on the ASUS motherboard as far as internal, it's pretty much a top of the line board and i am sure i can hook one of these displays up fairly easy, but i am not quite sure what connectors and cables i will need to get my LCD fully functional. Also i am planning on getting 2 UV cold Cathod lights and would like to hook them up thru the LCD displays i have a few questions and will try to make it easy to understand what i am after.


Trying to decide between the MX431 and the LK204-25-GW

1.... Is there any difference between units that communicate over USB vs units that communicate via RS232 or I2C, Is one more preferred amongst the people who order them, is one faster or easier to hookup then the other.?

2.... How do each of those units derive their power? I assume but really have no idea that the MX431 draws power from the USB as well as data communication, Does th LK204-25-GW need a power connection as well as the data connection?

3.... If i hookup the MX431 (Via USB) i would preffer to not have any cables comming out the back of my PC to connect the unit. Would i use this cable to connect to the usb internal interface on my mobo

or would i use this cable to connect all internally


or would i use the USB a-b cable....

(i am not sure but i dont think my mobo will have any "regular" usb ports internally, i think it supports usb pin out... but not the "normal socket" that a regular USB (A?) cable would slide into).........?

4.... last question i promise, Whats the best way to wire a pair of cold cathod lights to the matrix orbital? will one device power them better then the other. I assume they get hooked up to the "GPO's"..... and will them being turned on almost 24/7 dim the display at all or cause to much strain on the power out from the unit?..

i hope i didnt confuse the hell out of everyone.
i look forward to building a new PC And showing off to everyone a clean clear LCD display. Also with an acrylic case wiring cleanliness is a must and the less wires i have running all over the place the better.

for future refernce a picture of the back of each unit would be a great thing to have on each units sales page.
thanks for the read
orb
p.s. sorry to bore you if all these questions are answered somewhere else, i looked through the entire forum and guides/faq pages, sorry if i missed the answer to my question.

[SoJoS]

Manuals are online on MO's site.
Me think this will answer most of your questions :

http://matrixorbital.com/manuals/html/L ... /index.htm
http://matrixorbital.com/manuals/LK204-24-USB_01.pdf


Greetings SoJoS
MO newbie, already hooked

[Tom]

Here is the answers to your questions.

1) TTL , I2C, and USB are different communication protocols, so the way people communicate with our display depends on the application. For example, people using microcontrollers who want to communicate without using a RS-232 line driver will communicate via TTL. People who want to use several units on one bus will use the I2C interface. Most PC users will communicate via USB or RS-232. The speed depends on what protocol you are communicating at. When you communicate through USB the communication speed is set at 19,200 baud. For TTL and RS-232, it is adjustable, but it is typically set at 19,200 baud. For I2C you can communicate at up to 100Kbs.

2) The USB units draw power and communications from the USB cable. Regular units are powered via the power connector.

3) You would need to use the internal USB cable, if you don't want the cables sticking out of the back of your case. The cable is in the middle picture.

4) If you were to hook up a cold cathode you will need to hook it up to the high power GPOs. You will also need to connect an unmodified floppy power cable to power up the high power GPOs.

Hope this helps you out..

Best Regards,

[orbital]

thanks for the help tom....i will most likely be purchasing an MX431-2 cant decide what color would look better in my case, but i think thats the model i will most likely get.

:: looking forward to ownership ::
Orb

[orbital]

ok a few more questions, I appreciate the prompt response and answers to my first post i have narrowed down my choice between the MX42x series and the MX43x series. Whats the differnce between those categories, like the MX431 and the MX421. is there anything different between those two models besides the color of the overlay?

also. In the MX42x (or MX43x) series, what color LCD display shows up the brightest and clearest in low or no light situations?......from the pictures i like the looks of the 431 - (421) or the 430 - (420)but i am a little worried that the backlight on the 431 will be too bright (in the dark or no light) and subsequently make it a little harder to read. also i dont want the LCD to "glow" at night but i still want to be able to read the display......

Does anyone who has seen (or maybe has pictures) of any of these displays AT NIGHT or in THE DARK maybe voice there opinion on which ones show up clearer and easier to read?


thanks again, i cant wait to purchase and use one of these awesome LCD's

orb
/me tries not to be to difficult, but whenever i purchase stuff online i am always like this...... if there was alot more sources around the net with reviews and user opinions then i wouldn't be asking so many questions.....just want to make sure i buy the one i really want

Thanks