Graphics card/2 monitors ?

[spaceman]

Can anyone tell me what I need to set up two monitors on my CPU? I'm running XP, and my current graphics card is a nVidia GeForce4 MX. I would like to run 1 CRT/1 LCD, or just two CRTs. No gaming intentions here, just digital photo editing with Adobe PS and all your other average, everyday apps. Thanks

 

[Edwood]

I'm guessing your GF4 MX does not have another monitor output.

If you have Windows XP, it is easy. You will need another graphics card. If you can find an old PCI Video Card, it's all gravy. Provided it is not too old, and the drivers do not work.

Plug in your primary monitor into your AGP car (your GF4 MX), and the other monitor into the other PCI card.

Boot up as normal.

On your desktop, right click ->Properties->Settings
You should see two "Boxes" there with the one on the right grayed out.

Click on the grayed out box. Either right click and select "Attached" or in the lower left hand area, check off the option "Extend my Windows Desktop onto This Monitor".

Adjust your resolutions, enjoy.

Otherwise, it's always a good excuse to get the latest videocard with dual monitor output.

If you want a 2D only onw, I highly recommend the Matrox P650. Passively cooled (no noisy fan), has dual DVI outputs(comes with DVI->VGA adapter), and supports independant resolutions and refresh rates in Windows 2000.

-Ed

 

[Edwood]

Oops.


-Ed

 

[spaceman]

Thanks Ed. So all I need is any old graphics card that will drop into one of my empty PCI slots? I'd rather not go out dump a sum of money on a new dual output card if I can utilize the one I have. Should I expect any conflicts between the two seprate cards? Would it be better to get another nVidia card to go with my original?

edit: OTOH, if I were to go with a new dual output card with 3D rendering, what would you recommend?

 

[450]

I dont think AGP can work with PCI. I think they both have to be PCI.

 

[Edwood]

Quote:

Originally Posted by 450 I dont think AGP can work with PCI. I think they both have to be PCI.

Nope. I've mixed AGP and PCI no problem.

-Ed

 

[Mr.Radar]

Just as long as you don't mix ATI and nVidia cards you should be fine with any two.

EDIT: Quote:

Originally Posted by spaceman edit: OTOH, if I were to go with a new dual output card with 3D rendering, what would you recommend?

That depends on how much you want to spend. Nearly all video cards today come with 1 VGA output, 1 DVI output (and a DVI -> VGA adapter), and 1 video output (usually S-Video and a composite adapter).

 

[Edwood]

Quote:

Originally Posted by spaceman Thanks Ed. So all I need is any old graphics card that will drop into one of my empty PCI slots? I'd rather not go out dump a sum of money on a new dual output card if I can utilize the one I have. Should I expect any conflicts between the two seprate cards? Would it be better to get another nVidia card to go with my original? edit: OTOH, if I were to go with a new dual output card with 3D rendering, what would you recommend?

Look for old PCI GeForce 2 MX cards. They generate little heat and will work better since you will only have to use one driver. NVidia has excellent drivers.

If you buy new, I'd go for GeForce 6800 GT. But you will probably have to upgrade your computer to match it. You really need the equivalent of a P4 3GHz, Pentium M 755 2GHz, or Athlon 64 3000+ to get closer to the full benefit of the latest vid cards.

What's your current setup? CPU, motherboard, RAM, Power Supply, etc?

After having a Radeon X800 Pro for a bit, I cannot recommend their drivers, particularly for multi monitor setups. NVidia and Matrox have far more useable drivers. (although, latest 3D games on a Matrox is laughable).

-Ed

 

[pedxing]

you don't need to look for an ancient pci card. There are a few recent (recent as in one to two years old) nvidia pci cards in the market, i think made my pny. I have personally used 5200 fx pci cards with other Nv3x cards. I wouldn't mix and match anything more than one generation ahead or behind each other. However, these newer pci cards are hard to find and do not guarantee compatibility with any other AGP card. Also, the motherboard make and model can cause some compatiblity issues.

If you can, you might be better off getting a cheap or used NVIDIA or ATI card made like two years with dual monitor ports. You might want to check driver issues and see which one offers the best features to fit your needs for dual monitor use. Some drivers do not support certain applications very well when it comes to multiple screens.

 

[Juergen]

A while back I bought an ATI 9800 Pro. It had a digital and an analog out so I hooked up my lcd and an older crt. It worked great. A couple of days later the All-in -Wonder 9800Pro went on sale for the same price so I exchanged it. I didn't realize the AIW had only one output. I then dug out an older PCI card to try and drive the second monitor. It really didn't work well at all. I later heard that ATI does not support dual monitors in XP! I'm back to one monitor for now

 

[spaceman]

Ok, I've decided to just go ahead and purchase a new dual output graphics card rather than mess around with compatiblity, etc with a second card. I would like to keep this under $100, and please keep in mind that I am not into gaming. This dual monitor setup is primarliy for my digi photo editing. Any suggestions and where to buy online would be greatly appreciated. Here is my system specs:

2.4 GHz Pentium 4
Planar motherboard
512 MB DDR SDRAM, 266 MHz
160 GB Ultra ATA/100 HD 7200rpm
current graphics card: nVidia 64MB GeForce MX
(2) 17" Trinitron monitors (only one utilized at this time)

 

[The_Mac]

If you're running XP, you probably won't be having compatibility problems. I've mixed a readon 9000 with a rage Xpert 128, radeon 9000 with an old matrox card, a built in geforce2 on an nvidia board with a rage128. No issues at all. If you're happy with your current card, then you may be fine with just picking up a cheap PCI card.

 

[ReasonablyLucid]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Juergen I later heard that ATI does not support dual monitors in XP! I'm back to one monitor for now

Thats 100% BS.

I have 3 montitors running off of 2 ATI cards. Before I had 3 monitors running off of a ATI and matrox card.

The only thing that can cause complications is mixing ATI and nvidia cards becasue their drivers dont play nice together.

 

[spaceman]

Quote:

Originally Posted by The_Mac If you're running XP, you probably won't be having compatibility problems. I've mixed a readon 9000 with a rage Xpert 128, radeon 9000 with an old matrox card, a built in geforce2 on an nvidia board with a rage128. No issues at all. If you're happy with your current card, then you may be fine with just picking up a cheap PCI card.

Price-wise, what is considered cheap, and will I get decent performance from my second monitor with the PCI card? Thanks

 

[Edwood]

Quote:

Originally Posted by spaceman Price-wise, what is considered cheap, and will I get decent performance from my second monitor with the PCI card? Thanks

Yeah. XP is alot more tolerant of ATi cards than Win2K.

As long as you don't want to do anything fancy like screen rotation, then ATi will be fine.

I have two P4 2.4GHz (Northwood) computers now.

My Radeon X800 Pro does not get enough information from the CPU with the latest games like Doom3 and Half-Life Source engine. I've seen benchmarks with that card, and it is at least 10-40fps more than what I'm seeing.
I am going to upgrade to an Athlon 64 3500+ very soon.

If you want to "max out" your current setup, you should look into getting perhaps a Radeon 9600 XT. Or Radeon 9800 XT if you can spend a little more cash. Perhaps maybe the Radeon X700?

Also consider the Geforce 6600. But I'm not sure if there are any AGP versions available yet. (initial ones are PCI-Xpress)

-Ed