Video Card for Dual Monitors

[mcnamara9]

A quick question for y'all. I got another 17" monitor (for Father's Day) and want to run dual monitors so I can program LOR on one side and have the visualization screen on the other. I'm sure many of you expert folks already do this and had to get the right video card.

Question: What do I look for in buying a new video card that will support 2 monitors? Want to keep it under a $100 if possible. Any good brands to steer towards/stay away from? What should I be looking for? Any insights would be greatly appreciated.

Brian

[Randy]

A great place to look at (and buy) video cards is www.newegg.com

Do you know what kind of bus your video card plugs into? Is it older (perhaps AGP) or newer (PCI Express)?

Do you want to use DVI connections or VGA?

That'll help get started.....

Thanks, Randy

[iresq]

Check your current video card. If you card supports dvi it will also have an analog output. You can use this card to drive 2 monitors. Newegg has them for under $20 (after rebate).

[Shubb]

I run dual monitors both at home and at work. It's one of those things, once you get used to it...it's hard not to have it!

I bought a PCI dual video card at Fry's for about $100. Plugged in and was set up in about 1/2 hour. For my home computer/LOR sequencer I didn't have an extra slot so I bought a USB video adapter for about $59. Set up in about 10 minutes.

There is a difference between the two!! I have both computers setup in "side by side" mode, so I can drag windows from left to right. The USB adapter is does not have as fast as a refresh rate and is "choppy" when you move a window. It is not quite as good when watching a video also. For general use and web browsing it is fine. For LOR it is Excellent! I can have the sequence editor open on one screen and the other for animation (which takes up a whole 19" by itself)

Combine the dual monitor with a wide screen that converts to "portrait" mode and you can double your visible channels at the same time.

Scott

[mcnamara9]

My PC is 3 years old and has 1 extra PCI Express Slot. Both monitors have your standard VGA plugs on them. I know you can buy cables that go from VGA to DVI, but I assume I won't see much of an improvement by converting. Is that correect?

Aren't the newer stuff DVI to DVI (monitor to card are both DVI inputs) and that is where you get the improvement? SO, I guess I just need to find a PCI Express with 2 VGA ports on it. Correct?

[RayNMesa]

Hi Brian here are some PCI Express cards , FRYs' there over there in Franks part of town

[mcnamara9]

Thanks Ray, as always, appreciate the help.

[JR V]

Another PCI card is generally the easiest way to add that second monitor. I currently am running 3 computers with dual monitors and another with 3.

There are two things you need to be carefull of when running dual cards. First and most important make sure the new card you buy is a similar type as the one in your computer. Meaning if its using nvidea for drivers make sure the new is also. Secondly you may discover that you end up with irq conflicts especially since your installing into your last slot. This may easily fixed by just swapping a couple of the cards around in some of the pci slots.

[mcnamara9]

Thanks again everyone for the input. Truly appreciate it.

Brian

[Swoop]

I assume you already checked to see if your current video card has 1 or 2 outputs on it. If it has 2 then you already have what you need, if it has 1 then yeah like other's said you need to get a new card. Newegg.com is def the place to go for PC parts. You should be able to find a good card for very little money. As far as I know all consumer video cards, from the cheapest to the priciest have two outputs. Your cheaper ones will generall have 1 DVI and 1 analog output. Even if neither of your monitors has a DVI cord you can by a DVI to VGA(analog) adapter. We just started putting dual monitors on our employee's desks and they love em.