2 monitors at once

[zveruga]

Hi all,

my friend has very bad eye sight and would like to use 2 monitors at once (magnification significantly limits field of vision). What video cards support it? I know from past threads here that game play is an issue, but aside from that -- what video cards can do it? Any lower-end cards?

thanks,

zveruga

 

[powerMarkymark]

I'm using a MSI GeForce Ti200 AGP card and an ATi Radeon 7000 PCI card together in the same rig and after updating the ATI drivers it works like a charm.

I hear that two ATI cards in the same system don't play nice so I would advise against it.

 

[Woodchuck2000]

There are quite a few dual-head cards available. From ATi, the 8500 supports dual head. From nVidia, the GeForce 2MX (some but not all) and all the GeForce 4 Ti series do. Also, most Matrox cards are available in dual-head configurations. If 3D is not an issue, grab an old G200.

The success rate of using a PCI card and an AGP in the same system is somewhat variable. Some combinations just go straight away, others don't go at all. You're probably better off going for a single card if possible.

 

[ObiDon]

From nVidia, the GeForce 2MX (some but not all) and all the GeForce 4 Ti series do.

Are you counting the TV output as a second monitor? Not all GF4 Ti cards do true dual monitor and there's a few GF4 MX cards that do as well. 😉

 

[zveruga]

Geforce 4MX power is about as much as would be needed -- what is the point of a ti card if there is no gaming involved. Even Geforce2MX is probably OK..

Now dumb question -- dual head means there are 2 monitor output ports on the back of the card? Or will i need to buy some form of a splitter?

Any links to buy those cards would be appreciated🙂

thanks yall.

Oh and TV-out is not the second output monitor, although it would be nice to have this option.

 

[zzzz]

Get a matrox G400 or newer versions. The 2D quality would be vastly superior to the Gf4Mx line. You should be able to find one used for about $50 or so.

 

[wfbberzerker]

Now dumb question -- dual head means there are 2 monitor output ports on the back of the card? Or will i need to buy some form of a splitter?

well, on the radeon 8500, there is a standard monitor port, and then one for a dvi cable. it comes with a converter, so you slap that on the dvi port, and you can hook up two monitors to the video card.

 

[zveruga]

Would something like this do the job without convertors? Is Geforce4 MX440 recommended for this task?

 

[ObiDon]

Yep. Here's some pictures of that card at Newegg.

I just rebuilt a co-worker's system and put an MSI GF4 MX420 in it. It was at least as smooth as a GF2. Probably a lot more. I was surprised considering it was the SDRAM version of the card. I can't really make a good call on the 2D image quality because I was testing on a 15" monitor and a small PSOne Lcd panel but it looked good to me. 🙂

I think the GF4 MX cards get a bad rap around here because everyone thinks they need 2000 FPS in their games. They are pretty good cards for the money. If you're not playing at 1600x1200 with everything turned up, it should last you quite a while with the dual-head. 😉

 

[HelzBelz]

Originally posted by: zveruga
Would something like this do the job without convertors? Is Geforce4 MX440 recommended for this task?

It sure would do the job !

Starting with Nvidia's GF4 MX (and above), the 2D quality is getting close to a Matrox or ATI card.

I would try to get a Matrox (anything from a G400 and above, dual-head) if game play isn't a priority. They sell the G450 at your "Avlogic" store, (althought expensive there).

An ATI Radeon 8500 would be overkill. A lesser Radeon (or even a Rage 128 Pro) solution with dual-head is also a good choice.

The GF2 MX will give you headaches : these cards were meant for inexpensive 3D (with, at best, barely acceptable 2D rendering quality, relative to Matrox 2D quality; if you hear otherwise, it's from people who haven't compared the 2 side by side).

And, yes, "dual-head" means "with two separately driven monitor outputs" (i.e. each with different images, like a larger desktop spanning over the two monitors. One of the outputs might require an adapter, like DVI to VGA (check if it's included)...

TV-Out is not considered as "dual-head"; plus it's usually the same picture on TV as the one on the monitor.

😎