Dual LCD questions

[Vr]

*delurk*

"I'm looking to set up dual LCD monitors on my computer, I've only got 1 AGP slot on my computer right now, so I'm wondering what sort of PCI cards exist w/ DVI on them. (I believe there are some geForce 2 MXs) Furthermore, I also need to acquire the LCD's. I'm looking into 15" monitors, but I was wondering what advice you could offer on good + affordable flatscreens. Thanks
-Vr

*resume lurk*

 

[lifeguard1999]

First of all, what are you going to use such a setup for? Gaming? Video editing? Animation with Maya or 3D Studio Max? Or is it "just because its cool"? Here at where I work, we use it for video editing and animation. Knowing this answer helps set the requirement for the next two answers.

Second of all, you need to look at the 15" LCD monitors and determine what its connector is. Some come with DVI connectors; some come with VGA connectors. Using DVI connectors would result in better quality.

Third, you do not necessarily need a PCI card. You could go with a dual-out card that fits in your one AGP slot. ATI has several including the 7500 and 8500. The ATI cards have one VGA out and one DVI out (at least). Matrox makes a good dual-out cards as well, including a dual DVI version of the G550 for $200. But if the answer to #1 was gaming, then I would steer clear of the Matrox cards.

 

[Vr]

"The purpose is twofold. Gaming, and coding. For gaming though, I doubt I'll use my dual monitor capability too much. I do some graphics programming so ideally I'd like to get geforce3's running both monitors, but thats not an option for a while. I've already got a geforce2 AGP to run a single LCD, so thats why I assumed that a PCI would be the way to go for the 2nd. Thanks
-Vr