dual monitor question

[machintos]

Well I have a dell 1901fp which is plugged into my radeon 9700 via dvi.
I just purchased a 2nd 1901fp and I wanna have a dual monitor set up.
The thing is, the video card only has 1 dvi port. Does this mean that I have to plug the other FP to the analog port? or is there any way I can plug both FPs into DVI?

Sorry if this is a dumb question. it's a learning process to me

Thanks in advance for the replies guys

 

[Azndude51]

you'll have to connect it to the vga. i think they make vga to dvi adapters, but if the monitor has a vga plug the adapter is pointless.

 

[machintos]

Originally posted by: Azndude51
you'll have to connect it to the vga. i think they make vga to dvi adapters, but if the monitor has a vga plug the adapter is pointless.

The monitor comes wiht both the dvi and analog plug. The reason why I want to use the dvi plug is beause from what I hear, the dvi connection is much better compared to analog.
If I use analog to dvi connection, will the quality be digital? or still be analog?

Thanks again

 

[Alptraum]

Originally posted by: machintos

Originally posted by: Azndude51
you'll have to connect it to the vga. i think they make vga to dvi adapters, but if the monitor has a vga plug the adapter is pointless.

The monitor comes wiht both the dvi and analog plug. The reason why I want to use the dvi plug is beause from what I hear, the dvi connection is much better compared to analog.
If I use analog to dvi connection, will the quality be digital? or still be analog?

Thanks again

Just get cheap PCI card with DVI. Since you already have a Radeon just get another one, that way you only need one driver set. You can get a 7500 with DVI for around $40 off NewEgg, and of course you can probably do better on Ebay or the FS/FT forums.

 

[edelbrock]

I have used a dual monitor setup with my card which has a dvi and a vga output. Couldn't tell much of a difference between the two. Text looked a little sharper on the DVI but it wasn't a big difference. This was on 1905's. I say just use the vga output. Not worth the extra money for the pci card. Then when you decide to upgrade the video card get a dual dvi card.

 

[machintos]

Originally posted by: edelbrock
I have used a dual monitor setup with my card which has a dvi and a vga output. Couldn't tell much of a difference between the two. Text looked a little sharper on the DVI but it wasn't a big difference. This was on 1905's. I say just use the vga output. Not worth the extra money for the pci card. Then when you decide to upgrade the video card get a dual dvi card.

Yeah, I guess if ther's not much differnce between the dvi and analog, I'm just gonna wait until I upgrade to a dual dvi card.

Thanks for the input everytone

 

[heartsurgeon]

i would completely agree with the comments about dvi and vga output looking essentially the same on LCD monitors.

i have a dell 2000fp and a dell 2001fp, i run both at 1600x1200

i run them off a 9200 radeon card with one analog and one dvi output...
theyu both look great, they look the same to me.

i'm not a "gamer" but i do lots of photoshop stuff, image processing, and i cannot tell the difference between the two.

i would just run them off the card you currently have (one analog, one dvi)..if over time the "difference" between the two displays (assuming you can detect any) bugs you...then get a new vid card at that time.

 

[essasin]

you can also get a pci dvi card for one of the monitors

 

[Hikari]

If the DVI and Analog signals look about the same, your monitor must be crap (sorry to be blunt). I have 2 different LCDs, and the DVI is incomparably better than the Analog inputs on both of them. DVI is much much much much sharper, and I think the colors are better and less ghosting (maybe the latter isn't true, it might be related to the sharpness).

Never use VGA if you can use DVI.

 

[machintos]

Originally posted by: essasin
you can also get a pci dvi card for one of the monitors

Question about this set up:
I can only game on the lcd that's connected to the 9700, right? or otherwise the quality will be crap?