dual monitors with integrated video

[skiggity]

Hey, here's a newbie question for ya:

Is it easy to set up a dual monitor, monitor setup with a motherboard that has integrated video? I'm in the market for a new mobo and trying to narrow down my options. Does the integrated video need to be set as the primary or can you set the agp card as the primary one and still work? (I have one of those all in wonders that does TV that needs to be set as the primary vid card)

Thanks for your help before hand. Also, just like everyone else is asking out there...any suggestions for a new mobo for a:

p4 2.4-2.6
fsb 533
not a big overclocker
integrated sound
usb 2
firewire
used for content creation
around $110
don't want to spend too much on memory that might end up NOT WORKING... (but it's always nice to have options...)

Thanks again! These forums are so much help

skiggity

 

[mechBgon]

The onboard video is usually AGP on boards these days, and when you plug in a separate AGP video card, the onboard card gives up the AGP bus to the card that you added. No way around it, you cannot use the AGP bus for two cards. If a P4 board comes out with the ATI integrated chipset, you might get dual-head onboard AGP video, but I'm not aware of any ATI-based P4 boards so far.

Your other options are to pick up a dual-head AGP card, or pick up a single- or dual-head PCI card (a dual-head PCI card would give you the option to run up to three monitors, in combination with the onboard AGP video). Hope that helps...

 

[Peter]

Recent SiS chipsets take a special card into the AGP slot, which isn't actually a graphics card but a companion to the integrated VGA. This gives you dual head from the integrated VGA. As far as I know however, only Shuttle make those cards for their small form factor P4 thingie.

Other than that, using the AGP slot disables the integrated video. So your options are PCI+integrated, or a dual head AGP card right away. ATi and partners have a wide selection of the latter.

regards, Peter

 

[Peter]

Recent SiS chipsets take a special card into the AGP slot, which isn't actually a graphics card but a companion to the integrated VGA. This gives you dual head from the integrated VGA. As far as I know however, only Shuttle make those cards for their small form factor P4 thingie.

Other than that, using the AGP slot disables the integrated video. So your options are PCI+integrated, or a dual head AGP card right away. ATi and partners have a wide selection of the latter.

regards, Peter

 

[skiggity]

Thanks, yes, that totally helps. I'll probably go for a mobo without the integrated video and use my old vid card until I get an agp with two monitor outs. But three monitors? That sounds cool...hmmm. Are PCI vid cards comperable to agp? would you go pci card at all?

 

[Peter]

The midrange cards are quite comparable, there are pretty neat Radeon 9000 PCI cards for example. The one thing to keep in mind is that they eat into PCI bandwidth quite heavily, possibly disturbing real time stuff like sound replay and/or TV viewing.

regards, Peter

 

[skiggity]

Interesting...good point. If you have on board sound or lan would it also interfere with those--I guess it would if the those integrated perif's are pci based.