how do I set up dual monitors?

[nikko]

I just inherited a 15" monitor. I already have a 19" monitor and would like to use the 15" in conjunction with the other one for increased desktop space. My current video card does not support dual monitors and I'm not interested in buying a new card that does, so I'm planning on just buying a second video card on eBay. I have 2 questions. One, does it matter what chip configuration I get? I was thinking of getting a TNT2 because they can be had for cheap. I don't need a 3D card for the second monitor, but they all seem to have 3D acceleration anyway. Also, once I have the card, what hoops do I have to jump through to make the dual monitor configuration work? Any other hardware or software I need, or is it all already in XP? Thanks.

 

[ProviaFan]

You will need a PCI-based card to go in addition to your current AGP card. Perhaps an older ATI Xpert series card would work well (I'm using one for a second head for a video projector and it works well) and provide good 2D image quality. Matrox PCI cards are also good choices for dualhead configurations.

 

[viper118]

i agree with jliechty...

i use to run dual monitors for a short period of time with a ATI Xpert 98 8mb card... i had no problems running it and it did a very good job running anything that i needed...

i don't have any experience with the matrox cards, so i can't really comment on it

 

[heartsurgeon]

woot! you should hopefully have no problems

i just rescusitated a p133 - loaded win2000 on it, plugged in two pci graphics cards..
win2000 identified both cards without difficulty
went to control panel - display - enabled dual display - works like a charm! (two fifteen inch monitors)
i assume xp will work the same

if your worried about which pci graphics card to get - check the microsoft site for supported graphics cards..

check this site