I want to use 2 monitors, what's the best video card for this?

[Azshopper70]

I want to use (2) Viewsonic PS790 19" monitors together and wanted to know what the best video card(s) for this would be. I have heard you can use one AGP and 1 PCI card. Any suggestions would be great. I'm fairly computer literate but have never done this before. Thanks in advance for any help!

Brian

 

[adlep]

Well, to put it in simple terms, any ATI Radeon 7500 card should give you the ability to run two CRT monitors, this same applies to ATI Radeon 9000 and Radeon 9000 Pro. Some of the less expensive Radeon 8500s (the LE kind) have the support for the second simulaneus CRT chopped off, but you should be able to pick up Radeon 8500 with a full CRT support for around $110.00 for sure (if aanyone knows which less expensive Radeon 8500 cards do support dual CRT config, let me know).
The reason I am insisting about 8500 is that it is much faster than 7500 and faster than 9000 and 9000 Pro.
To simplify this even more, you would need only one AGP Radeon mentioned above to be able to play with dual CRT. ATI gives you excellent multi-monitor/multi-desktop managment software called HydraVision, and it is available for download off the ATI web site.
The Radeon 7500 can be picked up for as low as $60.00, but you may have to get a DVI to regular VGA converter for additional $10.00.

 

[Doh!]

If you're not a gamer, the best card w/ a dual display feature is Matrox (G450/G550 or the very new Parhelia).

 

[AnAndAustin]

Yup if you don't care about gaming do look at at Matrox cards. If you want to game a little or have a slow CPU then Radeon 7500/9000 or GF4MX are very good ($60-90). For great gaming (still keeping 2 monitor support) the Rad8500 and GF4TI cards ($100-150) are also extremely good. Dual display on GF4 cards is a standardised feature, certainly avoid GF3 and GF2 cards. As for Radeons do double check before you order, Rad9000/9000pro are the only cards to give GF4 like standardisation across the manus, but so long as you double check 7500 and 8500 cards are very good and the 8500 is a very cost effective AND capable gaming solution too.

Oh just rem most cards have CRT+DVI so you need a DVI-to-CRT converter which is cheap to buy if it isn't included in the box.

 

[Azshopper70]

Does it make much of a difference between Radeon 8500 64Meg and 128 Meg? I will mainly be running apps., not a game machine.

Brian

 

[SSXeon5]

Originally posted by: Azshopper70
Does it make much of a difference between Radeon 8500 64Meg and 128 Meg? I will mainly be running apps., not a game machine.

Brian

In that case 64MB will be ok. If you are only running apps then just get a Matrox G450/550, best 2d Image Quality avalible on a videocard. Tho the 9700 kills in 3d Image Quality

SSXeon

 

[AnAndAustin]

I wouldn't say that non-Parhelia Matrox cards are any better at all for 2D image quality than either Rad8500/9000 or GF4. Even if the Matrox was better it would be largely inperceptible to the vast majority of people, all of these cards offer great IQ.

If you have any gaming ambition at all then you really want to avoid Matrox altogether. Rad9000/9000pro are the best budget solution while GF4TI and Rad8500 are the ones to go for if you want that little bit more gaming power. 128MB is very wise as it adds very little to the cost, however the main benefit is of course for gaming. If you are running standard office type apps and not heavy rendering 3D apps then 64MB is more than fine, but do consider 128MB.