If i setup a dual display, does it matter what PCI card i use?

[5489]

Can i just use the cheapest pci card i can find? or should i get a decent one.

 

[MasterHoss]

Yeah, but I would recommend not using 2 nVidia based cards, or 2 ATI cards, etc.

I'd do a mix... I'm running a GeForce3 (AGP) and Rage128 Pro (PCI).

 

[5489]

any pro's if i get a better pci card? and why should i not use 2 of the same based cards? im just curious

 

[rudder]

Get a Radeon 8500! Awesome dual display. You can start finding them for under $100.

 

[5489]

well i was planning on getting a ti4200 when it comes out

 

[MisterMe]

I always seem to have no luck with ATI cards in a dual monitor setup...at least the older ones, haven't tried the newer ones

 

[chansen]

First, most PCI cards will not operate as secondary cards - the PRIMARY INIT DEVICE must be set to PCI (from AGP) in the BIOS, which means that the boot sequence will show on the secondary monitor, but you can change the primary card to the AGP card in Windows.

The Matrox G200 is a popular card for running as a secondary card for this reason. You can usually find a PCI version on ebay.

Other good cards are the ATI Rage128 and some nVidia TNT cards (not sure which ones or if all are OK)

Craig

 

[odog]

<< Yeah, but I would recommend not using 2 nVidia based cards, or 2 ATI cards, etc. >>

why not? i use 4 different nvidia based cards in two different multi-monitor setups... at work i rock a 16mb PCI vanta and 64mb GF3ti200 on a sony CPD-200 and samsung 753DF..... at home i rock a 32mb GF2mx and 128mb GF3ti200 on a gateway 17"(soon to be compaq P910) and KDS AV195TF. a coworker runs the same as my work setup with the exception of a GF2mx400 64mb as the primary.

as far as cheap cards..... the 16mb PCI vantas cost $30 shipped...

one thing to watch for.... make sure it has at least 8mb of ram so it can run the proper resolutions at the proper color depth with the proper refresh rates...

 

[odog]

$22 plus shipping... so uder $30

 

[powerMarkymark]

IMHO-I think most any PCI card will do for most apps.