Need some dual-monitor help

[Ilmater]

I have this motherboard and right now. I'm using onboard video and sound and for expansion it has:

1 - 16x PCI-E 2.0
1 - 1x PCI-E

I currently have to use either its HDMI output or its DVI output. What I want to do is be able to have an HDMI cable plugged into my TV at all times and basically turn that connection on whenever I want, without having to plug and unplug the cable. Being able to use the computer and the TV at the same time would be optimal.

However, I would want the TV to run at 1280 x 768 and the monitor to run at 1280 x 1024. Assuming that's not possible in dual-monitor mode, then I'd want to at least be able to switch from the two sources dynamically, rather than having to unplug the HDMI when I want to use my monitor and plug the HDMI back in when I want to use the TV. I'm not beholden to using HDMI, so I'd be just as happy with component cables (my TV is only 720p), but I would need a way to get the audio to the TV as well since I don't want to use my computer speakers for the TV.

I have no idea what is and is not possible these days, but any help is greatly appreciated.

 

[Schmide]

Are you gaming or just surfing/watching videos???

 

[Ilmater]

Sorry, yeah, I don't need a video powerhouse. Almost no gaming currently.

 

[Schmide]

Most modern video cards can handle what you're requesting. Differences usually come down to level of video playback acceleration and HDMI audio support. If you don't need 8.1 audio support you can really get away with some relatively inexpensive cards some of which can game relatively decently at your resolution.

For example

Most of these cards can do decent video and audio acceleration.

If you need high end audio/video, I think the ATI 5670 is the only card that at the moment accelerates all of it. If there is an nVidia card someone chime in.

 

[Ilmater]

Great, thanks! Now, will I be able to dual-monitor with this and have both be different resolutions, or will I need to just switch between the TV and the monitor?

Also, can you tell me what the major differences (high-level, don't need a blow-by-blow) are between the GT 220 and the HD 4650 cards?

 

[Schmide]

My quick synopsis of the cards.

$50 gt210 - very low profile, usually doesn't have both DVI/HDMI, gaming is crap and may be a bit underpowered even for full video/de-interlacing acceleration. Still it does do 8-channel audio over HDMI. Very low power

$60 gt220 - same as above, still crappy at gaming, probably enough power to de-interlace video streams, usually comes with both HDMI and DVI. Still low power.

$80 gt240 - same as above, bit better gaming. 9600gt performance. Very good power.

ATI

$25 4350 - basically same as gt210

$30-40 4550 - basically the same gt220

$35-50 4650 - like the 4550/gt220 a bit better gaming.

$50-65 4670 - same as gt240 minus 5-10% gaming performance. Very good card for the money/performance. Has been seen as low as $35 after rebate.

5000 series. Some audio improvements for super high end systems.

$35-45 5450 - Same performance the 4550 its basically a 4350 type card made with the new architecture so it gets a bit of a bump. May still have trouble de-interlacing high end video.

$85 ??? 5570 Should perform on par with a gt240, there may be some issues with de-interlacing high end video may be driver related.

$85-100 5670 This is considered the almost perfect home theater card. Has enough power to game between the 4670/gt240 and the 8800gt/4850 yet consumes less power than each (gt240 is about equal in power) Enough power to do any video acceleration/audio with enough memory bandwidth to back this up.

 

[Ilmater]

That was way better than I hoped for, thank you so much. LAST question: some of those cards are PCI-E 2.1, but my computer's slot is only 2.0. Is that ok?

 

[Schmide]

Only some old PCI-E 1.0 slots (VIA chipsets) act up with 2.0 cards. As for performance it really doesn't matter.

 

[Ilmater]

Sorry, one last one, I wanted to know: "Now, will I be able to dual-monitor with this and have both be different resolutions, or will I need to just switch between the TV and the monitor?"