Need two DVI outs and one component out to TV...

[agould24]

I am planning a full PC upgrade, and all parts will be new. So... all suggestions are considered here!

Here's what I want to accomplish in the way of video output:

1. Two DVI outputs for a dual LCD monitor setup
2. One more output for a component cable run to my HDTV (for playing videos/DVDs)

(I currently have an ATI 9700 Pro in my existing system. The VGA out goes to a single monitor, and the DVI out has an ATI HDTV adapter, which connects to my HDTV via a component cable.)

Is the best route here to get two video cards, one with dual DVI outputs (for the pair of LCDs), and a second with any old component adapter (for the HDTV)?

The ATI X800XL and ATI X300 PCIe cards looks like an interesting combo, and they're not too expensive.

Can two PCEe cards even co-exist in a system (when not doing SLI)?

 

[YOyoYOhowsDAjello]

So, are you gaming on any or all of these monitors?

Depending on your HDTV, playing games on it could be pretty sweet.

The reason I ask is that if you're going to be gaming on only one of the LCDs and possibly the HDTV, it might be a good idea to get a nice card that does DVI and HDTV, and get a crappy card for 2d work for the second DVI connection.

 

[agould24]

I wouldn't be gaming on the secondary LCD, just the primary. I would not be gaming very much on the big-screen (it's a CRT rear-projection TV, so burn-in is a factor). I am planning over the next year or two to upgrade to a DLP or LCD-based front projector (no burn-in), so I definitely see myself gaming on that.

Thanks for the suggestion, makes perfect sense!

 

[YOyoYOhowsDAjello]

Awesome!

Good luck on your projector search. Check out AVSforum and ProjectoCentral for what the best deal is at the time when you decide to buy.

Gaming on my DLP Infocus 4805 is really cool.

 

[Rage187]

BFG Technologies BFGR6600GTX GeForce PCX 6600GT 128MB

Dual DVI and seperate HDTV. So you could have 2 lcd's and your tv hooked up at one time.

 

[agould24]

Ok, one card with three outs... that's cool! Too bad they didn't have a 256MB version.

Do you suppose I could SLI a pair of these, and still take advantage of the three outs?

 

[gwag]

Originally posted by: agould24
Ok, one card with three outs... that's cool! Too bad they didn't have a 256MB version.

Do you suppose I could SLI a pair of these, and still take advantage of the three outs?

I dont think so but non SLI would work, full 6600GT to each display and component out. not to shabby.
seems like a 6800 plain for gaming and a 6200 for extra DVI and component out might be good too and cost less. if you have 2 PCIe slots.

 

[HDTVMan]

The card you have is great I use a 9500 personally.

Ok you have component one to HDTV for video thats Perfect
Second connection should be the primary of your monitor.
Get a decent PCI card for your secondary monitor output.

I have not seen any other games than flight sims use more than 1 monitor.

gaming on HDTV sounds sweet but aside from the burn in problem is that the overscan will cut off portions of your screen. I tried this. There is no resizing unless you get into service menu's on your tv which could get you into a lot of trouble if you dont know what your doing.

But the worst problem is the games were never written with widescreen mode in mind so expect burn in with those black or gray bars on the sides of your 4:3 output on a 16x9 HDTV.

Get an X-box 360 the games will be written with widescreen in mind. My current X-box does widescreen right.

Or like you said a DLP projector. I would pass on rear screen DLP because of possible overscan.

 

[agould24]

Since I don't have any of these parts purchased yet, I'll just make sure I get a motherboard with two PCIe slots. I noticed that the aforementioned BFG card has a $40 rebate until June 30, but unfortunately I won't be making the big upgrade for a month or two yet.

Yeah, my 9700 Pro is quite good at video to my TV. Very impressive DVD upconversion! But, my next motherboard will not have AGP, so it must be retired. I have gamed on my TV in short intervals, and it was nice. There was a little bit of overscan, but hardly noticable. Everything I was used to seeing on my monitor was visible on the TV.

PCI cards are getting rare these days, so when I pull the trigger I'll either get a pair of PCIe cards, or a card like the BFG... depends if I want to go nVidia or ATI I suppose!

 

[YOyoYOhowsDAjello]

Originally posted by: HDTVMan
The card you have is great I use a 9500 personally.

Ok you have component one to HDTV for video thats Perfect
Second connection should be the primary of your monitor.
Get a decent PCI card for your secondary monitor output.

I have not seen any other games than flight sims use more than 1 monitor.

gaming on HDTV sounds sweet but aside from the burn in problem is that the overscan will cut off portions of your screen. I tried this. There is no resizing unless you get into service menu's on your tv which could get you into a lot of trouble if you dont know what your doing.

But the worst problem is the games were never written with widescreen mode in mind so expect burn in with those black or gray bars on the sides of your 4:3 output on a 16x9 HDTV.

Get an X-box 360 the games will be written with widescreen in mind. My current X-box does widescreen right.

Or like you said a DLP projector. I would pass on rear screen DLP because of possible overscan.

My 6600gt has overscan and underscan options. You can select a slider to pick how much your want the image changed to fit on your screen. Native without any over/underscan works perfectly on my Infocus 4805.

 

[kylebisme]

Originally posted by: Rage187
BFG Technologies BFGR6600GTX GeForce PCX 6600GT 128MB

Dual DVI and seperate HDTV. So you could have 2 lcd's and your tv hooked up at one time.

Can you really use all three outputs at once with that card? I know with my x800xt-pe I have component out as well as DVI and VGA but I can only use two outputs at any one time.

 

[agould24]

I my case I don't think having all three work simulatenously is a big deal.

I'm not going to need three monitors going at once. As long as I can keep the primary monitor going while either the secondary monitor, or HDTV out is working... I'll be happy.

 

[HDTVMan]

Originally posted by: YOyoYOhowsDAjello

Originally posted by: HDTVMan
The card you have is great I use a 9500 personally.

Ok you have component one to HDTV for video thats Perfect
Second connection should be the primary of your monitor.
Get a decent PCI card for your secondary monitor output.

I have not seen any other games than flight sims use more than 1 monitor.

gaming on HDTV sounds sweet but aside from the burn in problem is that the overscan will cut off portions of your screen. I tried this. There is no resizing unless you get into service menu's on your tv which could get you into a lot of trouble if you dont know what your doing.

But the worst problem is the games were never written with widescreen mode in mind so expect burn in with those black or gray bars on the sides of your 4:3 output on a 16x9 HDTV.

Get an X-box 360 the games will be written with widescreen in mind. My current X-box does widescreen right.

Or like you said a DLP projector. I would pass on rear screen DLP because of possible overscan.

My 6600gt has overscan and underscan options. You can select a slider to pick how much your want the image changed to fit on your screen. Native without any over/underscan works perfectly on my Infocus 4805.

Unfortunately my ATI doesnt. The real problem is the games still arent written with widescreen modes so you either have to deal with shrunken heads or black/gray bars.

I think the 6600GT is going to be my next card so that is good to know.

Then an Xbox 360 for the living room. For those who mock the Xbox compared to the PC. I love racing games and widescreen 65" inches Dolby digital racing on x-box rocks.

FPS will always be on my PC. Or my 120" $300.00 1024x768 home made projector.

 

[kylebisme]

Originally posted by: HDTVMan

Originally posted by: YOyoYOhowsDAjello
My 6600gt has overscan and underscan options.

Unfortunately my ATI doesnt.

Are you sure? I'm pretty sure there should be options in Catalist control center.