Please help choose a dual monitor PCI video card

[Sbud]

I'm looking to go dual monitor (likely 2 LCD) but am limited to PCI cards (Not PCI Express) since my computer does not have an AGP slot. I don't anticipate doing much gaming or DVD watching as this is a work computer. I usually just use the typical MS Office applications.

Will I gain that much by using DVI or VGA?

My research so far as yielded a Matrox G450 (one DVI +one VGA, 32 MB)and a PNY GeForce FX5200 (two VGA + one S-Video, 128 MB).

I've heard Matrox is known for 2D clarity. Please comment on these two cards or suggest others. I don't want to spend too much cause this is obviously not the greatest computer.

Thanks in advance for your comments.

 

[geecee]

If you truly don't care about 3D, just go with a $30-40 Radeon 7000 based card. Most of them in that range have a DVI and a VGA connector. ATI's 2D quality is pretty good and for office stuff, it's probably not worth it to spend much more. I've never really noticed the difference between DVI and VGA, but I have a couple of 15" LCDs. Unless you're especially sensitive, the VGA output on a LCD screen should be fine for office work.

 

[DualMonitors]

i've had unfavorable experience with the Matrox card, their customer support, etc. I will not do any business with them, not that they would care because i'm such a small customer. please note that this is based on my personal experience and i cannot speak for anyone else other than my own experience.