recommendations for a not-so-fancy video card?

[itzshogun]

hey supz everyone,

i was curious if anyone can lend their expertise and advice on what video card to get. i don't do any 3d rendering nor do i play any games on the cpu at all. this video card will be for a computer in which i plan to just primarily use to compose/produce music and also design with, primarily in 2d, such as photoshop etc...

for waht i'm doing, i don't believe i need any high-end card correct? nor do i want to spend that much either..

but i "definitely" want dual support for the monitors. tv-out, and maybe dvi would be nice too, if cheap...

my new cpu will be made up of a p4 2.4ghz 533mhz fbs, asus p4pe motherboard, using pc2700 ddr memory...

one friend suggested the matrox g400max

any more recommendations anyone? it'd be much appreciated!! thanks in advanced!!

best regards,
shogun

 

[BurnItDwn]

Matrox Dualhead card would do you well ...
Lots of people have dual Display ATI cards and love them ...
at newogg one can obtain a Radeon 7000 with one DVI and one VGA output and 32mb of ram for under $50

I recommend you go to newegg.com and select Computer Hardware/Shop by category/ video cards ... and then in the Advanced search select ANY for first output and DVI for the second ... and you can get an idea of the variety of cards that are out there.

 

[stebesplace]

What I would recommend is a Nvidia NVS - 200. Here are the details:

http://www.compusa.com/products/product_info.asp?product_code=50225186

The PNY Quadro4 200 NVS is a AGP4X, 64 MB SDR SDRAM graphics add-in board designed to deliver professional 2D workstation performance and integrated features of the NVIDIA Quadro4 200 NVS Graphics Processor Unit (GPU).

Utilizing the advanced nView software, the PNY Quadro4 200 NVS delivers next-generation multi-monitor capabilities through its dual integrated 350 MHz RAMDACs that deliver up to 2048 x1536 at 75Hz, 32bpp on each display.

Product Features:
NVIDIA Quadro4 NVS GPUs - deliver the industry's highest performance and feature rich 2D multi-monitor graphics
Support for multiple displays (various configurations of VGA and DVI-I) - enhanced multi-display productivity is powered by dual RAMDACs and NVIDIA's patented nView multi-display software
NVIDIA Unified Driver Architecture - enables ease of use in administering and maintaining networks of graphics workstations
Certification on more workstation applications than any competing technology - means more robust user experiences and higher performance
Maximum resolution of 2048x1535 per VGA screen - enables higher levels of details and increase productivity
Maximum resolution over digital port: 1280 x 1024 at 60Hz
High Definition Video Processor (HDVP)
Full-Screen, full frame video playback of HDTV and DVD content
DVD-ready motion compensation for MPEG-2
Independent hardware color controls for video overlay
Hardware color-space conversion (YUV 4:2:2 and 4:2:0)
IDCT Motion compensation
5-tap horizontal by 3-tap vertical filtering
8:1 up/down scaling


Platform: PC
Type of Video Card: 2D/3D Video w/TV Support
Slot Type: AGP
Video Chipset: NVIDIA® Quadro4? NVS
Installed Video Memory: 64 MB
Memory Technology: SDRAM
RAMDAC Speed: 350 MHz
Max Resolution: 2048 x 1536
Refresh Rate at Max Resolution: 75 Hz
Connectors: 15 pin High-Density D-shell (VGA)
DVI-Integrated (DVI-I)
In the Box: PNY Quadro4 200 NVS AGP Graphics Card
CD-ROM Containing:
Drivers for Windows XP, 2000 & NT Including DirectX 8.1 and OpenGL 1.3 support
Detailed Installation Guide (Multi-Language)
NVIDIA® nView Desktop Manager Guide
NVIDIA® Display Properties User Manual
Quickstart Installation Guide
1 - LFH to Dual VGA (Y-adapter) Cable

All In All, this would fit your bill and its only 155 bucks. I bought a quadro 4 xgl 550 from compusa and it works like a dream, it as well is a PNY. For what you want, this will be quite beneficial since you can do dual display, and have the performance backup to boot.

If this is to much, then you should just get a cheap geforce 2 video card, and put one in an agp slot, and get a second PCI version and use nview for dual display. This is one way, but you would be better to get a matrox or nvs card.

Hope this helps,

-Steve

 

[itzshogun]

Matrox Dualhead card would do you well ...
Lots of people have dual Display ATI cards and love them ...
at newogg one can obtain a Radeon 7000 with one DVI and one VGA output and 32mb of ram for under $50

I recommend you go to newegg.com and select Computer Hardware/Shop by category/ video cards ... and then in the Advanced search select ANY for first output and DVI for the second ... and you can get an idea of the variety of cards that are out there.


from what i recall from someone saying, that i should avoid 3rd parties? for instance, at newegg.com, most of the ati cards are manufactured by "sapphire" as oppose to ati themselves? is that bad or something? because i recall someone saying that because it'd be best for the card to be manufactured by ati too, therefore, less problems with drivers etc.?

correct if i'm wrong please. also, thanks again for the comments thus far. it's much appreciated!!

best regards,
shogun

 

[stebesplace]

There is no issue with going with a 3rd party. If anything, you will save a few bucks. Drivers work for every card. NOW there are some 3rd party cards that degrade the actual system performance, but most do not, and those cards are usually not in production anymore.

So. . .

A PNY NVS 200 card will use the same drivers as a true nvidia card, because IT IS. . . .so you just would get the 40.72 drivers if you happened to get this card now, and all features would be functional.

-Steve