Which is better : 2 - 15" LCD or 1 - 17" LCD ?

[kyutip]

I own a NEC 1530V 15" LCD and just got another LCD today, it's a Sylvania L15 15" (made by Princeton Technolody).
I got the Sylvania new and really cheap, so I have the inclination to keep it.
I haven't try it out yet but the stat says 250:1 contrast and 40ms refresh, kinda low.
Here's the dilemma, I can sell them both and get a decent 17" or Keep them both and use Matrox Dual Head.
I'm not playing FPS but I don't think Matrox can handle NW, Morrowind, DS, or GTA3.
But I do a lot of ebaying and it is nice to be able to see my database and outlook without switching between those 2 all the time.
Also from what I read at Matrox site, DualHead can make editing in PS easier by having one zoom screen and one workspace.

So what do you guys think I should do ?
Get the 17" or keep both 15" ?

For those of you who use Matrox Dual Head, how is it ? is the graphic as good as advertise ? Better than GF or Radeon in 2D ?

 

[aphex]

Id go with Dual 15"s. The added deskspace is a major seller for me. Plus it just looks DAMN SWEET.

 

[Zim Hosein]

kyutip, I'd keep the two 15" LCD as there more "screen" real estate than on 17" LCD, hope this helps

 

[kyutip]

Thanks, I was leaning towards dual LCD too, but my GF kinda smitten with 17" (especially Samsung's)
I was telling her that 2 - 15" is like 30" but she's too smart to fall for that
Maybe when Parhelia comes down in price I can play NW or GTA3 dual screen.
Mmmmm...................Dual LCD.

 

[oLLie]

Can't you have a really good gaming card in your AGP slot and then just any old card in your PCI as long as it does DVI?

 

[BigPotato]

hehe

i got 2 planar 15" lcd's and a 17.4" lcd as well.

muhahhhhahaa

 

[absolutiza]

bloomberg machines use 2 monitors...

 

[kyutip]

Hmm, I do have GF3 Ti200 right now.
So are you telling me I can stick a Matrox PCI and it will coexist happily ?
I'm using Win2k and WinXP.
Will either of these works ? That would be a better proposition.

BigPotato, I hate you

 

[Mulderizer]

go with the 2. the 17 would be nice but if you have to keep switching back and forth, it can get to be a hassle

 

[brtspears2]

Originally posted by: kyutip
Hmm, I do have GF3 Ti200 right now.
So are you telling me I can stick a Matrox PCI and it will coexist happily ?
I'm using Win2k and WinXP.
Will either of these works ? That would be a better proposition.

BigPotato, I hate you

Yes.

and Dual displays rule.

 

[fr]

I would go with two 15" LCDs as well.

Yes, just adding another PCI video card should work fine.


I have a Matrox G550 AGP + ATI RageXL PCI and three monitors working flawlessly in Windows 2000.

 

[randomlinh]

vote for 2 15's. It would be more useful.

 

[kyutip]

Great, it is settle then, Dual Display is the way to go.

Now which Matrox should I get ?
G400 MAX or G450 or G550 ?
Which is more preferable ? Matrox being AGP or PCI ? (or does not matter)

 

[rgwalt]

I wouldn't go with a Matrox dual head. I don't like they way that they do desktop spanning. I would go with your current AGP card and add a PCI video card.

Warning: Your bios will select your PCI video card as your primary display, so you might have to disable your AGP card before installing the PCI card. Once installed, you can re-enable the AGP card and select it as your primary monitor in windows. Your bios will still flash on the screen driven by the PCI card though.

I've had quite a bit of experience with multiple displays. I helped configure a multi to multi audio/video conferencing system, and the display computer had 4 video outputs... one was driving the console monitor, and the other three were each driving a projector. I'm also running dual display at home, so if you need any help at all, please PM or e-mail.

Ryan

 

[kyutip]

thanks for the advice rgwalt.
I will see which setup that is more cost effective and if I have any trouble I will PM you for advise.

 

[dhans1]

Is there any card out there or a configuration (using multiple vid cards) that would allow under Windows XP to use a "primary" (centered) 17" or 18" LCD with 2 15" (one on each side) and run a single desktop?

 

[Aquaman]

Stick with the 2 15's

Cheers,
Aquaman

 

[yakko]

I would go with the 17". I find two monitors to be annoying as hell.

 

[Bimmer318i]

dhans, I believe this is possible under winxp..

 

[Booster]

Originally posted by: yakko
I would go with the 17". I find two monitors to be annoying as hell.

I second that. To look at 2 monitors at the same time is too much for me. Besides, a 17 incher has a screen resolution equivalent to that of a CRT 19-incher what is considered quite sufficient nowadays.

 

[fr]

What's wrong with Matrox DualHead? Are you talking about the stretching of the taskbar all the way across the screen and the popups appearing between both monitors? The newer drivers have fixed all that and you can have separate resolutions and refresh rates on each monitor.

 

[oLLie]

Originally posted by: fr
What's wrong with Matrox DualHead? Are you talking about the stretching of the taskbar all the way across the screen and the popups appearing between both monitors? The newer drivers have fixed all that and you can have separate resolutions and refresh rates on each monitor.

I thought he said he was going to use it for gaming too... if he is, I wouldn't do any Matrox card unless it was the secondary PCI card.

 

[randomlinh]

Originally posted by: Booster

Originally posted by: yakko
I would go with the 17". I find two monitors to be annoying as hell.

I second that. To look at 2 monitors at the same time is too much for me. Besides, a 17 incher has a screen resolution equivalent to that of a CRT 19-incher what is considered quite sufficient nowadays.

yeah, but it looks like he could use the versitility of two more than one 17"er. Plus, 1024x768 is still a very useable resolution for a majority of the ppl out there. Altho, a majority of the ppl on this forum probably don't fall into that category