2 cards or one?

[Joe Joe]

I recently purchased a DVI screen. I also purchased the ATI 9550 (AGP). One
DVI 1 VGA. I am running 2 screens, 20 LCD at 1600 x 1200 and a CRT at 1280 x
1024. I bought a second LCD 20 to replace the CRT, looks like crap on the
VGA port. My question is, am I better off buying a new 512MB dual DVI card
or running 2 256 MB cards that each have 1 DVI input? One AGP, one PCI. I
was told I'd have to up my power supply to at least 400 watts in order to
run both cards. The cost of a second card and new power supply is cheaper
than getting rid of my new 9550 and buying a dual DVI card.

If it matters, I am not a gamer. I do graphics work in Photoshop and
Illustrator. Speed of the cards is not a real issue for me as I don't use
for video much. I just need more "CLEAR, CRISP" real estate. Any
suggestions, recommendations or warnings will be much appreciated.

Thanks,
J

 

[Tom Scales]

I recently purchased a DVI screen. I also purchased the ATI 9550 (AGP). One
DVI 1 VGA. I am running 2 screens, 20 LCD at 1600 x 1200 and a CRT at 1280
x 1024. I bought a second LCD 20 to replace the CRT, looks like crap on the
VGA port. My question is, am I better off buying a new 512MB dual DVI card
or running 2 256 MB cards that each have 1 DVI input? One AGP, one PCI. I
was told I'd have to up my power supply to at least 400 watts in order to
run both cards. The cost of a second card and new power supply is cheaper
than getting rid of my new 9550 and buying a dual DVI card.

If it matters, I am not a gamer. I do graphics work in Photoshop and
Illustrator. Speed of the cards is not a real issue for me as I don't use
for video much. I just need more "CLEAR, CRISP" real estate. Any
suggestions, recommendations or warnings will be much appreciated.

Thanks,
J

If it 'looked like crap', then you have another issue. The difference
between DVI and VGA is not THAT huge. Were you running it at the proper
resolution?

Tom

 

[Joe Joe]

If it 'looked like crap', then you have another issue. The difference
between DVI and VGA is not THAT huge. Were you running it at the proper
resolution?

Tom

The text is clear, but my colors are not as true, especially light grays on
white. The CRT would go from blurry to clear and sometimes have some lines
on the screen. I know it is not the monitor, I hooked it up to another
computer and it's fine. Could it be that my current power supply is not
strong enough to handle both monitors and my video card? It's a lower end
Compaq Athalon 64. I am not very technically savvy so I don't know specs on
the motherboard. The 2 LCDs are the same screens, Samsung SyncMaster 204T.
The one on the DVI is perfect, that's why I bought a second one.

Thanks for the response.
Joe

 

[Tom Scales]

The text is clear, but my colors are not as true, especially light grays
on white. The CRT would go from blurry to clear and sometimes have some
lines on the screen. I know it is not the monitor, I hooked it up to
another computer and it's fine. Could it be that my current power supply
is not strong enough to handle both monitors and my video card? It's a
lower end Compaq Athalon 64. I am not very technically savvy so I don't
know specs on the motherboard. The 2 LCDs are the same screens, Samsung
SyncMaster 204T. The one on the DVI is perfect, that's why I bought a
second one.

Thanks for the response.
Joe

It's not a power issue. What happens when you swap the LCD panels. Does
the 'bad LCD' stay the Bad LCD?

Are you running them both at the same resolution?

Tom

 

[xtera]

Does issue happen when one monitor is attached ?

It's not a power issue. What happens when you swap the LCD panels. Does
the 'bad LCD' stay the Bad LCD?

Are you running them both at the same resolution?

Tom