Do I need a graphic card?

[Peter Dune]

Can you tell me if I need a graphic card and if so which one I need?

1. I don't play any game on my computer
2. 1.33 Ghz CPU
3. 480 MB of DDR RAM
4. Samsung SyncMaster 760 TFT connected to the built-in VGA port
5. The motherboard has an AGP slot
6. I may try to use dual monitors for streaming stock quote charts and
data. (And this is the only reason I am considering a graphic card.)

Your help on this matter will be appreciated very much.

peter

 

[Asestar]

So you need to connect 2 monitors to your pc? If yes, then you can get the
cheapest Radeon9200SE card you can find. It will have 2 outputs, one dvi and
one vga. So you could easily run 2 monitors and extend desktop.
You may not be able to use your existing onboard videochip anymore.

 

[DaveW]

Yes, you need an AGP style video card to connect your monitor to. Since you
didn't list your motherboard make & model # we can't tell you which card to
get.

 

[I discuss]

That is not accurate.
According to ATI.COM:

Monitor support:
a.. RADEON? 9200SE - VGA/RCA/S-video
a.. RADEON? 9200SE - DVI/RCA/S-video

It seems 9200SE does not have both VGA and DVI on the same card.

 

[Sham B]

Output quality, AGP and dual monitor support are your important requirements.

The millenium g450 sounds like a good bet. Higher output quality than most gaming cards for crisp
text output, and also dual monitor support.

http://www.matrox.com/mga/products/mill_g450/home.cfm

gaming cards are almost at the same level of 2D output quality as dedicated corporate solutions
(especially ATI radeons), so you may want to try a cheap gaming card *but* you are chancing it a
little - you need to have a very good power supply for a really sharp picture, and some gaming cards
have a slight banding effect, especially when you look at screens of dark text on light backgrounds
(ie share dealing screens). Its a bit of a lottery to be honest. The matrox may be a bit more
expensive, but you are more likely to get that crisp and stable 2 monitor display you seem to
require.


The only issue is whether your computer supports a recent AGP standard, but you havent given your
motherboard make and model.

S

 

[Rick]

I have to disagree with most if not all of the statement below. Sorry, not
trying to be rude, but I have to state the facts as I see them. Any Radeon
will do an excellent job at dual monitor (the card has to have the dual
monitor outputs though) support without any distortions or banding. They are
just as crisp and sharp as the Matrox cards as well. The Matrox cards were
better at 2D 5+ years ago, but not anymore. Matching the video card to the
monitor is more important (much too long of a topic to cover here).

In my particular case, I am currently running 17" and 21" Sony CRT monitors
on my Radeon 7500. I was also running the 21" Sony with a 17" BenQ LCD as
well. No problems and superb text (Except the old 520GS which is starting to
show it's age).

I use a Sapphire Radeon 7500 with the VGA and DVI-I outputs with a "DVI-I to
VGA" adapter for the second monitor. My OEM model did not come with the
adapter. Some Radeons do not come with both connectors so make sure you get
the right one. And if you need the adapter you may get one included with the
retail version.

I would suggest that the original poster look for a 9000-9200SE as the
perfect choice for his needs. There are a couple things you need to check
for before you buy the video card:
1) Does your motherboard have an AGP slot?
2) IAW question 1, do you need a PCI or AGP card?
3) Does the new video card have dual monitor connectors?
4) Does the new video card come with a DVI-I adapter?

bye, Rick

 

[McGrandpa]

Can you tell me if I need a graphic card and if so which one I need?

1. I don't play any game on my computer
2. 1.33 Ghz CPU
3. 480 MB of DDR RAM
4. Samsung SyncMaster 760 TFT connected to the built-in VGA port
5. The motherboard has an AGP slot
6. I may try to use dual monitors for streaming stock quote charts and
data. (And this is the only reason I am considering a graphic card.)

Your help on this matter will be appreciated very much.

peter

A Radeon 7000, such as from Connect 3D. High quality, excellent
display, 64 megs, and very inexpensive.

Or, spend a little bit more and get a dual head card. Many to choose
from.

McG.

 

[Peter Dune]

So you need to connect 2 monitors to your pc? If yes, then you can get the
cheapest Radeon9200SE card you can find. It will have 2 outputs, one dvi and
one vga. So you could easily run 2 monitors and extend desktop.
You may not be able to use your existing onboard videochip anymore.

Thank you very much for your prompt response. I did follow your
suggestion and bought a PowerColor card with ATI Radeon 9200 SE 128MB
for $50.00 including shipping.

 

[Sham B]

I have to disagree with most if not all of the statement below.

I dont think gamers realize how annoying even a slight flicker every couple of minutes is on a white
screen with small text when you are trying to concentrate!

I would tend to agree that you will *probably* get the same qualty, but would say that gamer cards
have much less stringent tolerances on the picture circuitry (they have a lot of technology in them
wrt 3D hardware, so something has to give!) and the variation will be higher.

I have had a 9500 pro and am currently using a 9800 pro. I use MS word a lot (I work from home,
writing), and have to say that the 9800 is pixel sharp, but the 9500 pro was not. I upgraded the
power supply and that made the 9500 better, but never perfect. It always had banding. this could
not be seen when gaming, but as soon as I opened MS Word, you could see a *very* faint line running
slowly down the monitor. Although it wasnt much, it broke concentration, and was annoying. My 9800
pro gives a really good picture, but I do have a 550W power supply, and I also removed the stock
cooler (complete with slight picture noise generating fan!) and put a better cooler on it, so that
quality had to be worked for, rather than being a given.

the point is that you might think that your graphics card is rock solid when playng games, but its a
different story when viewing high contrast text. to get the same quality on a gaming card you have
to have a perfect power setup and be a little lucky that your card has left the factory with some of
the better tolerances for the non 3D bits...

there's only about 10-30 dollars in it between a 'made for performance' gaming card and a 'made for
stability and picture-quality' business card, and although they will probably work out the same in
practice given that that the technology is good, I wouldnt cut a few corners in this way for a
machine that will be used for reading sharedealing reports - you need all the concentration you can
have there!

S

 

[Asestar]

Ehm.. I never said buy an ATI Radeon 9200se, i said cheapest Radeon9200se,
and that's often powercolor, which has 1 dvi and 1 vga out put combined with
svideo tv-out.

 

[J. Clarke]

I dont think gamers realize how annoying even a slight flicker every
couple of minutes is on a white screen with small text when you are trying
to concentrate!

If you're seeing a "slight flicker every couple of minutes" then something
is in the process of dying. That has nothing to do with what "gamers"
realize or don't realize.

I would tend to agree that you will *probably* get the same qualty, but
would say that gamer cards have much less stringent tolerances on the
picture circuitry (they have a lot of technology in them wrt 3D hardware,
so something has to give!) and the variation will be higher.

Most of the "picture circuitry" is in the monitor. As for "something having
to give", why does "something have to give? The "picture circuitry" is a
few inexpensive off-the-shelf components and a tiny fraction of the real
estate on the GPU chip.

I have had a 9500 pro and am currently using a 9800 pro. I use MS word a
lot (I work from home,
writing), and have to say that the 9800 is pixel sharp, but the 9500 pro
was not. I upgraded the
power supply and that made the 9500 better, but never perfect. It always
had banding. this could not be seen when gaming, but as soon as I opened
MS Word, you could see a *very* faint line running
slowly down the monitor. Although it wasnt much, it broke concentration,
and was annoying.

So why didn't you take your broken board back where you got it and swap it
for one that was working properly?

My 9800 pro gives a really good picture, but I do have
a 550W power supply, and I also removed the stock cooler (complete with
slight picture noise generating fan!)

If the fan was "generating picture noise" then there is something wrong with
your system.

and put a better cooler on it, so
that quality had to be worked for, rather than being a given.

the point is that you might think that your graphics card is rock solid
when playng games, but its a
different story when viewing high contrast text. to get the same quality
on a gaming card you have to have a perfect power setup and be a little
lucky that your card has left the factory with some of the better
tolerances for the non 3D bits...

there's only about 10-30 dollars in it between a 'made for performance'
gaming card and a 'made for stability and picture-quality' business card,
and although they will probably work out the same in practice given that
that the technology is good, I wouldnt cut a few corners in this way for a
machine that will be used for reading sharedealing reports - you need all
the concentration you can have there!

A busted board is a busted board. And I've gotten a lot more busted "made
for stability and picture quality" boards than busted "made for
performance" boards.

Sounds to me like you're dealing with really crappy computers from all the
signal problems you seem to be experiencing.

 

[patrickp]

A Radeon 7000, such as from Connect 3D. High quality, excellent
display, 64 megs, and very inexpensive.

Or, spend a little bit more and get a dual head card. Many to choose
from.

McG.

If it's not a dual head card, McG, it would have to be a PCI one: the
OP's system, like any other, will only support one AGP video device,
and if the board has an AGP slot, it's likely the embedded chip is
also AGP.

You're not wrong, as I would think it likely a card at the Radeon 7000
level would be available as a PCI version. But you neglected to
mention it, and the OP would have come a cropper if he had bought an
AGP card and tried to run both devices simultaneously! ;-)

patrickp

(e-mail address removed) - take five to email me

 

[McGrandpa]

If it's not a dual head card, McG, it would have to be a PCI one: the
OP's system, like any other, will only support one AGP video device,
and if the board has an AGP slot, it's likely the embedded chip is
also AGP.

You're not wrong, as I would think it likely a card at the Radeon 7000
level would be available as a PCI version. But you neglected to
mention it, and the OP would have come a cropper if he had bought an
AGP card and tried to run both devices simultaneously! ;-)

patrickp

(e-mail address removed) - take five to email me

True, I've even seen in the store some kind of ATi 9nnn PCI card.
Actually, I think it was a 9200 and also a 9600, in PCI as well as AGP.
I wasn't looking at that end Monday, I was getting my grubby hands on
this 9800 Pro ATi does make a lot of PCI cards still. This has been
a help to a lot of people.
McG.