Dual lcd monitor system - need help selecting video card that would work

[kumar.chheda]

Hello,

I am trying to set up a dual monitor system on my PC. I dont have much
knowledge about video cards and what I should look for in buying a new
video card thaat would work with two LCD monitors.

The Specs: Basically, the PC I have is a Sony Vaio VGC-RB30 running
Windows XP Home. The onboard graphics card is a Intel® 915G Integrated
Graphics which I believe has only one VGA port.

I want to add two LCD monitors (Dell 1704FPT - 17" LCD) which have the
capability of using either VGA or DVI ports.

Couple questions:
Can I just add another graphics card with one output port, or will it
override the onboard card and I will need to have two ports added?
And if the onboard card will get overridden by the new one, then do I
need to add two separate graphics cards or just one with two output
ports?
I guess if i am right, DVI is better than VGA, right? Is it okay to
connect one monitor to VGA and one to DVI? Or is there enough
perception in difference?

I am not a serious gamer, so I dont need something very high end.
Although I feel it should not be too crappy. I do some development work
and may have many apps running at the same time. Do you think I can get
something that will be compatible and work within $50?

I was looking at "Chaintech XGI Volari V3 / 128MB DDR / AGP 8X / VGA /
DVI / TV Out / Video Card" from Tiger Direct
(http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=1043623&CatId=28)
and am wondering if I can connect both my monitors to the two ports on
this video card and if it will work? Any suggestions? And if this one
wont work, any other ones? I really need help with this and would
appreciate your input. Thanks.

Kumar

P.S. Sorry if this is not the right forum to post this - if you do know
where I should post it instead, please let me know. Thanks.

 

[Dan Wojciechowski]

Hello,

I am trying to set up a dual monitor system on my PC. I dont have much
knowledge about video cards and what I should look for in buying a new
video card thaat would work with two LCD monitors.

The Specs: Basically, the PC I have is a Sony Vaio VGC-RB30 running
Windows XP Home. The onboard graphics card is a Intel® 915G Integrated
Graphics which I believe has only one VGA port. ....
Couple questions:
Can I just add another graphics card with one output port, or will it
override the onboard card and I will need to have two ports added?

Pretty much any modern video card should work with your integrated
video controler to give you multiple monitor support. However, a few
things may work a little more nicely for you of both monitors are driven
from the same video card. You will want to use your one AGP slot
rather than a PCI slot. If you don't have an AGP expansion slot,
your choices will be much more limited. You'll probably want to venture
into your "BIOS" boot menu to turn off your Intel 915G if you don't
want to use it (although you don't have to), but you will want to pick
which video will be used for booting, especially if the BIOS default is
to pick the 915G and you aren't using it. } (Usually this is the
"Init x-video first" setting, or something like it.)

And if the onboard card will get overridden by the new one, then do I
need to add two separate graphics cards or just one with two output
ports?

Many, if not most modern video cards come with two output ports.
On most cards, one is VGA and the other is DVI. But you can find
2 VGA and 2 DVI.

I guess if i am right, DVI is better than VGA, right? Is it okay to
connect one monitor to VGA and one to DVI? Or is there enough
perception in difference?

While people may argue about it, you probably won't see much of
a difference between the VGA connection and the DVI connnection,
assuming reasonable Video Card, Cables, and Monitors.

I am not a serious gamer, so I dont need something very high end.
Although I feel it should not be too crappy. I do some development work
and may have many apps running at the same time. Do you think I can get
something that will be compatible and work within $50?

If you don't play modern games (especially those using a "3D" look), just
about any video card will meet your needs. But I'll give you some recomendations:

I was looking at "Chaintech XGI Volari V3 / 128MB DDR / AGP 8X / VGA /
DVI / TV Out / Video Card" from Tiger Direct
(http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=1043623&
CatId=28)
and am wondering if I can connect both my monitors to the two ports on
this video card and if it will work? Any suggestions? And if this one
wont work, any other ones? I really need help with this and would
appreciate your input. Thanks.

I'd recommend against the Volari V3 for one reason. Two makers own the
market today: Nvidia and ATI. They have the best support. Buying a card
using a chip from one of the smaller second tier makers means a greater
chance of problems and conflicts. These problems mainly occur with games,
so take this advice anyway you like. Nvidia and ATI constantly have new
drivers available for free download that fix problems that have been discovered.
Also, both Nvidia and ATI use a driver bundle that supports all of their
recent products, so getting the wrong driver is pretty hard to do. (Volari may
have good support as well, but I have no idea.)

For your needs, I'd recommend:
Any board using an ATI 9200/9250/9550 chip, but not an "SE", "LE", or "64
bit" version. The full "128 bit" versions give much better performance for any
more intensive graphics you might try. Even 128MB of memory is more than
you need, so you won't have any problems there.
Likewise, any board using an Nvidia 5200/5500 chip, but not an "LE" or "64
bit" version, would be a good choice for you as well.
Obviously, any more powerful chip would do as well. }

Tigerdirect is a fine place to buy, but I'd recommend you look at www.newegg.com
instead. I've had no problems with either place, but newegg's regular prices tend
to be a little better, and more importantly, newegg's descriptions are very complete
so you'll know exactly what you are buying. Look at the descriptions. Look at
the pictures. Does it have two monitor ports? What kind are they? Double
check the memory interface; is it 128 bits?
....

--
Dan (Woj...) [dmaster](no space)[at](no space)[lucent](no space)[dot](no
space)[com]
===============================
"One more sun comes sliding down the sky / One more shadow leans against the wall
The world begins to disappear / The worst things come from inside here
And all the king's men reappear / For an eggman, on and off the wall
Who'll never be together again"

 

[kumar.chheda]

Thanks for such an awesome, detailed reply Dan. I really appreciate it.
Will check out ATI and nVidia cards tonight

Kumar