I'm a designer and I used to use a Matrox G450 video card at my last place of work to give me Dual-head capability - ie. the desktop was spread across 2 x 20" monitors. I've now gone out alone and I would like to upgrade my home system as cheaply and as effectively as possible. I remember that although the Matrox card was spot-on, it could not cope with 3D images very well and was not supported by modern games. I would prefer to have some kind of 3D capability if possible. Also a requirement is that I would occasionally like to be able to have different resolutions on the different monitors - something the Matrox card did very well. I would like to know if it is possible to do this sort of thing without having to buy a new Matrox card - all of the Matrox cards I've looked at have been priced in excess of £150 and I really can't afford that at the moment. Can I do this with a "normal" video card? How?? Many thanks in advance!
2006-09-05 21:13:32 · 5 answers · asked by gromitski 5 in Computers & Internet ➔ Hardware ➔ Other - Hardware
I just want to point out that I'm not looking for a clone of the first screen on the second screen, I'm looking for an extension of the desktop. Thanks!
2006-09-05 21:14:55 · update #1
So far I'm pretty confused!! Wouldn't two graphics cards just give me a clone of the desktop rather than an extended desktop??
Is there no other way to do it without replacing my motherboard? I'm a designer not a hardcore computer builder, I'd rather not be arsing around with my motherboard if I don't have to.
I was kinda hoping that someone could suggest another dualhead card? Is there no other make that can do it?
2006-09-05 22:14:33 · update #2
Matrox cards are on the way out. I haven't used one for years!
I'm 3D CAD designer and I'm using 2 monitors 19"
I have NVIDIA Quadro NVS card 440 which comes with a y cable for two DVI's or two DSUB's.
There are three models NVS 285 (Cheap £80-100) NVS 280 (PCI cheap £80-100) and the NVS 440 (not so cheap £200-250 but powerful)
QUADRO cards provide full multi monitor support. Not just desktop cloning.
2006-09-05 22:18:18 · answer #1 · answered by MR_KGB 3 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Just put two video cards in, or buy a card (e.g. ATI 9600 based card) that has two output & two CRT controllers. You can sped anywhere from £20 upwards no problems.
Note that if you get a card with VGA analog & DVI outputs & have 2x analog monitors you may need a (cheap) adapter to convert the DVI-I plug to the normal DB15 VGA pinout.
2006-09-06 02:26:00 · answer #2 · answered by Hamish M 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Windows XP supports multiple video cards / hardware.
Therefore, you should be able to have two cards in the machine, and Windows will reflect it in the display settings. Just remember that one of them may well have to be a PCI card, because most machines only have the one normal graphics card slot.
2006-09-05 21:26:05 · answer #3 · answered by jonbeckett73 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
buy a mobo, with no graphics on board, or graphics that you can easily match.. u would have to check with the manufacturer, that the boards bios supported 2 cards.. but if u find a board with nothing onboard, just buy a pair of matched pci cards, and it should work..
2006-09-05 21:29:27 · answer #4 · answered by yeah well 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
http://www.tigerdirect.com
find yourself
2006-09-05 23:25:52 · answer #5 · answered by Sniper 3 · 0⤊ 1⤋