adding a third monitor

Discussion in 'Hardware' started by swinger, Apr 30, 2003.

  1. swinger

    swinger

    I am running 2 19 inch monitors currently, with a matrox millenium g450 dual head AGP card. i know that i have to get some sort of PCI card, but i know nothing about video cards. any advice?? thanks in advance....

    mike
     
  2. i have a matrox g100 mms dual card with cables i will sell you for 30 +10 shipping. that will get you where you want to go.
     
  3. wallaby

    wallaby

    Swinger

    vhehn's card will definitely work - plus you'll have the option for a fourth monitor.
    Otherwise, any pci (even used $2) card "should" work to add a third monitor, depending on your OS. Win98 will take almost anything, 2000 and XP cause they're newer can sometimes be a little pickier. Very easy, just plug the card in & re-boot.
    Cheers
     
  4. swinger

    swinger

    i have windows 2000............. how picky will it be?
     
  5. wallaby

    wallaby

    swinger

    If you get a relatively new card, either brand new or used, it should not be a problem. One way to check is to consult the windows 2000 hardware list, which is located either on the CD or you can get it from microsoft's web site. [ That said,
    I have experienced a card that would work as a single but
    not simulateneously with other cards with 2000, that was on the
    list.]

    But generally with W2k you should be fine.

    Cheers
     
  6. gnome

    gnome

    1. Might be very picky. You should absolutely try to add a card from the same manufacturer as your present one(s).
    2. Check with the manufacturer to see if the drivers support extended desktop and the cards are compatible.

    A video driver conflict on your system might trash it requiring a complete, fresh install of the OS. Personally, I would never mix video card brands. It's not worth the risk.
     
  7. I’m curious how the software would handle this issue I’m in the same boat and would like to add a third monitor. . I currently have a dual AGP card, which is a GeForce Ti 4400 with the Nvidia chipset. My OS is W2K. Under advance properties there’s an option for adding the second monitor, I use Horizontal span. I suspect if I add a PCI card, the only option available would be to make the third monitor a clone. Ideally I would like to have all three in a horizontal span.

    Basically what I’m getting at, Is where does the software and drivers come from to make the two cards work together for an option such as 3 monitors in a horizontal span.


    Thanks,

    Pat
     
  8. gnome

    gnome

    I might be off by your term "Horizontal span"... Is that a program??

    Presuming you mean... "3 monitors side by side", W2K handles that. You'll be making an extended desktop over the 3 monitors and they will act like one big one. Then, you just load, size, and place displays where you want and the OS should keep bringing them up where you've set each time you startup.

    Probably not an issue, but check with Nvidia to be sure your two cards' drivers are compatible with each other and support extended desktop. It is not a given that you can just put any old card into your computer and this function will work. Also, trouble can be avoided by having all your cards from the same manufacturer. (I use ATIs, and they all run off of the same DRIVER.)
     
    #10     May 10, 2003