I have been told via Nvidia pre-sales tech support that the GeForce 6200 Series PCI-slot card is VISTA compatible, and is compatible with the latest GeForce 8400 & 8600 PCI-Express cards that you currently see found in Dell XPS desktop computers. The problem with ATI is that NONE of their PCI-slot cards ( for running a 3rd monitor ) are compatible with the current Radeon HD 2400 Pro or Radeon HD 2600 XT PCI-Express cards that you see in Dells XPS desktop computers. You literally have to start all over again with something like the ATI FireMV workstation cards in both the PCI-Express and PCI-slot locations in order to be compatible with Vista.
Gee, I would have thought you'd buy a 2nd 285 PCIEx16 rather than a 280 PCIEx16. (They DO have different drivers.) Installing 2 video card drivers is often trouble, so did you try to run both with only the driver for either? Good to know an FX5200 PCI works with the 285, though.
Just spoke to a BFG Technology tech support person who says that the GeForce 6200 PCI-slot card is not necessarily compatible with the 8400 & 8600 GeForce PCI-Express series. At present, I think that only Jaton and BFG offer such a PCI-slot card. He said that it is "hit or miss". Obviously, we wouldn't be having all of these compatibility issues if still using Windows XP and not Vista. Currently, Nvidia no longer supports Vista operating software with their proprietary multi-monitor "NView" application. Does anyone here run Vista and run 3 or more monitors?