I need some advise, regarding cards with 1 DVI output, how do I run 2 LCD's? Here is a link to a card that supposedly can run 2 LCD's. Is there some sort of splitter cable and I can run 1 program on the first LCD and another program on the second LCD? http://cgi.ebay.com/New-nVIDIA-256M...ryZ40161QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem thanks, Bruce
If you don't want to play 3D games, then for two heads, you are probably better off with an nVidia NVS280. Passively cooled (no fan to create extra noise and possibly fail) and intended for 2D applications such as charting. They have a Y cable either one DMS-59 to two dsub (for vga) or one DMS-59 to two DVI for DVI. If buying off ebay, make sure it comes with a cable of the right type. NVS280 comes in AGP, PCI or PCI Express. Make sure you buy the right variant.
Regarding card types would there be a big difference between PCI Express and PCI for trading. I will be getting a new computer along with the cards, if there was a benefit to PCI Express I would get a motherboard with this configuration. Thanks for the input.
Most new machines come with PCI Express and unless there is some reason to buy one with AGP (eg wanting to use existing AGP video card), I would go for PCI Express. So your first video card will probably be PCI Express. If you need to add further cards later, they will have to be PCI. PCI Express is faster, but for charting you probably wont be able to tell any difference. I forgot to mention that passively cooled cards use less power than cards with fans (which is why they are passively cooled). This is a good thing especially if you ever have several video cards in the machine. Should be a more reliable and quieter configuration.
This card is a dual head card with one DVI and one VGA output. What input does your LCD have? VGA, DVI? They should have both, so you can easily connect your LCD to the VGA output on the video card. You just need the correct cable. But I strongly recommend using a card with dual DVI output. I had two identical monitors side-by-side, one connected to a DVI output, the other to a VGA- output. The difference was small and you probably will not notice it when the monitors are not side-by-side. But when you look at them for hours it becomes annoying. Regards Bernd Kuerbs
Some options for dual DVI are nVIDIA NVS 280, Matrox G200 MMS, G450 MMS and G550. There are undoubtedly others. If you are using 1600x1200 20 inch panels, you need to check if DVI is supported at that resolution. Some cards only support 1280x1024. NVS 280 supports 1600x1200 DVI.
Apart from PCI slot uptake has anybody got any insights on any advantages or disadvantages of running a quad card such as G45X4QUAD-B vs 2 x dual head PCI or 1x Dual PCI and 1 X dual AGP. I am making this decision now. Maybe I can get the dual heads locally, but I have to wait 2 weeks for delivery of a Quad - wondering if it is worth it if I have the slots - pricewise there is little difference N.B. Thanks to Appian/Colorgraphic card failure and non honouring of warranty I am in the market for a card/s. Once again AVOID Appian/Colorgraphic. This is the first time I have had a manufacturer refuse to replace a faulty PC product. Seriously, I have had componenets fail but they have always been replaced on the spot or on one occasion within a reasonable period.
Main drawbacks to quads are (1) cost, and (2) if the card [or even a port] fails, you may lose display on all monitors. You could even run 4 singlehead cards if you had the slots. You could pick up 2 dualheads on eBay for <$100. I would buy a quad only as last resort.
I was told in order to make sure my quotes do not appear slow I needed to purchase a card with at least 128mb of memory so i purchased the PNY NVIDIA 5200 dual vga PCI card with 128mb of ram will this be sufficient ( I have a new computer)