Dual monitor video card, which one?

  • Thread starter Thread starter Bazzer Smith
  • Start date Start date
B

Bazzer Smith

I am thinking of getting one of these as an alternative to a big monitor.

However I am not familliar with video card jargon and I am baffled by
them, it's like decyphering the enigma code reading about them.

Anyway my current 'card' is a ATI Radeon Xpress 200G, what card
would be suitable for me to run two monitors.

I could go to Radeons sit and try to figure it out from there but
I will probably die of old age before I understand all the goobledegook.

For example here is mycard:-

http://www.ati.com/products/radeonxpress200/specs.html

I understand the first two lines of the spec the rest is b***ocks.


How do I go from there to finding a duel version of the card?
Is there a university course I could attend?

I expect when I find out nobody wil sell it anyway.
 
Bazzer Smith said:
I am thinking of getting one of these as an alternative to a big monitor.

However I am not familliar with video card jargon and I am baffled by
them, it's like decyphering the enigma code reading about them.

Anyway my current 'card' is a ATI Radeon Xpress 200G, what card
would be suitable for me to run two monitors.

I could go to Radeons sit and try to figure it out from there but
I will probably die of old age before I understand all the goobledegook.

For example here is mycard:-

http://www.ati.com/products/radeonxpress200/specs.html

I understand the first two lines of the spec the rest is b***ocks.


How do I go from there to finding a duel version of the card?
Is there a university course I could attend?

I expect when I find out nobody wil sell it anyway.
Click to expand...

Hmmm but whats this?
"SURROUNDVIEWT support for up to three monitors with an ATI discrete
graphics card
a.. Dual independent displays: CRT/LCD, TV/LCD "


So what doee a that mean?
 
Bazzer Smith said:
Hmmm but whats this?
"SURROUNDVIEWT support for up to three monitors with an ATI discrete
graphics card
a.. Dual independent displays: CRT/LCD, TV/LCD "


So what doee a that mean?
Click to expand...
 
Bazzer Smith said:
I am thinking of getting one of these as an alternative to a big
monitor.
However I am not familliar with video card jargon and I am baffled by
them, it's like decyphering the enigma code reading about them.

Anyway my current 'card' is a ATI Radeon Xpress 200G, what card
would be suitable for me to run two monitors.

I could go to Radeons sit and try to figure it out from there but
I will probably die of old age before I understand all the
goobledegook.
For example here is mycard:-

http://www.ati.com/products/radeonxpress200/specs.html

I understand the first two lines of the spec the rest is b***ocks.
Click to expand...

Even you should have been able to find the block labelled

Multiple Display Features
Dual independent displays: CRT/LCD, TV/LCD

|-)
How do I go from there to finding a duel version of the card?
Click to expand...

Its already a dual version. If you want a duel version,
you will have to buy some swords or pistols etc.
Is there a university course I could attend?
Click to expand...

Nope, you're too stupid |-)
I expect when I find out nobody wil sell it anyway.
Click to expand...

You could cut to the chase and just hang yourself or sumfin |-)
 
Bazzer Smith said:
Hmmm but whats this?
"SURROUNDVIEWT support for up to three monitors with an ATI discrete
graphics card
a.. Dual independent displays: CRT/LCD, TV/LCD "


So what doee a that mean?
Click to expand...

That it will do two monitors.
 
Rod Speed said:
Even you should have been able to find the block labelled

Multiple Display Features
Dual independent displays: CRT/LCD, TV/LCD

|-)


Its already a dual version. If you want a duel version,
you will have to buy some swords or pistols etc.


Nope, you're too stupid |-)


You could cut to the chase and just hang yourself or sumfin |-)
Click to expand...

I wil take that as a "I don't know but I will pretend I do"
 
"Bazzer Smith" said:
I am thinking of getting one of these as an alternative to a big monitor.

However I am not familliar with video card jargon and I am baffled by
them, it's like decyphering the enigma code reading about them.

Anyway my current 'card' is a ATI Radeon Xpress 200G, what card
would be suitable for me to run two monitors.

I could go to Radeons sit and try to figure it out from there but
I will probably die of old age before I understand all the goobledegook.

For example here is mycard:-

http://www.ati.com/products/radeonxpress200/specs.html

I understand the first two lines of the spec the rest is b***ocks.


How do I go from there to finding a duel version of the card?
Is there a university course I could attend?

I expect when I find out nobody wil sell it anyway.
Click to expand...

If you look at page 8, the basic architecture of a modern video
card is shown. (The PDF code on this page is complex and it will
take a few seconds before the diagram on page 8, appears in
acrobat reader.)

http://www.ati.com/products/radeonx1k/whitepapers/X1000_Family_Technology_Overview_Whitepaper.pdf

The two cores you see on the left of the picture, typically
result in two entried in Device Manager. In a sense, it is
like they are separate video cards, but contained within the
one card.

The output can be steered to the various output options.
You could do two VGA analog displays, a VGA plus a TV (Svideo)
display, VGA plus a DVI digital, and so on. I don't know if
it is possible to do three displays at the same time, as there
are only two "cores" on the left of the figure, to drive the
outputs at a particular resolution choice.

While I haven't found a similar figure for Nvidia cards, it
is the same basic idea for them.

Just make sure, when you buy a video card, that the
connector types on the faceplate, are suited to your monitors.
For example, if you have an expensive 30" LCD that requires
dual-link DVI, then you'd want to shop pretty carefully for
a card. If you have a couple of basic $300 1280x1024 LCDs,
then a lot more cards with single-link DVI would be suitable.

If a card has DVI-I connectors, the connector carries two interfaces
on it. There are DVI-D pins, which is the digital component. A
DVI-D LCD monitor can plug in there. The video card may also
come with a DVI-I to VGA adapter, and the adapter just grabs
the analog signals off the DVI-I connector and sends them to
the 15 pin VGA connector. If you use VGA monitors, make sure the
video card you buy, comes with the adapter dongle to convert a
DVI-I connector to VGA.

All manner of output connectors are available. On the cheapest
cards, you might get s-video (TV), a DVI-I and a VGA. To drive
two VGA monitors, you would need one DVI-I to VGA adapter in
the package, to complete the job. Obviously, a card like that
cannot drive two DVI-D LCDs.

More expensive cards may have s-video (TV) plus two DVI-I
connectors. You would need two DVI-I to VGA adapters in the
package, in order to drive two VGA monitors. If driving two
LCDs digitally, the two DVI connectors on that card would be
ideal.

For large monitors, you'll want to read up on dual-link DVI.
Basically, more of the pins on the connector are populated,
and the interface has double the bandwidth. (Dual-link does
not mean two connectors - it is a doubling of bandwidth on
a single connector, due to the connector having twice as many
signals on it.) If you don't have a big monitor, then don't
worry about this. Since dual-link typically requires some
extra Silicon Image transmitter chips on the video card,
don't expect to find dual-link interfaces on the cheapest
of video cards. To drive two 30" monitors, you'd need
a card with "dual dual-link connectors".

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dual-link_DVI

When you get your new video card, there will usually be
a little trick in the control panel, to enabling dual
displays. So don't be surprised if the setup method is
not clear to you. Generally, finding an ATI CCC.pdf or
a Forceware User Manual, will make it clear as to what
must be done.

http://www.visiontek.com/teksupport/pdf/Catalyst_control_center_guide.pdf
ftp://download.nvidia.com/Windows/84.12/84.12_Forceware_Display_Property_User_Guide.pdf

HTH,
Paul
 
Paul said:
If you look at page 8, the basic architecture of a modern video
card is shown. (The PDF code on this page is complex and it will
take a few seconds before the diagram on page 8, appears in
acrobat reader.)

http://www.ati.com/products/radeonx1k/whitepapers/X1000_Family_Technology_Overview_Whitepaper.pdf

The two cores you see on the left of the picture, typically
result in two entried in Device Manager. In a sense, it is
like they are separate video cards, but contained within the
one card.

The output can be steered to the various output options.
You could do two VGA analog displays, a VGA plus a TV (Svideo)
display, VGA plus a DVI digital, and so on. I don't know if
it is possible to do three displays at the same time, as there
are only two "cores" on the left of the figure, to drive the
outputs at a particular resolution choice.

While I haven't found a similar figure for Nvidia cards, it
is the same basic idea for them.

Just make sure, when you buy a video card, that the
connector types on the faceplate, are suited to your monitors.
For example, if you have an expensive 30" LCD that requires
dual-link DVI, then you'd want to shop pretty carefully for
a card. If you have a couple of basic $300 1280x1024 LCDs,
then a lot more cards with single-link DVI would be suitable.

If a card has DVI-I connectors, the connector carries two interfaces
on it. There are DVI-D pins, which is the digital component. A
DVI-D LCD monitor can plug in there. The video card may also
come with a DVI-I to VGA adapter, and the adapter just grabs
the analog signals off the DVI-I connector and sends them to
the 15 pin VGA connector. If you use VGA monitors, make sure the
video card you buy, comes with the adapter dongle to convert a
DVI-I connector to VGA.

All manner of output connectors are available. On the cheapest
cards, you might get s-video (TV), a DVI-I and a VGA. To drive
two VGA monitors, you would need one DVI-I to VGA adapter in
the package, to complete the job. Obviously, a card like that
cannot drive two DVI-D LCDs.

More expensive cards may have s-video (TV) plus two DVI-I
connectors. You would need two DVI-I to VGA adapters in the
package, in order to drive two VGA monitors. If driving two
LCDs digitally, the two DVI connectors on that card would be
ideal.

For large monitors, you'll want to read up on dual-link DVI.
Basically, more of the pins on the connector are populated,
and the interface has double the bandwidth. (Dual-link does
not mean two connectors - it is a doubling of bandwidth on
a single connector, due to the connector having twice as many
signals on it.) If you don't have a big monitor, then don't
worry about this. Since dual-link typically requires some
extra Silicon Image transmitter chips on the video card,
don't expect to find dual-link interfaces on the cheapest
of video cards. To drive two 30" monitors, you'd need
a card with "dual dual-link connectors".

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dual-link_DVI

When you get your new video card, there will usually be
a little trick in the control panel, to enabling dual
displays. So don't be surprised if the setup method is
not clear to you. Generally, finding an ATI CCC.pdf or
a Forceware User Manual, will make it clear as to what
must be done.

http://www.visiontek.com/teksupport/pdf/Catalyst_control_center_guide.pdf
ftp://download.nvidia.com/Windows/84.12/84.12_Forceware_Display_Property_User_Guide.pdf

HTH,
Paul
Click to expand...

Oh so it's fairly straight forward them :O$

I don't realy unsterstand any of that :O)

I have a bog standard monitor and I want to add another.

I don't really want to wade through thousands of pages of technical jargon
as I am planning on adding a second monitor whilst I am still alive :O|
 
Rod Speed said:
You can take anything you like, anywhere you like.
Click to expand...


True I have taken the question elsewhere where I am likely to
get a proper answer. Thanks for your input anyway :O)
 
That means it supports multiple monitors -- two monitor support is commonly
called "Dual Head"
 
Randy said:
That means it supports multiple monitors -- two monitor support is
commonly called "Dual Head"
Click to expand...

Any computer will support multiple monitoers if you buy the appropiate
hardware and software.
 
Get any video card with either 2- DVI or 1 DVI & VGA D-sub..
then you buy an LCD.. use the DVI on the LCd.. you are done =)

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I have an LCD :O)

However it doesn't have a DVI connection it's the same as a the old one
on my CRT. Is that a prob?
I have a DVI to CRT converter though.


Get any video card with either 2- DVI or 1 DVI & VGA D-sub..
then you buy an LCD.. use the DVI on the LCd.. you are done =)

[Thundersha 278850]

Games that I like to play
<a href=http://www.gamestotal.com/>Multiplayer Online Games</a> <a
href=http://www.gamestotal.com/>Strategy Games</a><br><a
href=http://uc.gamestotal.com/>Unification Wars</a> - <a
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Bazzer said:
Any computer will support multiple monitoers if you buy the appropiate
hardware and software.
Click to expand...
Click to expand...
 
I have an LCD :O)

However it doesn't have a DVI connection it's the same as a the old one
on my CRT. Is that a prob?
I have a DVI to CRT converter though.
Click to expand...

pck920's suggestion was rather arbitrary, you don't need "2
DVI or 1 DVI & VGA D-sub", you could use ANY two video
outputs, including from two entirely different video cards,
in either DVI or Analog and it'll work (though whether on
the dual output card or two different cards, either way both
cards must be supported for multimonitor output on your OS).

Many (most?) cards with dual output where one is a DVI, have
the DVI as DVI-I, meaning it also transmits the analog
signal through that connector, thus allowing use of a DVI to
D-sub 15 pin adapter to use an analog monitor driven from
that card output. The DVI-I connector is distinguished by
having (the) 4 pins as 2 horizontal rows above and below the
flat blade contact on the connector.
 
It took me awhile to figure out, but the Radeon Express 200 is a
motherboard not a graphics card.

I am assuming in this reply that your motherboard looks like this:

http://tinyurl.com/rgmxz

And only has a single video out and this video out is a VGA, meaning
there is no DVI out on the board.

In this case, you MUST purchase an extra video card to enable you to
have multi monitor support.

You can add any video card to a Windows XP box to get multi monitor
support. But to use the unique features of Surroundview, you need to
add a 9X00 video card. The X300 and up.

Where some of the previous responders have made what must have seemed
to you to have been puzzling responses I am assuming they assumed the
Radeon x200 was a videocard. All newer video cards have two outs. (See
here
http://www.vtr-hardware.com/media/images/news/1/2864.jpg) One is
usually VGA and the other is DVI (although sometimes they have both
DVI). If you had a stand alone video card, you could just plug your
second monitor into the unused output. Right click the desktop, go to
settings and enable desktop extension. And you are in business. Since
you only have one video out, doing this is impossible and nonsensical.

Since you don't have a stand alone video card, you need to add one. Go
to your local computer store and pick any one of the X00 series, come
home, plug it into an open slot, plug in your monitor and you are in
business.

Here is a small tutorial on how to do this not with SurroundView:

http://www.codinghorror.com/blog/archives/000217.html

Take a look at ultramon.com for a good utility.

Take a look here for a few examples of what adding a few extra video
cards can enable you to do. Remember each video card supports 2
monitors. Some actually support 4.

http://www.seomoz.org/blogdetail.php?ID=930
http://tinyurl.com/o9mln
http://www.apple.com/science/profiles/hiperwall/
http://digitaltigers.com/zenview.shtml

Good Luck!
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GrimJack808 said:
It took me awhile to figure out, but the Radeon Express 200 is a
motherboard not a graphics card.
Click to expand...


Well no it is not a motherboard, rather is an 'onboard grasphics'
there are many different motherboards using radeon xpress 200
chipset
I am assuming in this reply that your motherboard looks like this:

http://tinyurl.com/rgmxz

And only has a single video out and this video out is a VGA, meaning
there is no DVI out on the board.

In this case, you MUST purchase an extra video card to enable you to
have multi monitor support.
Click to expand...

I realised this, you are sure I can use a single headed card, ie a card with
just
one place to connect a monitor (and use the motherboards connector
for the other monitor?)
You can add any video card to a Windows XP box to get multi monitor
support. But to use the unique features of Surroundview, you need to
add a 9X00 video card. The X300 and up.
Click to expand...

That makes sense, 9X00 = X300 clear as a bell.
Where some of the previous responders have made what must have seemed
to you to have been puzzling responses I am assuming they assumed the
Radeon x200 was a videocard. All newer video cards have two outs. (See
here
Click to expand...

How will I know if it is 'newer' will it say 'newer' on the box.
Or do you just mean any card which is newer than an older card.
This means all but the frist ever video card.

http://www.vtr-hardware.com/media/images/news/1/2864.jpg) One is
usually VGA and the other is DVI (although sometimes they have both
DVI).
Click to expand...

Does that mean it will support two monitors or just that you can use either
connector, but not at the same time?
If you had a stand alone video card, you could just plug your
second monitor into the unused output. Right click the desktop, go to
settings and enable desktop extension. And you are in business. Since
you only have one video out, doing this is impossible and nonsensical.

Since you don't have a stand alone video card, you need to add one. Go
to your local computer store and pick any one of the X00 series, come
home, plug it into an open slot, plug in your monitor and you are in
business.

Here is a small tutorial on how to do this not with SurroundView:

http://www.codinghorror.com/blog/archives/000217.html

Take a look at ultramon.com for a good utility.

Take a look here for a few examples of what adding a few extra video
cards can enable you to do. Remember each video card supports 2
monitors. Some actually support 4.

http://www.seomoz.org/blogdetail.php?ID=930
http://tinyurl.com/o9mln
http://www.apple.com/science/profiles/hiperwall/
http://digitaltigers.com/zenview.shtml

Good Luck!
Click to expand...

Thanks, it's just a question of me finding the right card at the right price
available locally, unfortunately I have no AGP slot which excludes a lot of
options. I have PCI and PCI-Express.
I think I have located the card I want,I just hope the shop has one in
stock.
 
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