I want to run two monitors - screen split over the two

[pouncer]

Hi, from looking at other Q's I'm worried I'm a bit out of my depth here, but I can't find the answer anywhere else, and from searching on here can't find it here either.

I've got a new PC, and this has two monitor ports on the back - one I'm guessing is straight into the motherboard, one is into a separate slot - when I first set it up I had to plug my monitor into the slot on the card - the other one didn't work. I now want to run two monitors side-by-side like one big monitor, can I just plug the new monitor to the other (motherboard) slot? Or is there another way to do it? Will I need another graphic card? Will this graphic card have 2 slots on it, or can I get a single slot one to run alongside the other? Finances are a little tight so the cheapest way will be the best.

Thanks in advance, sorry if this Q is a little simple or is explained elsewhere.

[belama]

You can't use both integrated (motherboard) and dedicated (video card) simultaneously. If you want dual screen, you will need a video card with two video ports. Tell us if you have AGP or PCI express, your current video card so we won't suggest a worse card and budget. You can't use two video cards unless you have an SLI or CrossFire ready system and I'm sure you don't have one because no video cars with this compatibility has one vga port.

[pouncer]

The slots are PCI slots, is this what you mean? This is sounding like it's going to be more expensive than I hoped. Oh well, I reckon it should be worth it long term. Thanks for your prompt help. What is the name for this so I can search on ebay for it?

[belama]

The slots are PCI slots, is this what you mean? This is sounding like it's going to be more expensive than I hoped. Oh well, I reckon it should be worth it long term. Thanks for your prompt help. What is the name for this so I can search on ebay for it?

Are you sure you dont have an AGP slot or PCI-Express slot? Check the color of the slot where your video card is connected to and if it is not aligned with the other slots.

[pouncer]

I'm not at home, where my PC is, but going off the spec it says:

Expansion Slots

3 x PCI v2.2 slots, 1 x 4x/8x AGP slot

Would this be any good? - Matrox dual output AGP SVGA video card G45 16MB

[belama]

I'm not at home, where my PC is, but going off the spec it says:

Expansion Slots

3 x PCI v2.2 slots, 1 x 4x/8x AGP slot

Would this be any good? - Matrox dual output AGP SVGA video card G45 16MB

So you need an AGP Video card for sure. The card you posted is not very good. What is your budget? What kind of tasks do you do on the computer? (games, programming, video editing, web browsing, word processing...)

[pouncer]

I use it for recording and making music mainly, (using cubase and reason if this helps) - I've seen this card cheap - £10 - so was rather surprised at that, but if it's not so good that explains it - I could go to around £50 inc postage and package if it was worth it, but of course if I can keep price down it would be better. Maybe some sort of splitter if there is one available? Because of the amount of detail on these programs it may require a better card? What sort of details should I be looking for, if I know this much I can keep my eye out for an eventual bargain. Thanks - I really appreciate your help.

[belama]

The video card doesnt have anything to do in doing this task so you would be fine with a low end card if you dont play recent games or make graphics. Something like this would do the job http://www.misco.co.uk/productinformation/~100291~/ABIT%20ATI%20R9250ADT%20128MB%20DDR%20DVI%20TV%20OUT.htm#

[pouncer]

The video card that came with the PC was apparently (according to chum in the know) quite good for gaming - but I only use the PC for music - what negatives could I expect with the other card I named for a tenner? It's on ebay at that price and the seller has 100% feedback. The one you've posted has much higher specs on all functions and is still within my budget so what could I expect better?

[belama]

I would like to know what is the exact model of what you have right now. If it is really a good card for gaming and recent, it should already have 2 monitor ports (one vga which is blue and one DVI which is white or two DVis). I cant say how much of a downgrade it would be if I dont know what card we're talking about.

If it is really worth something, you could always sell your current if it is what you want.

[pouncer]

I'll put the exact details on later then - thanks. From memory it may have one white slot as well. I'm gonna finish work early and go home and have a look. It was a brand new PC that was sold as being "good for gamers" so . . . .

Also, I was wondering about resolution - is this affected by the card? Will I have to remove my old good card? Or run it alongside that with benefits from both?

Anyway - you deserve your guru title - and a helpful guru too.

Cheers!

[belama]

If your current card already has the blue port and bigger white one, you wont need a new card, only the adaptor to convert DVI to VGA.

[RueB2sDe]

Its best to get a AGP connector for Video. PCI is also used for internet connection, IPods etc...

The more PCI devices you use the slower or bogged down it can get. I always recommend a AGP because it is dedicated for Graphics.

Double check that the manufacuter did not add firmware in the control panel that can allow you to designate dual monitors.

[grummle]

You can't use both integrated (motherboard) and dedicated (video card) simultaneously. If you want dual screen, you will need a video card with two video ports. Tell us if you have AGP or PCI express, your current video card so we won't suggest a worse card and budget. You can't use two video cards unless you have an SLI or CrossFire ready system and I'm sure you don't have one because no video cars with this compatibility has one vga port.

Taking issue with this post.

1. You can use integrated and dedicated card. As long as you are using a dedicated pci card, not an agp card. Sounds like pouncer has a good agp card so this doesn't help but you can do it. (what I'm currently doing)

2. pouncer does not need a card with two video ports. You can use two video cards with no problem. If pounce is using the integrated graphics or has an agp card then all they have to do is get a PCI card. (read cheap 20$) and set it up in windows.

3. Crossfire and SLI are not for multiple screens they are for connecting two video cards to increase their performance. The two cards share info through the motherboard and depending on your settings each card renders every other frame or only the bottom or top half of the frame. The fact that SLI and Crossfire cards are on the high end and support multiple monitors is just a benefit that you can get with lower end cards if you look for it.

Best way I see without specific system specs is pick up cheap PCI card and install it. Then follow the instructions. Windows XP has support for some obscene number of cards. Easy peasy.

-grummle