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Dual Monitors?

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Fightingpiper

Member
Joined
Oct 29, 2001
Location
St. Paul, MN
I got a question from a gent from another forum that I belong too. He found out I overclock a bit and he wants to build a computer for his Boat. He wants to have dual monitors. Does he need to have 2 video cards or is there an inexpensive video card that supports dual monitors? How hard is it to set up two video cards and get them to work correctly? He also wants advice on a motherboard and processor. Now this machine doent have to have much power because it'll be only running navigation software but also system monitoring like enginses and such. Since itll be monitoring these systems itll be on 24/7 in hot Texas heat which may be an issue.
I am going to suggest he get the ECS k7s5a with a Duron. I do believe the Durons run cooler than Athlons correct? Any other suggestions? Also does Win98 support dual monitors or would he have to go to WinXP?

Also here is a quote"
The power supply is a concern. I'll be using a 12 VDC to 115 VAC
inverter or generator much of the time so the incoming power will not be as "clean" as the electric company. I'd like to find a PC power supply designed for 12VDC instead of 115 VAC but can't"

Is there such a thing as a 12vdc power supply? Does he have to worry about the electricity?
 
I just found what I think your looking for. It`s a Matrox Millennium G550 I could be wrong tho. I've heard it`s hard to run two video cards. Also you might want to have him run an Intel cause they run cooler then AMD.
 
Most Radeons support Dual display. Go to newegg and look through the ATI's. I have a Radeon VE, it has dual monitor support, 32 MB DDR for about $43.
 
I'm running a dual 21" as I'm typing this message and it has been moderatedly simple to set up. There are however a couple of considerations before covering any additional info here.

Does the person need dual crt or lcd monitors?

How big are the monitors and what resolution will he run them at?

The reason why I ask is because I don't see much use for dual monitor setups for regular computer use. If the person is going to use 2x17" monitors, then you are better off using a single larger 22" monitor. But, if you are jsut making hte system to make the guy happy, then give him what he wants, as long as you're not the one paying for the monitors.

In my experience, I have used a Matrox GX450 (I believe that is the correct model), an ATI Radeon 8500 (currently in my machine), and two video cards simultaneously.

First, don't use the 2 video card setup, too much of a hasle. Second, ATI Radeon cards offer beautiful 2D quality, but the drivers for WIN XP will give you nightmares, trust me. I spent 40 minutes today troubleshooting a video driver problem that was making my machine crash; this is after running the dual monitor setup flawlessly for 2 days on the ATI. It seems like the development of ATI drivers is really sh#tty. Third, I loved the Matrox card with dual vga output; no problems with drivers and way better 2D quality than any other card I have seen ( excluding professional workstations).

So, go ahead and research the video cards out there. Keep in mind that you will need a dvi to vga adaptor if you buy any Radeon cards (you'll know what I'm talking about). Look at the help section of WIN XP for "multiple monitor"; dual monitors is also supported by WIN 2000 Pro. My recommendation is a Matrox card (pricey but stable) if the person doesn't need much 3D performance for games. So, let meknow how it works out, and good luck. If you want ot buy some monitors, Ubid.com has some great refurbished deals, and new ones too.
 
chinoloco said:


Does the person need dual crt or lcd monitors?

How big are the monitors and what resolution will he run them at?

The reason why I ask is because I don't see much use for dual monitor setups for regular computer use. If the person is going to use 2x17" monitors, then you are better off using a single larger 22" monitor. But, if you are jsut making hte system to make the guy happy, then give him what he wants, as long as you're not the one paying for the monitors.


Actually he is going to be building it himself and just wanted my recommendations. As for the dual monitors I dont know if he is going to be using crt or lcd. Why I assume he needs 2 monitors is that this system will be on his boat and one monitor will probably be at the main Helm and one probably up on the Fly Bridge-the one on the fly bridge will probably be a flat panel because of space issues. Ill tell him to get the radeon card since Im sure he is on a budget and also does he need the adapeter if one of the monitors is a flat panel monitor? silly question I know but ive never used one.
 
I have run dual monitors for a while now on a Matrox Millenium G400 Max and the GeForce 2MX from Leadtek. the Matrox line of cards offer better 2D performance but overall I would reccomend the GeForce. Have no experience with ATi. In 98 the monitors will run as 2 seperate monitors, while in XP you can have that option or run at a combine letter box style desktop. I would reccomend the XP way, but as previously stated ATI drvers in XP are still a bit dodgy so I hear.
 
I am not sure about the lower end radeon cards and if they have 2 VGA outputs, or only one VGA and one DVI (for the LCD panel). Since it sounds like your friend is using a CRT and a LCD, what you are looking for on the card is 1 VGA and 1 DVI. If you go to ATI's website, I am sure you will find all the information you need on the cards, and when you look at a picture of the cards, you should see a regular VGA output (blue color) and a DVI output (white). So go ahead and give it a try on ATI's site, you should be good to go after that. Plus, since he is using both monitors to display the same info, the setup should be easy.

Good luck.
 
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