Do I need a dual output graphics card?

frobisher

If I want to use two monitors simultaneously (for audio recording software) do I need a dual output graphics card or can I fit an extra one in a PCI slot and it will still work?

PogMoThoin

You'll need a dual output gpu. A friend got me to do the exact same setup for him. Puts reason on one screen & cubase on the other. Makes his life a whole lot easier.

frobisher

PogMoThoin wrote:

You'll need a dual output gpu. A friend got me to do the exact same setup for him. Puts reason on one screen & cubase on the other. Makes his life a whole lot easier.

That is exactly the kind of set up I was thinking. Although I also like the of putting the Cubase main window on one and the mixer on another with Cubase in the background. I can't wait to fiddle about with it all!
What size monitord does your freind use? I was thinking of going for 19".

PogMoThoin

He has 2x 19" lidl jobbies. doesn't play games so theyre perfect for him. His biggest problem is that his cpu isn't powerful enough for cubase & it crashes regularly with 1.5gb ram. Tryin to convince him 2 build a new rig.

frobisher

I didn't know lidl sold them. That could be a bit of good news! I didn't really know where to look to buy them so maybe I'll save myself a few quid getting them there rather than somewhere like Komplett. Although if the re-sell value is lower on a lidl brand rather than an established one?

tell your freind to get a grip! There's no point putting racing tyres on a Fiat 123! Actually, that could be kinda fun, but you know what I mean!

snappieT

All I can suggest is that if you're going for a dual rig that you have 2 of the same monitors. Different brightness, resolution, size or height become very annoying very quickly.

SouperComputer

You can use a PCI adaptor in addition to the AGP if you wish.

Although if you are serious about your Audio work and dont do any gaming, an older matrox card would be ideal. The give excellent 2D quality which is what you want for your audio\video editing needs.

Here's a sweet one:

http://cgi.ebay.ie/Matrox-Dual-Head-G400-Graphics-Card_W0QQitemZ270021122628QQihZ017QQcategoryZ96874QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

TempestSabre

frobisher wrote:

If I want to use two monitors simultaneously (for audio recording software) do I need a dual output graphics card or can I fit an extra one in a PCI slot and it will still work?

PogMoThoin wrote:

You'll need a dual output gpu. A friend got me to do the exact same setup for him. Puts reason on one screen & cubase on the other. Makes his life a whole lot easier.

No. You can mix AGP, PCI-E and a whole bunch of cheap PCI cards.
http://130.94.74.217/multimon/gallery_browse.asp?ID=676&date=asc&nummon=true&mon=desc
http://130.94.74.217/multimon/gallery.asp

Or you could use this...
http://www.engadget.com/2006/03/02/matrox-triplehead2go-gives-your-laptop-3-more-screens/

Lots of info here http://130.94.74.217/multimon/

PogMoThoin

UK£190ish + Del for the triple head2go. http://www.unbeatable.co.uk/s/triplehead2go.html?gclid=COuy6eX_hYcCFRKiQgodixJ_bg
Cheaper buy a dual output card.

TempestSabre

Cheaper to buy a POS PCI card.

Ziycon

You can use too graphics cards, no need to go all fancy with a dual out card, i have two graphics cards in one of my machines with two 19" CRTs and it works fine!

Ruu_Old

I have one of these and works grand but if you aren't worried about anything else but just for use with two monitors, just get two bog standard PCI graphics cards.

frobisher

Great replies all round. I love the computer forum!

Is a 32meg card enough or should I go for more? There is a chance I may do a little editing with footage from my DV camera on the same system.

TempestSabre

I'd say 16mb-32mb would me more than enough. Depends on the Resolution and colour you want to use on the monitor. Speed isn't a factor for most 2D apps. See what your monitor supports and try and get a card that supports that. If its a CRT you need a card that has a decent referesh rate 72mhz+ (IMO) at the resolution you want. With an LCD/TFT its doesn't matter.

Personally I used to find ATI and Matrox card have better 2D image quality than Nivida cards, at least amongst older cards. With newer cars they all seem to have decent image quality, and TFT have eliminated any differences between cars. Older Matrox G400/G550 cars are great for these kinda uses as they generally all have 2 outputs on them.

Plain non 2D only PCI cards 2nd hand I'd expect to be quite cheap so don't spend a lot of money on it.

Ruu_Old

frobisher wrote:

Great replies all round. I love the computer forum!

Is a 32meg card enough or should I go for more? There is a chance I may do a little editing with footage from my DV camera on the same system.

That should be more than enough, best of luck.