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Mo D 2010-07-06 07:30
I own 2 flat-panel LCD monitors. Normally, I run one in portrait mode and the other in landscape due to school and work. I am building a new computer and this is what I want to do.
I want to a multi-monitor set-up( independent screens?) where I can run my 20's in portrait mode and a 30' monitor in landscape.
What would be a good card for this application? Will I need additional drivers or software? Also, can I use a LCD "TV" as the landscape monitor or would I need to buy a computer monitor?
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ecarlson 2010-07-07 11:10
Most modern video cards will support any combination of 2 monitors in landscape and portrait. I was running 1 of each on my cheap (less than $20 after rebate) NVidia GeForce 8400GS card with no problems in Windows 7 Pro 64-bit, with full Aero support, but it should work in anything from XP on up.
The NVidia software has built-in rotation support, and others probably do too.
Yes you can use an LCD TV as a monitor, but it helps to make sure the TV can accept a computer input at the TV's native resolution (1920 x 1080 if you get a 1080p TV) with no overscan or scaling.
If the LCD monitor you are rotating is a TN (usually cheap) monitor, you might not be happy with it in portrait mode due to the narrow vertical viewing angle (which is even worse than the narrow horizontal viewing angle). If it is an IPS or PVA monitor (the one I rotated is PVA), it should be fine, but if it is TN, try it before deciding if it is acceptable in portrait orientation.
- Eric www.InvisibleRobot.com
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Mo D 2010-07-07 11:24
Do I have to have two video cards to run 3 monitors or is the a single video card that can accomplish this?
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ecarlson 2010-07-07 11:43
Sure there are video cards that support 3 monitors. The ATI Eyefinity supports this, but one monitor has to use DisplayPort or an expensive adapter.
There are other cards that support 4 or more monitors, but you pay for them in price and/or performance.
You can use a USB video card if you don't want to add one internally, and if it provides acceptable performance.
My preference is to use 2 regular video cards.
- Eric www.InvisibleRobot.com
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Mo D 2010-07-08 05:58
Well, I am probably building an i7 just because the guts are not too expensive. I am not TOO into gaming but I still want a computer that can run a game fluidly and make it look good without spending excess amounts on money on my video card.
The ATi you mentioned looks good. Can you recommend the 2-video-cards you would use on an Asus motherboard?
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ecarlson 2010-07-08 09:28
I would personally buy a pair of GeForce 220's, due to their reasonable performance and low power consumption, but they might not be up to the performance level you might want in some games.
GeForce 240's are okay too: They come in different "flavors", based on memory type and quantity.
If you only plan to use one monitor when you are gaming, then you could get one card a bit more powerful, like a GeForce 250, if you need it, and the second card could still be a GeForce 220.
If you want gaming-enthusiast-level gaming performance, and are willing to pay more $ and have higher power consumption and heat, then I don't have any particular recommendations.
I'm sure there are other good mid-level choices too.
- Eric www.InvisibleRobot.com
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