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Mackenzie 2004-06-12 05:54
I am running an HP Pavilion a 245 c. I know it's nothing special, but it used to be a family computer but now it's mine and I don't have the money right now to build a whole new system.
I want to get a dual head video card for it. I don't know much about dual monitors really so I was hoping maybe some one on here runs an HP with a dual head and could tell me what they are using.
Also, are all cards and chip sets compatible with all systems? If you know good cards for an HP, that would be sweet. Thanks.
-Mackenzie
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Tantalus 2004-06-12 07:12
i have a number of HP & Compaq systems at home all running either in dual or triple display mode and at work, we also happen to be standardize on HP hardware.
the first question to ask yourself when shopping for a multi-display card is what type of software do you run on your pc. for ex. someone who plays games will have different needs than someone who only runs 2d applications and internet browsing. likewise...someone who wants to do video rendering on their machine is going to have a different video card need than someone who doesn't.
all three of the major vendors (ATI, NVidia, & Matrox) make very capable multi-play cards with different types of video connectors (vga-15 pin, dvi, and tv/video) so it's a matter of matching your hardware and needs to what's available.
i don't play games on my machines, so i standardize on matrox cards, specifically either the g400/g450 cards which can be bought quite cheaply or their their MMS line if i need higher density. IMO, matrox offer the most rock-solid driver support and the cleanest font shape of all the vendors. nvidia would be my second choice...in fact, your pavilion uses an onboard nvidia chipset.
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Mackenzie 2004-06-12 17:08
I am interested in dual monitors just for the sake of having more workspace. I was really looking in to this for having full screen veiw of an application on my primary, and then whatever other applications I want to run on the secondary.
i.e. playing a game and then not having to minimize and have to wait for my monitor to switch from 800x600 back up to me regular res. just moving the mouse over to the other monitor and browsing the net, chating, fast acess to music.
Also, I do alot of graphic design for my own pleasure, and I think having two monitors for a really large workspace in photoshop would be a huge help.
I am now thinking of just saving my cash for my new system. I will probably end up with a Matrox because of all the good things I hear. So basicly, a good Matrox card for dual monitors for basic, everyday use would be the g400/g450 cards?
-Mackenzie
iequalawesome@yahoo.com
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Tantalus 2004-06-13 01:45
if you do play games on your pc, i would recommend instead of a matrox, the nvidia fx5200...good performance bang and great bang for the buck at $59 delivered.
http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=14-170-027&depa=0
if you pc supports 4x agp, you can go w/the card upgrade now and run dual monitors and then go w/the system upgrade later.
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