dual monitor video card

G

glenjohnson

I went to buy a dual monitor video card today because I was under the impression that if I buy a dual video card and keep my old video card in the computer, then I can hook up three monitors total. But the guy at the store said that my old video card will shut off after I install the dual video card and the computer will not read the old card any longer and I will only be able to hook up 2 monitors with the new dual video card and the old video card will become nonworkable. Does anybody have any experience with dual video cards and hooking up 3 monitors? Or is the guy at the store right and I will only be able to hook up two?

I was also thinking of buying just another video card and installing that one in addition to the one I already have, but the guy said the old one will not work. So then I didn't buy it, because the whole purpose of me getting a second video card is to have two or more monitors. Anybody have any experience with this?

I really wanted 3 monitors with the dual card.
 
Quote from glenjohnson:

I went to buy a dual monitor video card today because I was under the impression that if I buy a dual video card and keep my old video card in the computer, then I can hook up three monitors total. But the guy at the store said that my old video card will shut off after I install the dual video card and the computer will not read the old card any longer and I will only be able to hook up 2 monitors with the new dual video card and the old video card will become nonworkable. Does anybody have any experience with dual video cards and hooking up 3 monitors? Or is the guy at the store right and I will only be able to hook up two?

I was also thinking of buying just another video card and installing that one in addition to the one I already have, but the guy said the old one will not work. So then I didn't buy it, because the whole purpose of me getting a second video card is to have two or more monitors. Anybody have any experience with this?

I really wanted 3 monitors with the dual card.
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Windows xp is smart enough to handle multiple cards. The old one will not shut down.

For your new card get the cheapest one that meets your needs. I bought a 2nd PCI card from CompUSA for $70. works great. As long as it has the right output connections it should work. Two cards of the same brand will reduce your risk of problems.

Good luck!
 
I depends. If your existing video is integrated onto the motherboard, it is quite possible (indeed likely) that it will have to be disabled to use a dual head card.

If your existing video is say an AGP card plugged into the AGP slot, you should be able to add a PCI dual head card, and have 3 screens.
 
Quote from dcraig:

I depends. If your existing video is integrated onto the motherboard, it is quite possible (indeed likely) that it will have to be disabled to use a dual head card.

If your existing video is say an AGP card plugged into the AGP slot, you should be able to add a PCI dual head card, and have 3 screens.
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Good point. My advice assumes you have a card in your AGP port.
 
it depends. i've had at least 10 4 or 5 monitor computers in the past 6 years and i've had trouble with a few computers like dell. i've tried to put in older video cards in the dell and sometimes its rejected them
 
I recently hooked up a second monitor to my Dell. Though I'm not at all an expert on the subject, is it possible to install one card that supports 3 monitors? Because if so that may be the easiest route.
 
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