My new rig... Q: monitor output

Be careful when you buy your cards on Ebay. Make sure that you can hook up those new digital LCD monitors.

I have a Matrox Millennium G550 that I bought from Ebay and run two 21" Sony CRT monitors (I usually purchase two year old used computers and plug them into my 8 port switch).

The next card I buy however will allow me to go more modern with lower heat and with digital capabilities for all of the monitors.

I prefer fewer but larger monitors to get my screen real estate (funny, I first look at how much plastic surrounds the screen as I place them side by side).

Michael B.

P.S. For trading you can't go wrong with Samsung or Sony for the monitors...and go Matrox for the dual or quad 2D card.
 
Quote from gnome:

If you really plan to end up with 6 monitors, you need to inventory your PCI slots to see what else you want to have installed... modem, sound card, etc.

You may want to consider getting a used Matrox G200 quad off of ebay. You should be able to get one for <$150 with cables.
More...

If you think you want to run DVI displays, make sure you can get the proper video cards and have enough PCI slots to accommodate. There are not nearly as many DVI solutions as there are VGA.

To set up multi-monitor, you really should work backwards. Considering, in order:

1. Number of monitors
2. DVI or VGA
3. Resolution of display and refresh rate
4. Number of PCI slots to be used for video
5. Cards that meet your objective

If you want to run VGA, 1280x1024, @60hz, there are lots of solutions.

If you want to run DVI, 1600x1200, @85hz, solutions are extremely limited.
 
These last 2 posts make a good point.

1) know what you are buying on Ebay, and also ask if the card is direct from manufacturer, or OEM. This can make a difference for support issues. That said, Ebay is still my first and only choice.

2) DVI vs analog. I don't even notice the diff, I run all analog, even though some of my monitors can run both. I prefer 19 inch flat panels, with narrow bezels.
 
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