What u recommend for basic card in SOHO 64-bit PC - not gaming but two monitors?

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glnz

glnz

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Oct 31, 2009
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My PC is a Dell Optiplex 7010 MT dual-booting Win 7 Pro 64-bit and Win 10 Pro 64-bit. Has 16GB RAM. Use it for SOHO work with Excel and Word (and connecting to a bigger office using GoToMyPC), not gaming. No separate card yet.

Want to hook up TWO older 17" monitors, both with VGA plugs - both 1280 x 1024 max. (One is probably analog only; the other seems to be both.)

I could use my current VGA splitter cord to hook them both up into the existing Intel HD Graphics, but should I buy a decent basic card with two sockets?

WHAT DO YOU RECOMMEND?

By the way, somewhere I have a VGA-to-digital converter plug, but I forget which way it runs. So I suppose if the card has one VGA socket and one digital socket, it might work, but please warn me - would need to check.

Thanks.
 
Solution
geofelt
A splitter cable will give you the same image on both monitors.
I doubt you want that for an extended desktop.
One option would be to buy a dp tp vga cable like this to attach the second monitor:
https://www.amazon.com/Cable-Matters-Gold-Plated-DisplayPort/dp/B005RISB3S

You should be able to install a discrete graphics card. If that card can handle both monitors, that is easiest.
Some oem pc's have a simple bios which will disable the integrated video adapter if it detects a discrete adapter installed.
Since you have such a card available, you could try it first.

Extended desktop is a good thing. You should have no problem setting that up in either windows 7 or 10.

Go to nvidia or amd to directly download the appropriate driver...
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smorizio

smorizio

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Jan 22, 2010
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first if the onboard video and cheap older nvidia gpu can be used together. would be the best and cheapest.
the second would be to find older 210/500/600 nvidia gpu one port would be vga the other use vga to dvi adaptor. with his pc look at the power supply if it a 200w-400w unit look at low wattage gpu thta take power only from the pci slot.
 
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glnz

glnz

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smorizio - thanks.

I might actually have a cheap older nvidia in an old computer case. So if I plug one monitor into that card and keep the other monitor plugged into the on-board, do you think I could arrange the monitors side by side and extend the desktop across both (which is what I want to do)?

FORGOT TO MENTION - I boot up with UEFI, security off, legacy on. Make a difference? Will older cards not work?

ALSO, since I dual-boot Win 7 Pro 64-bit and Win 10 Pro 64-bit, will I have a driver problem with an older card when running either OS?

Thanks.
 
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geofelt

geofelt

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Oct 9, 2006
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A splitter cable will give you the same image on both monitors.
I doubt you want that for an extended desktop.
One option would be to buy a dp tp vga cable like this to attach the second monitor:
https://www.amazon.com/Cable-Matters-Gold-Plated-DisplayPort/dp/B005RISB3S

You should be able to install a discrete graphics card. If that card can handle both monitors, that is easiest.
Some oem pc's have a simple bios which will disable the integrated video adapter if it detects a discrete adapter installed.
Since you have such a card available, you could try it first.

Extended desktop is a good thing. You should have no problem setting that up in either windows 7 or 10.

Go to nvidia or amd to directly download the appropriate driver for each os.
You should still find the proper driver.

 
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