Need a new videocard/monitor for 3 monitor setup

[italiano4sure]

I'm looking for this ASAP.. As cheap as i can go for while still maintaining quality, as in, i wont be using this for much gaming at all but i still want it to perform well and maintain well. Its main use is for work. I'm personally a fan of evga but whatever else is quality works for me. I currently have 1 19" acer, and another 20" acer using both dvi slots in my current 8800gt. My question, If i get an LED monitor with hdmi, could i setup the hdmi through my video card and have the 2 acers still using DVI as a 3 way setup? OR will i need a video card with 3 DVI slots? Which would be the best video card option for my case? I prefer Nvidia.

I'm looking at a new monitor as well (the third monitor) LED i suppose, 23-24 inches at least budget not to excede $300. PSU is not an issue.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16824001389&cm_re=samsung_led-_-24-001-389-_-Product

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16824001419&cm_re=samsung_led-_-24-001-419-_-Product

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16824001380&cm_re=samsung_led-_-24-001-380-_-Product

were a few i was looking at.


My current specs,

win xp 32 bit
3 gigs of ram?
intel e6550
abit ip35-e (no SLI)
antec 300 mid tower

I'm coming from the USA so newegg is preferable.

 

[Timop]

To support 3 monitors, you either need a ATI HD5000 card, 2 Nvidia cards, or a Matrox triplehead-to-go.

 

[italiano4sure]

I forgot to mention that matrox is out of the question, Its just not cost effective, and i cant run 2 video cards in my ip35-e if im not mistaken.

 

[Mousemonkey]

Your requirements only leave you with the option of an ATi HD5xxx card and a DP adapter.

 

[italiano4sure]

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130562

this wouldnt work? theres 2 dvi and 1 hdmi..

 

[Timop]

No it wont.

I believe you still have 2 other options if you want to stick with Nvidia however,

The first is getting this.

or sawing the end off of a PCIe X1 slot to fit a X16 card in there.

 

[thereaper123]

^^^ what he said. You need a DisplayPort for a 3 way monitor setup.
BTW, I wouldn't bother with a PCIe x1 card. I think it's better a hd5850 or 5870, so you can also use eyefinity.
Else just buy a new mobo that supports sli.

 

[IROC_69]

^+1

5850 or 5870 is preferable

 

[aebome]

You definitely need an ATI 5xxx card with displayport to use three monitors. There is an inherent limitation in the DVI/HDMI technology that doesn't allow for more than 2 monitors using those types of ports on a single graphics card.

To avoid the adapter mousemonkey mentioned, I would suggest going with a monitor that has a displayport...port.

Dell has some nicely priced monitors with displayport.
http://accessories.us.dell.com/sna/products/Displays/productdetail.aspx?c=us&l=en&s=bsd&cs=04&sku=320-9271

http://accessories.us.dell.com/sna/products/Displays/productdetail.aspx?c=us&l=en&s=bsd&cs=04&sku=320-8103


Getting a displayport cable is much cheaper than a (necessary) active adapater
Cable: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16812816071&cm_re=displayport_cable-_-12-816-071-_-Product
Adapter: http://www.amazon.com/Accell-UltraAV-B087B-002B-DisplayPort-Dual-Link/dp/B002ISVI3U/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1280499793&sr=8-1-spell

EDIT: Included wrong dell links.