Tri-monitor app/gamming

[FamiliarVoice]

Hello reader,
Starting to create my new system with the urge to make a computer that will excel in the area of gamming as well as having the ability to use three monitors simultaneously<two monitors most likely>. Are there any out on the market currently has this feature of tri-monitor output? And will this video card perform excellent in terms of gamming? I realize that the Ati 8500 and above have the ability to do dual monitors however, how much does it cost for the dvi to vga converter? And is the process to set up the dual/tri/etc difficult? for those who have an Ati 9500 and above know if Ati includes the steps to do the dual monitor?

Second, lets say for instance you have two monitors running and you open a game. now would the game be outputted on both screens? or would there be an option to choose where the game would show up on?

One more question that is off the intended subject is whether or not there is a peripheral/hardware that would allow me to connect and transfer files from a laptop to a desktop? perhaps some sort of docking station if perferred. thx alot i look forward to your replies~

 

[phsstpok]

Can't answer most of your questions but to do dual vga monitors the video card needs to have dual RAMDACs. Even if the video card has a DVI connector it can't do dual VGA unless the second RAMDAC is present.

Most DVI connectors are really DVI-I. These have extra pins which carry the analog RGB signals. The DVI-VGA adapter merely changes the pinouts and lets you connect a VGA monitor. If there is no signal on the extra pins then VGA monitor doesn't work and there won't be any signals if you don't have the second RAMDAC.

The adapters only cost $5-$10 because they don't really do anything.

Some Radeon cards, like my 8500OEM, have a DVI-D (or just DVI) connector. Doesn't have the extra pins and a DVI-VGA adapter won't even fit not that it would work if it did fit. My card doesn't have the second RAMDAC.

<b>99% is great, unless you are talking about system stability</b><P ID="edit"><FONT SIZE=-1><EM>Edited by phsstpok on 03/14/03 01:02 AM.</EM></FONT></P>

 

[TheGreatGrapeApe]

From what I've read TRI-monitor gaming ONLY works on the MAtrox Prahellia, just adding a PCI card doesn't do it. And even the 256mb Para. is rather weak in gaming.
DUAL monitor gaming isn't nice unless it's a map/console view on the 2nd monitor.

- You need a licence to buy a gun, but they'll sell anyone a stamp <i>(or internet account)</i> ! <font color=red>RED</font color=red> <font color=green>GREEN</font color=green> :tongue: GA to SK

 

[knowan]

Grape Ape is right. The only vid card out there which supports 3 monitors is the Matrox Parhellia. Unfortunately it's not very good at 3D games.

Most ATI cards support dual monitors, but not all. Some Geforce 4 or higher cards support 2 monitors.

Beware the ramdac issue. For instance GF3 and lower cards had dual VGA outputs, but only 1 ramdac. That ment that while you could hook up 2 monitors, you could only use one at a time.

Another option would be to use a ATI card with Hydravision and either an PCI vid card or an onboard vid card hooked up to the third. That's a bit tricky to set up though, and of course the third monitor would have a different performance from the other 2.

And yes you can have 2 different pictures on 2 different monitors. That's called extending the desktop. Look it up in your Windows help file (Start --> Help --> Index --> type "extend").

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[TheGreatGrapeApe]

Knowan, just a little correction, you can't use and AGP card with the onboard, as they both use the AGP bus, however you CAN use the onboard with a PCI.
I currently use an AGP card and a PCI card, and it works great,except that the res. of the monitors is different, so the weaker PCI gets the smaller montior.

- You need a licence to buy a gun, but they'll sell anyone a stamp <i>(or internet account)</i> ! <font color=red>RED</font color=red> <font color=green>GREEN</font color=green> :tongue: GA to SK