Video Cards For Dual Monitors

[wallaceno1]

I am not the least bit knowledgeable on this subject. Are video cards the same as graphics cards?

I want to hook up two (or three) monitors to one computer. Not for games....just stock market stuff.
1. What will best serve my purposes at some reasonable cost? 2. What will be better for operation....PCI or AGP.
3. What is the difference between a regular PCI card and PCI Express and will the latter work in a regular PCI slot?
4. If I want 2 or three monitors, do I need a card with two cable connectors?
5. My computer already has a monitor connector, can that be used for a third monitor with two more monitors on a card?
6. Will the memory be important for my purposes or will I be well served just using a 16, 32 or 64MB card?

Sure would appreciate some explanations. Many thanks.

Wallace

 

[Nitestick]

1. depends on whether you are building a new pc or installing the card in a pc you already have
2.pci-e is completely different, it has more pins and a different length slot. it also runs at triple the frequency of standard pci.
3.for 2 monitors the most straight forward thing is to use a card with 2 outputs. for 3 monitors i think you will need an SLI/Crossfire setup (dual cards).
4. possibly
5. if you are not gaming you won't need much memory. i would get a low range 128mb card like an FX5700

 

[Trifid]

For 3, you can have a card in the AGP slot and then add as many PCI cards as you want, but they have to be from Nvidia or ATI (or other.) You can't mix them as you can't have two sets of drivers. A PCI 5200 and a AGP 5200 will be fine for setting upto 4 monitors.

 

[wallaceno1]

Thank you very much folks! Let's see if I can do it without screwing it up.

 

[wallaceno1]

Must start looking for a video card now.