New Graphics Card???

[itsmekarak]

Hello, I'm an accountant and just started with a new company that has provided me the following unit: Mini Tower Dell 960 currently with one VGA output. I currently am running it with a dual monitor setup both monitors are Dell E1910H: one monitor directly connected via VGA and the second connected via Plugable USB 3.0 to VGA / DVI / HDMI Video Graphics Adapter. As far as system performance, the PC is fine. As far as graphic performance, I'm dying. I look at numbers all day long…it's not like I'm wanting monitors to game with. But the clarity is horrific and I'm convinced that the cause is either the two outdated monitors I have, the outdated graphics adapter or both which is what I'm leaning towards. My question is this….

Does this pc currently have a graphics card or a video card? Can I upgrade this card to have a dual output HDMI instead of the one VGA? If so, what type of card do you suggest? And last, do you think this will fix the clarity issues I'm having?

Any and all help you can provide is greatly appreciated!

 

[PP Mguire]

Is this the tower you specifically have?

https://www.dell.com/downloads/glob...sktop-optiplex-960-technical-guidebook-en.pdf

 

[itsmekarak]

Yes, you are correct. To confirm your findings, I went to Dell's website and ran a search by service tag to generate the exact model. Here's the link:

Support for OptiPlex 960 | Diagnostics | Dell US

Let me know if you have any other questions. Thank you in advance for your assistance, Kara

 

[PP Mguire]

Ok, you can put something like a cheap GT 710 in there easily, which will give you the outputs you need. Half of your problem is because you're using a VGA connection which is analog and fuzzy. The other half of your problem is the fact that you're using monitors with such a low resolution.

You can fix the GPU issue easily for 40 bucks.
https://www.amazon.com/MSI-GT-710-2...ie=UTF8&qid=1495656370&sr=1-4&keywords=gt+730

Your other issue is more costly which is to replace the monitors with something 1080p and cheap. Something like this.
https://www.amazon.com/Acer-G226HQL...rds=monitor+1080p&refinements=p_85:2470955011

 

[itsmekarak]

Thank you so much - this is music to my ears. Let me ask you this...

I've decided to go ahead and purchase two new monitors as well. I see the graphics card you sent me has one HDMI port and know that the monitors use HDMI connections. How do I work around this without loosing valuable clarity?

On a side note, this is the monitor I found. I think these are great for the price, but since this is coming from someone who doesn't stay on top of technology, I would appreciate your opinion. https://www.amazon.com/23-inch-Wide-Screen-VX238H-Response-Speakers/dp/B00ANKMNXO/ref=sr_1_1?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1495658519&sr=1-1&keywords=asus+VX238H

Thank you again for your continued help, Kara

 

[PP Mguire]

This is cheaper, and you'll appreciate the IPS panel more.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0148NNKTC/ref=psdc_1292115011_t1_B00ANKMNXO

One will use HDMI, the other uses DVI.

 

[carnageX]

One will use HDMI, the other uses DVI.

Just to expand on this: both HDMI and DVI are digital signal, and are equivalent quality.