Two monitors setup..........

[keyplus90]

I want to use two monitors as that would make it easier for me to do my work. What do I need? There is only one point for monitor at the back of my Desktop PC. I think I need a video card (if I am not wrong)? But do I have to consider any other things or aspects. And finally, is it easy to do it. I can open PC as I have added memory etc before.

[Hymie]

Yes, you will need a video card that supports two monitors.
You will need to determine what slots you have available on your motherboard.
If the PC is fairly new, it is likely that it will be using PCIe – my old PC has standard PCI slots – I don’t think anyone is manufacturing cards for these – but you can still get them second hand on ebay.

You will also have to determine whether your motherboard is compatible with the proposed graphics card in terms of its processing power - this can be a bit hit and miss. You also need to look at the maximum resolution from the graphics card (when running both monitors) and check that it meets your needs. Also check the connectivity to be compatible with your monitors (type of plug/signal).

yes it is easy to do.

[AlBags]

A dual output card .. like a Radeon ... with Hdmi (so long as PC is very recent spec)

[beso]

I use a video card with a DVI and an analog output. Cost just $60.

The processing power is not an issue because the video card takes over the entire graphics processing. It actually relieves the motherboard of a lot of work and frees up the memory normally used by the onboard video.

At work I use two 22 inch, 16:9 monitors. Once you have experienced multiple monitors, one monitor no longer seems enough.

Get MultiMon to support a task bar on the second screen.
http://www.mediachance.com/free/multimon.htm

[keyplus90]

Thanks to all of you. My computer is relatively new (about couple of years old) Dell dual core, 4GB ram and so on.

Would I need a card with two video points or if I add one with single as I already have one, would that work?

[Hymie]

My understanding of adding a graphics card (with a single output) is to enhance the PC display, not to provide (drive) separate display outputs (one via the motherboard and another via the graphics card).

I have a dual display graphics card (although it is a feature I do not use) with one output via DVI and the other VGA. I believe that the motherboard VGA output is disabled, since the PC knows this is now redundant (when it is driving the graphic card), saving processing power.

You might find that using a graphics card with only one display output will not display a different output to that of the motherboard.

I think that if you were to put two graphics cards in a PC, it would confuse the hell out the software trying to drive them both – but it might work.

Given the age of your PC the slots will be PCIe.

[beso]

Hymie is correct. The graphics card takes over the whole video processing and the onboard graphics are automatically disabled. The best solution is a multiple output card.

Just look around to find one that isn't too high end (generally for gaming) as you will be paying money for power you don't really need. Some video cards can cost many hundreds of dollars, use multiple motherboard slots and have a separate connection to the power supply because they need so much power.

Multiple graphics cards can be installed but they generally need to be the same type to allow them to work together for multiple outputs to extend the desktop. You would want to check the specs but I have heard of people using four monitors with two matching dual output graphics cards.

Sometimes different models can be made to work together but it isn't reliable.

[keyplus90]

Thanks to all of you. I would try finding which one would fit my Comp and then I have seen on ebay few that may do the job.