need a card for my dual 2001fps

J

J Macker

[H]F Junkie
Joined
Jan 25, 2001
Messages
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Alrighty... I just ordered my second 2001fp from Dell, referring to the hotdeals forum for $516.
Anyhow, my 9800 Pro only has one DVI and I figure that I'd better buy a PCI card with DVI so I don't get streaking and receive optimal picture quality.
I also do not want to be limited to purchasing video cards with 2 dvi outputs only in the future. I'd rather have the flexibility of just adding my pci card with a DVI port to get the second port. Also, I'd rather not spend the money on an xfx 6600gt, as that means I've got a 9800pro that I need to sell as well.
Also, it would be best to purchase an Ati card so I don't need to worry about conflicting drivers for the pci card, correct?

So, I'm looking at the Powercolor Radeon 7000 pci from newegg for around $43 shipped.
http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=14-131-211&depa=1

I've got a few questions beforehand though...
1. Considering that the card only supports DirectX 7.1, will it work on my XPsp2 system with the 9.1 version?
2. Will I be able to seamlessly have a split desktop running these two monitors on 2 different cards?
3. Is there a better option, considering tha I will not be gaming using the second monitor ?
 
ARGH! alright, I don't normally get frustrated, but I already stated reasons why I have decided NOT to use vga or get 6600gt. shall I reiterate?

Dude, $40 pci card vs. $200 6600GT.
also, after the 6600GT, I would ALWAYS have to buy a vid card with 2 dvi ports. While there are some, I'd like more options. Again, I already stated this in the original post.
And, you want me to use 1600x1200 on a vga port with an LCD? Now, I've read reviews and all, but the vga port cannot handle that resolution with LCDs. vga is an analog output. it has to convert the signal to digital and would induce color distortion and streaking with that much data throughput.
Sure, I'll try it when it gets here, but I'm planning on buying a pci card just to run this second 2001fp anyhow. Once again, I already stated these reasons in the original post.

If you'd like to buy my 9800pro for $200 so I can buy the cheapo xfx 6600gt card, then I may do that. otherwise, I like my 9800pro just fine. My last card was the xfx 5900 card, and I was not too happy with the quality & drivers. things just didn't seem to work as smoothly.
 
That card should work fine.Or if you can find a cheapo 9200 with DVI that would be better.And dont worry about some people in here there answer to nearly every thread lately is 6600GT SLI 6800GT lmao.
The 9200 is DX8.1 And a newer card so it will be a better option than the 7000.More driver support.And i cant see you having much probz with SP2 but never say never with microshaft lmao.
 
I would go with the 7000, you should be fine. Before I got my 2005fp, I had 3 CRTs using a 6800U and a Voodoo4. If my Voodoo could handle XPw/SP2, a 7000 should be fine.

Also....UltraMon is your friend, ATIs dual monitor stuff sucks.
 
thanks for the replies. Would there really be any benefit to going with the 9200 over the 7000 if I'm only using the 2nd monitor for desktop? With the Radeon unified driver, it doesn't seem as if driver support would be an issue
 
I had an older Dell with PCI only and when I got it it had a PCI 7500 in it and the XP desktop seemed sluggish at times. I would drag windows and be able to see them redraw as they were dragging. I later replaced the 7500 with a 9200 PCI when I gave that box to my little sister and all the sluggishness went away. Now it may just be my experience and coincidence at that, but the 9200 did seem better overall in just normal winxp 2d desktop stuff.
 
trust me, you dont want a PCI card to drive that beatiful screen, the best you can do for yourself is to get a dual-DVI card....forums.2cpu.com will have a collection of cards for dual DVI output.

PCI bandwidth sucks....I have experienced it......i am running 3 21inchers...and the one connected to the PCI card sucks
 
tshen_83 said:
trust me, you dont want a PCI card to drive that beatiful screen, the best you can do for yourself is to get a dual-DVI card....forums.2cpu.com will have a collection of cards for dual DVI output.

PCI bandwidth sucks....I have experienced it......i am running 3 21inchers...and the one connected to the PCI card sucks
Click to expand...


I did a bit of testing today, and I can confirm this. I only have a PCI Voodoo4, which is VGA, I can say that switching from card to card, is was a noticably a better picture. It all seemed faster, crisper, and more vibrant. That might be becasue I was using a voodoo, and that could just be old enough to product a crap picture, or if it was the PCI, but in light of these findings, concidering how nice of a monitor you do have, maybe you should sell off your 9800Pro and get a 6600GT. Don't get pissed at me, i realized this is not what you want to do...but in your case, i think you should concider it, its probably the best route. As far as being limited to buying a dual dvi card from here out, i dont think that will be an issue. If I have to bet, come the next generation of cards, they will all be dual DVI with converters for VGA anyways. Just my .02, take it or leave it.
 
Viper87227: Thanks for your very informative post. Unfortunately, in light of excitement last night, I did order the 9200 from allstarshop.com and they've already shipped the card, according to their website.
Now I wish I would've waited a little bit longer. Anyhow, I'll post when I have everything set up. I don't use animations or anything on desktop, just the "optimal performance" visual setting. So I hope it won't be nearly as taxing on the pci bandwidth.
 
J Macker said:
Viper87227: Thanks for your very informative post. Unfortunately, in light of excitement last night, I did order the 9200 from allstarshop.com and they've already shipped the card, according to their website.
Now I wish I would've waited a little bit longer. Anyhow, I'll post when I have everything set up. I don't use animations or anything on desktop, just the "optimal performance" visual setting. So I hope it won't be nearly as taxing on the pci bandwidth.
Click to expand...

Be sure to post back with what you find. Because the 9200 is a newer card, you might be fine. I would be interested in knowing how it works out for you though.

BTW how do you like those displays? I had dual 2005fpws' for a bit, and it rocked.
 
well, just got the PCI radeon 9200se sapphire today. 128mb version.
The DVI is SO much better than the svga, and as stated before, svga limits the 2001fp to 1280x1024.

As far as performance goes, even while copying 800mb files from one pata hard drive to another, playing full screen dvds isn't hampered & doesn't show any stuttering.
All in all, the second 2001fp has one stuck green pixel in the middle of the screen and about 5 stuck pixels total. as long as I'm sitting with my eyes about 2 feet from the screens, I can't really notice them.
no matter how "clean" you try to make the cords, it's always going to be a jungle.


here's some pics of the bad boys...
comp1.txt



comp2.txt
 
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