dual monitor setup...need help!

[hulkster]

alright, my mom has a brand new dell 15" lcd flat panel monitor that she is going to give me and i want to use it with my existing flat panel 15" monitor. so im now thinking about the dual monitor setup thing. never done it before, but want to. i know you can do it with 2 graphics cards, or with one graphics card with the two outputs on it. my question is first, which setup should i use...1 or 2? i have an nvidia geforce ti4200 (yeah its old) as my graphics card right now. i play medal of honor a lot and eventually will get a better card when doom3 comes out. im telling you this, because im wondering if i can keep my ti4200 in my pc instead of having to buy a new one. i read something about that you have to use the card that is closest to the processor as your primary or master card which will be your main display....well that card is my ti4200 which is of course agp and since i have only 1 agp slot...does that mean im going to have to buy a crappy card to put in a pci slot? will that effect performance at all, or do i just need a crappy card to run that second monitor since im assuming i wont be running any games off that card. i just need some help with this as ive never done it before.

[Goz]

I would say your best bet going forward, knowing you are going to upgradein the next 30 days or so would be to invest in a multi head 3d gaming card. I've had better luck using ATI cards with multiple monitors as the hydravision options are top notch and very simple to configure. I would suggest either the Radeon 9800Pro or 9800XT as giving the best performance for the buck. The 800XT is the king of the crop now, but at $400+ it's not super practical.

I've been reading a bit however that NVIDIA's latest is actually supposed to render DOOM ]I[ better, but at the same time I've heard the opposite of Half Life II.

Hope this helps..

-Goz

[GGKoul]

Not sure if a 2 screen setup would be ideal.  As the the middle of your view would be spilt between the 2 screen.   The ideal for gaming would be to get 3 screens, Left Middle Right.


Dual monitor info:  http://www.tweakheadz.com/dual_monitor_solution_for_DAW.html


Hope this helps!
-GGKoul

[GGKoul]

I have an overclocked ATI 9700 AIW that runs faster then a stock 9800.  And I have no issued running dual monitors.

[hulkster]

wow, thanks for the great responses guys....such a great message board...ah yes.....okay anyway, my dual monitor thing isnt really for gaming all that much, but more just for a "cool factor".  i have an extra lcd monitor for free that works great, so why not use it???  thats kinda my thing here.  i will be upgrading soon probably to the 9800pro since its not too pricey and that will run my dual setup nicely.  i was just trying to explore some different options.  as long as the 9800pro will run the dual setup then thats what ill go with.  i cant really get a third lcd monitor off hand for free   so im just sticking with 2 for now.  thanks again for the advice.