Dual monitor question/suggestions....

gballard

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In the past I have tried adding a second PCI video card to my system in order to have dual/multiple displays but I have had no luck getting it to work. The AGP card would work fine...but its like the PCI card never got any signal at all....the light on the second monitor would just flash on and off...anyone else run into this? Now I have what I would like to think is a pretty good video card....its a Crucial Radeon 8500 LE....and I was hoping for some suggestions as to what PCI card would complement it. I have my system specs in my signature if any other info is needed. Any help would be appreciated...:)
 
Originally posted by gballard
In the past I have tried adding a second PCI video card to my system in order to have dual/multiple displays but I have had no luck getting it to work. The AGP card would work fine...but its like the PCI card never got any signal at all....the light on the second monitor would just flash on and off...anyone else run into this? Now I have what I would like to think is a pretty good video card....its a Crucial Radeon 8500 LE....and I was hoping for some suggestions as to what PCI card would complement it. I have my system specs in my signature if any other info is needed. Any help would be appreciated...:)

the 8500LE does not support dual monitor ?

I thought it did...

I currently run an agp and pci video card and do not have any problems... had some issues but a reformat and reinstall of drivers cleared it all up...
 
http://www.realtimesoft.com/multimon/db.asp


This should help.

This site has a huge database of video card combinations and how well they work together. It is a public community. If you have a video card combo that is not listed anywhere, post your stats to the DB.

Good hunting.
 
i agree with sazar... i'm pretty sure your card has both vga and dvi (the white one) connections on it. if you want to turn your dvi into another vga connection, you merely need a dvi-vga adapter. about $8.

[edit] we're wrong with this one, sazar. crucial says, "NOTE: The DVI-I connector is not available on the RADEON™ 8500LE." most other 8500le's have it, but crucial must've left it off to lower the price.
 
If the card has dual monitor support by using VGA over the DVI connector there should have been an adapter in the box. You shouldn't need to buy one.

I have never seen a dual head card that didn't have the adapter in the box.

Not all 8500LEs had the DVI connector on the card. Just tv out and the standard VGA. I can't find any information on the Crucial version because it seems Cruicial no longer supports the card.

I would still recommend looking at that Multi Mon database and seeing if anyone has your card listed on there anywhere.
 
Originally posted by taurus
i agree with sazar... i'm pretty sure your card has both vga and dvi (the white one) connections on it. if you want to turn your dvi into another vga connection, you merely need a dvi-vga adapter. about $8.

[edit] we're wrong with this one, sazar. crucial says, "NOTE: The DVI-I connector is not available on the RADEON™ 8500LE." most other 8500le's have it, but crucial must've left it off to lower the price.

http://www.pcstats.com/articleview.cfm?articleID=1186

it has dual display :)

if it doesn't have the dvi-crt adapter... thats all that is needed... and is a lot cheaper than a new video card :)

happy hunting gballard...

it does'nt have dvi-I... but it has dvi-D... which is single monitor suport in from the dvi port on hte card...
 
Dual Monitor setup is sweet. Im using it at work on my 7500 card. Hmm can I use catalyst drivers on this card?
 
Originally posted by Terrahertz
Dual Monitor setup is sweet. Im using it at work on my 7500 card. Hmm can I use catalyst drivers on this card?

catalyst is a unified driver set... I still recommend setting up a restore point if you are using winxp... in case :)
 
Im on Win2000...hmm. Now if this driver will increase 2D speed and better image then its a go. well which Im sure it does :)
 
It does have the DVI connector on the card...and I did buy a dvi to-vga converter...but...apparently the dvi connector isn't "wired" in because when I put the converter on it...nothing happened...got no signal at all on my second monitor...and when I looked at the card again....it looked like it wasn't connected or something. I do have a Verto TNT2 M64 32MB PCI card here that a friend gave me....think that would work ok?
 
Originally posted by gballard
It does have the DVI connector on the card...and I did buy a dvi to-vga converter...but...apparently the dvi connector isn't "wired" in because when I put the converter on it...nothing happened...got no signal at all on my second monitor...and when I looked at the card again....it looked like it wasn't connected or something. I do have a Verto TNT2 M64 32MB PCI card here that a friend gave me....think that would work ok?

it should be wired... if there is a problem with the card... and you bought it from crucial I would recommend rma'ing the card for a working sample..

you can use 2 different makers cards but I recommend sticking to one make... makes driver installation and operation simpler... IMO... though the tnt2 should work absolutely fine..

make sure in bios you designate your primary display unit as AGP...

but like I said.. contact crucial and let them no... quick way to get to their page is clocking in my sig :D
 
Well...I bought the card back in March...not sure if that will be a problem or not. I went to Crucial's website and logged into my account and pulled up the Invoice then sent customer support an email referencing that invoice and also told them what appeared to be wrong with the card...will have to wait and see what they say about it...I noticed on their website that they don't seem to offer the 8500 LE any more....would be cool if they sent the 9100 to replace it eh?...the 9800 Pro would be even better...but I don't imagine they would do that and I don't have the $399 to buy the 9800...oh well...will let ya know what happens here.
 
Originally posted by gballard
Well...I bought the card back in March...not sure if that will be a problem or not. I went to Crucial's website and logged into my account and pulled up the Invoice then sent customer support an email referencing that invoice and also told them what appeared to be wrong with the card...will have to wait and see what they say about it...I noticed on their website that they don't seem to offer the 8500 LE any more....would be cool if they sent the 9100 to replace it eh?...the 9800 Pro would be even better...but I don't imagine they would do that and I don't have the $399 to buy the 9800...oh well...will let ya know what happens here.

8500le == 9100 :)

only major difference.. fullstream support in hardware in the 9100.. :)

though you are unlikely to really notice the difference much..

if they send you a working card... that would be nice :)

most cards ship.. if bought retail... with a 1-3 yr warranty... so you SHOULD be covered...
 
well I got an email back from Customer Service at Crucial asking me to send the question to Support...so maybe I will get an answer on it by early next week...
 
Originally posted by gballard
well I got an email back from Customer Service at Crucial asking me to send the question to Support...so maybe I will get an answer on it by early next week...

keep us posted m8 :)
 
I think I am screwed on this now...I did some checking at Crucial's website and found this....

The DVI connector is typically used to connect digital flat-panel monitors. DVI connectors come in two varieties: DVI-I and DVI-D. The Crucial Radeon 9100 has a DVI-D connector and can only accommodate a digital monitor.

DVI connectors are typically used to connect digital flat-panel monitors to your computer. Crucial's Radeon 9100 video cards can accommodate more than one monitor on a single video card. The Crucial Radeon 9100, with its DVI-D output, can only accommodate 1 analog monitor on the DB-15 connector and one digital display on the DVI connector.

Since this card has the DVI-D connector...I guess I am out of luck as far as getting a DVI to VGA convertor to work on this eh?...:(

BTW...like Sazar said...the 9100 is basically the same as the 8500 LE
 
Originally posted by gballard
I think I am screwed on this now...I did some checking at Crucial's website and found this....

The DVI connector is typically used to connect digital flat-panel monitors. DVI connectors come in two varieties: DVI-I and DVI-D. The Crucial Radeon 9100 has a DVI-D connector and can only accommodate a digital monitor.

DVI connectors are typically used to connect digital flat-panel monitors to your computer. Crucial's Radeon 9100 video cards can accommodate more than one monitor on a single video card. The Crucial Radeon 9100, with its DVI-D output, can only accommodate 1 analog monitor on the DB-15 connector and one digital display on the DVI connector.

Since this card has the DVI-D connector...I guess I am out of luck as far as getting a DVI to VGA convertor to work on this eh?...:(

BTW...like Sazar said...the 9100 is basically the same as the 8500 LE

it should still work fine... the adaptor should convert it fine...

dvi-I or dvi-D is a different matter... the convertor should allow for a second vga display to be added to your setup...
 
I know what you are saying...I wonder if the converter I bought off EBay was defective...hmmm...well I need another video card for the new computer I am buying...The Atlantis Radeon 9100 looks like a decent choice....its $76 at newegg.com....I don't need a super high end card because I am not a huge gamer...I will just buy the 9100 for the new computer I am building...but will use it in the current system until I get the new one built. I am gonna email both newegg and sapphire and make sure I can run the dual monitors like I am wanting to...this card also has the DVI-D connector on it...
 

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