Hi Folks,
I have a Dell XPS 400 with the following video cards:
PCIe x16 - ATI Radeon X300 SE (DVI & VGA) - [VGA output has stopped working!]
PCI - ATI Radeon 7000 (VGA) - [running on the XP driver]
I just rebuilt my computer because Windows has been slowing down and the VGA output on my X300 video card started giving me a blank screen. I formatted and re-installed Windows XP Media Center Edition 2005 SP3 and all the newest drivers but the X300 video card is still giving me problems.
I have three monitors and a projector; all of which I'd like to be able to run at the same time:
15" LCD (VGA 768 x 1024 portrait) x 2
24" LCD (DVI 1900 x 1200 landscape)
Projector (VGA 1024 x 768 landscape)
Typically I use either the projector or the three LCDs; however, there are times when I'm working on the computer while my girlfriend watches a movie. In order for this to happen I have to give up one of my 15" LCDs and use a VGA switchbox to send the video up to the projector.
Since one of my cards has lost VGA capability and the other one is a single VGA out and doesn't technically have an MCE driver, I'd like to find two new video cards. When I say new, I mean new to me; older cards that have the features below are fine and probably preferred as they are cheaper...
My requirements are as follows:
1. I need 1+ DVI output and 3+ VGA outputs (so I can get rid of the VGA switchbox).
2. Two of the three VGA outputs need to support portrait mode (left and right 90 degree rotation).
3. They need to fit in two of the three slots available: PCIe x16, PCIe x4, PCI
4. They need to be MCE compatible.
5. They need to be relatively inexpensive. In an age where a refurbished quad core media pc can be bought for $400, I can't make sense of spending $100+ on a video card. I'm not a gamer, nor a 3-D designer; I'd just like a dual VGA output card for web browsing and word processing on my two 15" LCDs and programming, web design, and high definition movies on the 24" LCD and projector.
So..., can anyone suggest a set of cards for me? I know you all have your own setups which include more than one display. So what are you using and how's it working for you?
-Paul