Hello Again I got the new video card in the mail today, the one Madhatter recommend. But I have a question.... I'm going to be using dual monitors but the card only has an output for one. I've read through the files and it looks like I can have both my old and new video card plugged in at the same time. I just have to make one the primary choice. My new card has the TV function but my old card does not. I'm confused as to how it will all work. I want to be able to watch TV on part of one monitor and still use the second monitor in an extended desktop. But that means the PC will be using both cards at the same time, right? I'd watch TV on the primary monitor with new video card and do PC work on the secondary monitor on my old card? Will I be able to watch TV on the secondary monitor that's not hooked up to the new video card? I guess what Im really asking is if they two video cards work as one device or will there be a wall separating the two. One is 128 MB and the other is 64 MB so I'm curious as to how that works out as well. I don't have the second monitor yet so I can't try it out. I just want to make sure it all will work out before I keep the card.
I know you can use mutliple VGA(or should i say DVi) cards on Mac Pros (PCiE slot), but if you have more than one video card on a PC you have to choose which one you re gonna use from the BIOS , so everything else is just..moot from there on.
So, you did get the 7500 All in Wonder, then? Since it is a PCI, then you can use that as a secondary videocard. Just keep the current videocard you have in there, you don't have to change the settings in the bios, the primary display will still be thru AGP. Infact, most systems auto-detect the VGA output wherever the monitor is hooked up to. For example, if you have it hooked up in the PCI video card (the one you just bought), the PC should automatically display windows thru there. As long as you installed the new videocard, installed the drivers and all of its software, then you should be fine. You can just keep using your old vga card as primary display. When you get your second monitor just hook it up to the PCI card, and just configure the display properties to have a secondary display. Thus, you end up with two displays.
Are you saying that you can have a dual-screen configuration (an extended desktop over two monitors) using two different video cards? That sounds a bit odd... My experience on double video cards comes from on-board vs AGP cards, in which case you choose which one you want to use through the bios (as primary) althgough many times the AGP is the one chosen by default if detected.
I'm sure that even with onboard w/ AGP you can have dual display, but that might depend on the board itself. Anyway, I did have dual-display back on my old PC where I had two PCI video cards, one a matrox, the other TNT2.
The instructions for the ATI require you to remove the old video card and uninstall the old drivers, which I did. Was that just for the purpose of installing the new drivers and card? I can add the old card back in again and reinstall the drivers?
That is if you're replacing the old video card, which you are not. So, just pop it in while u still have your current one.
So while we're on it, I don't need to change my AGP GeForce 3 Ti200 to get dual-display? I just need a PCI video card? (something to sit nicely next to ODEM)
New problem... No audio so far. I've tried changing the settings around but no luck. I have a line going from the video card to the sound card. It's plugged into the rear mic/surround slot, and I choose "rear mic" when the selection screen comes up. In the TV setup screen, it tells me that it it can't find a an input called "rear mic" on my sound mixer, and asks me to choose between CD or Input device. With any option I choose, nothing changes. I have the TV running through composite cables into the back of my PC. The picture is good. I've tried using the coax cable option but the result is the same: picture with no sound. Another bonus: The channels above 13 are scrambled so all of the cable channels I wanted to watch with this are now out...? I'm using the composite inputs becasue I can get the higher channels...but I lose the ability to change the channel from my desktop. Anyway, back to the sound issue. The DVD player has sound. That actually required another download before it would even play anything. The ATI page is a mess regarding this. I'm using Multimedia Center 7.9 now which is the "control center" for all of the options (TV/DVD/CD...etc). I went to the ATI page to see if there were any updated drivers or software. The ATI pages said that Dell offers no support for versions 8.2 or higher, and that any updates should be done through the Dell website. I have the XPS400. I go to the Dell website and there's no mention of anMultimedia Center download. I downloaded the newest Multimedia Center version from the ATI website, 9.whatever, and the software stopped working and I had to reinstall everything. So, uh, any tips?
Don't bother. Keep the current version of Media Center because if you update drivers/software you will experience a lag, which is noticeable and costly when you're playing a videogame. Just stay with the 7.9version that came in the CD. Hook up the audio cable to the Line-In port, nothing else. It is usually a blue colored port.. Make sure that your audio card is set up to where the line-in port is actually a line-in port because some sound cards (especially onboard audio that digitally switches from 2-channel speakers to 6channel, keep it 2channel, otherwise get at least a Sound Blaster Live! 5.1) can switch ports incase you add extra speakers, so maybe that line-in might be default as another set of speaker-outputs. Wehn running TV setup, let it scan all the channels. make sure that the cable is screwed in all the way, could be loose connection that could be causing the scrambling.
The port I'm using on the rear has two functions, one is for surround sound speakers and one is for a rear mic. Anytime something is plugged into that port it asks what it is, a rear mic or a surround sound speaker set. I've chosen both and there isn't any change. The line-in port is on the front of my PC, meaning I'd need to get an extender cable just to reach it, then have it wrap around the side of my tower. I'll give that a shot but obviously I'd rather not have it set up that way.
this might sound dumb, but have u checked the sound-card settings in the control panel as well as Volume Control on windows? (that tends to fuck up alot)
Yeah, I've tried just about everything, checked all volumes, etc. But in my desire to constantly tinker I installed the original card back in. Things worked better than expected since I was able to create an extended desktop on two monitors. That was actually another deal breaker that I had to check. I have one monitor connected to each video card, both analog. My original card has an availble DVI slot and it looks like it's being recognized as available in the display settings. I guess this means I can hook up a third monitor to that? But the bad news... It seems that there isn't a driver than can handle the situation entirely. The TV software only loads when the new video card is installed alone. But when it's installed alone there can't be an extended desktop since there's no second input. So I add my original video card in which has an analog and DVI slot. I install the drivers for that. That's when it recognizes 3 inputs for monitors. But...the TV software stops working... It's a neverending circle heh. Basically I can get both to work on their own but not together. I'm using the extended desktop now so there's no TV. When I try to load the TV software it says "Check the Windows Device Manager to ensure that the correct video driver has been installed and is working properly before attempting to restart TV." I've tried reinstalling the drivers from the CD as well as other's that I've downloaded. No change. Hopefully the sound issue will clear up when I get an extender to use the front line-in. The video issue might be the last issue...
That has been an eye-opening experience for me. I ll keep a look out for any PCI cards that go for cheap, as I do have uses for a dual screen setup in order to complete my work faster. Too bad I have two CRTs lying on the ground (fully working) but I use an LCD screen on my desk. Finding a dumped LCD isn't as easy as finding a dumped but functional CRT :/
Yeah, dual screens is the best way to go. Once you go dual you never go back. That's why I'm using the dual screen set up and passing on the TV even tho I just spent the money on TV hardware. I had no idea the whole video card issue could be so tricky...
Blame the TWAIN drivers for lack of better general hardware and expandability support. What's the cheapest/used LG flatron I could get ?Do i hear any offers?
Yeah at this point I'm going to keep the card in just as a cheaper version of a Matrox. I'll probably pick up a used 15" flat TV with PC inputs as a thrid monitor and just consider myself done...
