Card upgrade for 3 monitors

[kowalskiWalt]

Hi all

I've never upgraded any components before so new to all this.

I'm looking to upgrade my graphics card so i can connect 3 monitors to my system. Its not for any gaming or anything just work/study purposes.

Currently have an ATI Radeon HD 4300/4500 Series card installed in my dell inspirion.

Are there any cards out there that would allow me to connect 3 monitors and would be a straight forward swap for the card i have now?

Thanks!

 

[bremen1874]

What model of Inspiron?

What combination of video connections do you require?

 

[wakadoo]

what connections are available on the 3 monitors.

 

[kowalskiWalt]

Its an Inspiron 546.

I have 2 monitors...1 with HDMI and 1 with VGA

I will buy a 3rd to suit the card if i can get 1

Thanks

 

[Quartz]

Your PC should have a 300W PSU inside so any basic GPU should work. OCUK sell the Nvidia GT 730 which has 1 HDMI, 1 VGA, and 1 DVI port, for a total of 3. DVI is deprecated but you can convert it to HDMI.

If you want basic gaming functionality, then a 1050 Ti is the way to go.

My basket at Overclockers UK:

• 1 x Palit GeForce GT 730 SILENT 1024MB GDDR3 PCI-Express Graphics Card= £39.95
• 1 x Zotac GeForce GTX 1050Ti Mini 4096MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card= £158.99

Total: £208.84 (includes shipping: £9.90)
​

 

[kowalskiWalt]

Thanks for the advice.

Much appreciated

 

[bremen1874]

Although I doubt it'll be an issue in this case a card with a VGA output isn't very future proof. If/when you replace the VGA monitor you may need to replace the video card again to get back to having three displays connected.

Unfortunately, with the PC you have your options are limited.

 

[kowalskiWalt]

If i can get a relatively cheap card which will be compatible with my setup i will be happy for now. I hope to buy a new computer maybe next year if i can manage it. Just need to make sure my new monitor has all the right connections for future system

 

[bremen1874]

Any new monitor should have HDMI (and probably DisplayPort as well) and will be okay for future use.

If you get that GT 730 your existing monitors will occupy the VGA and HDMI outputs leaving you with the DVI spare. You can connect an HDMI monitor to a DVI port using a DVI to HDMI cable or adapter.

 

[kowalskiWalt]

That sounds good to me. I might just get one ordered up soon. Then go shopping for monitors

Thanks!

 

[kowalskiWalt]

Just checked the specs of the gt 730. It says a max of 2 concurrent displays

 

[Quartz]

Just checked the specs of the gt 730. It says a max of 2 concurrent displays

That's not quite correct. Some models do; some do not. The one to which I liked is a 64-bit card and does support 3 displays. It is only the 128 bit DDR3 card that only supports 2 displays.

 

[kowalskiWalt]

Thanks for that Quartz. My mistake. Thats why im here....i need the help lol