3 Monitor setup with Nvidia GT 240 + ?

[drtanz]

Hi I have an ASUS P6T SE motherboard with an NVIDIA GeForce GT 240 graphics card (512MB) already installed. I would like to connect 3 monitors to my PC but apparently the card only supports two concurrent ones.

I use my PC mainly for web design and development, plus recreation such as watching movies, however I don't use it for gaming.

Monitor sizes and inputs they support
17 inch: VGA
24 inch monitor: HDMI/VGA
23 inch: DVI/VGA

What is the best option for me to add the 3rd monitor?
My main consideration is price, I don't want to spend too much money just for adding another monitor to my setup. My PC runs pretty quietly now and I want it to remain like that, so noisy cards are a big no for me.
I've read about USB to DVI adapters but it seems they are not so powerful as proper graphics cards.
The other option would be to add another card to my existing one, something basic that can run my third monitor. I'm not sure if this is at all possible, and what cards you suggest.
And the 3rd option would be to take out my card and replace it with an ATI card that supports 3 outputs out of the box.

Are there any more options? And what do you recommend? Thanks.

 

[Orcvader]

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=GX-121-MS&groupid=701&catid=1914&subcat=1833

Will do the job supporting the third monitor and should be fine assuming you're not using Vista (Vista doesn't like different cards in the same system but XP/7 is fine).

Decided to choose Nvidia since you already have an Nvidia card, I've seen some cases with Nvidia/AMD cards not playing nicely together.

 

[drtanz]

Thanks, the shops near me have the following ones, are they more or less the same?
512MB EVGA G210 PCI-Express Video Card
Captiva PCI Express VGA Card 8400GS 512MB
Gainward GF210 512MB VGA Card (CRT, DVI & HDMI)
and slightly more expensive:
POV VGA CARD GF210 1GB (LOW PROFILE)
Inno3D GF 210, 1GB VGA Card
1GB Gainward GF210 PCI-Express Video Card

Will having a second graphics card bring any performance boosts to my setup? For example to Photoshop when I'm designing.

 

[cmndr_andi]

Any of those cards would be good, though I would suggest one of the 210 cards over the much older 8400GS.

Of the ones you mention I would go for the EVGA - they are a good brand.

As for performance boost, there really won't be any since the graphics cards will run independently. In fact, because the Geforce 210 card is much slower than the GT 240 then you can expect performance in graphics card accelerated applications to be lower on the 3rd screen, compared to the first two run off the GT 240.

Another option would be to go for a single AMD graphics card that supports three monitors on its own (almost all Nvidia cards by contrast can only run two). This option is more expensive, since the cards that support this cost at least £80 but they offer a single card solution (some are even able to run up to four monitors like this one) and much higher overall performance than a GT 240 - so very useful in graphics card accelerated applications. If you go down this road then unless you are running at least one displayport-capable monitor then you will need an active adapter like this to run the third (and fourth) monitor.