dell optiplex 780 graphics options

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hi - long story short, i have the above pc, running dual monitors, and i would like 3, is there a way to achieve this?

onboard cant be enabled with a graphics card.
ive tried plugging a vga card in - only picks up one or the other

is there a card that supports 3+ monitors that would fit?
i only have one PCI, and one PCIe slot

thanks a lot
 
You say you have the 780, but there are 4 versions of that model, which you don't specify.

According to the spec, there is:

MT which has 2xPCI, 1xPCI-e16, 1xPCI-e1 and supports full height card. Not sure on card length though and support for dual-slot cards.
DT which has 2xPCI, 1xPCI-e16 and supports full height card. Not sure on card length though and support for dual-slot cards.
SFF which has 1xPCI, 1xPCI-e16 and supports half height card. Not sure on card length though and support for dual-slot cards.
USFF which has no expansion.

The guide book online suggest RADEON HD 3450/3470 or Nvidia 9300GE none of which are three output cards.
According to Nvidia a card like this should support 3 outputs at the same time, and should fit in the case, but it is not very powerful for games.
Again, something like this should suport 3 displays, but it might be a tighter fit in the case.
This supports 4, but again might be too big.
Only the GTX730 will fit in the SFF version but not sure if you can use the third port like this.

To work out whether a card will fit, you will have to take the side off the case, and measure the space available around the PCI-e slot, and the length between the back plate and HDD racks or the front of the case.
 
going by what ive said above, it looks like i have the SFF version, 1 of each port and its half height.

power isnt necessary, its just for working at home, and the odd bit of trading if ive time.

ill take a look at your sugestions. thanks
 
Have a look at:
https://www.overclockers.co.uk/msi-...ddr3-pci-express-graphics-card-gx-317-ms.html

This ships with the necessary low profile bracket, and according to NVIDIA (and other news sites), this natively supports 3 Screens (as opposed to some of the older cards on NVIDIA's site e.g. GT610, GT210, that just say Multi-Monitor: Yes)

Whilst I can't confirm this (I have this card, but don't have 3 screens with the right connections to try), from experience when trying to run 3 or 4 screens from the same graphics card, it normally only works if at least 2 of the 3 screens are the same type/resolution, and adapters (e.g. DVI to VGA do not normally work).

E.g. with that card, you should be able to run 1 monitor on VGA port, 1 DVI connected monitor, and 1 connected with HDMI->DVI cable (or directly with HDMI if your monitor has it).

Sources:
http://www.geforce.co.uk/hardware/desktop-gpus/geforce-gt-710/specifications
http://www.gainward.com/main/edm/GT710Series/gw_edm_GT710Series.php
http://www.palit.biz/enews/event/worldwide/GT710/Palit-GTX710_series-en_01.php
 
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