Multiple Graphics Cards

[Juicy]

I have a Dell Vostro at work (I know, I know)...
The issue is that I have a Radeon HD 2400 Pro installed as part of the 'graphics upgrade' which works a treat for two monitors.

The trouble started when I started to need a third monitor.

Having tried a cheap PCI graphics card (I soon found that trying to get a PCI graphics card to work in Windows 7 64bit due to a signed driver issue was a waste of time), I opted for a PCI-e 1x graphics card from Matrox.

Turns out that the card doesn't even initialise - at least it doesn't show up in Windows at all and it's as if I've not even plugged it in.

I am starting to assume that it might be a hardware limitation and you simply can't run two PCI-e cards at the same time.

Does anyone have any advice that doesn't involve me spending £300 on a 4 port gfx card?!

 

[Gav_881]

YOUR BASKET
1 x MSI HD 6450 1024MB GDDR3 Low Profile PCI-Express Graphics Card £31.99
Total : £35.90 (includes shipping : £3.26).




will run 3 monitors for £30, i assume its not for gaming. my mobo doesn't recognize a graphics adapter unless it has a monitor plugged in or the drivers are already installed

 

[Juicy]

Excellent... Hopefully I will be able to coerce the HDMI connection to DVI with an adapter (I've seen them before, so I know they exist!).

Thanks for the link and the recommendation for the card - it's not always obvious that the cards are capable of outputting to 3 monitors at the same time!

No, it's not for gaming, so it sounds perfect.

Cheers!

 

[Orcvader]

It won't output to 3 monitors. You need Displayport to run the 3rd monitor.

However, you can run it with your current 2400 Pro. Windows 7 is usually good for multiple GPUs, strange that the PCI and Matrox one didn't work.

 

[ChocolateStarfishRammer]

YOUR BASKET
1 x MSI HD 6450 1024MB GDDR3 Low Profile PCI-Express Graphics Card £31.99
Total : £35.90 (includes shipping : £3.26).




will run 3 monitors for £30, i assume its not for gaming. my mobo doesn't recognize a graphics adapter unless it has a monitor plugged in or the drivers are already installed

Incorrect

It woun't output to 3 monitors. You need Displayport to run the 3rd monitor.

However, you can run it with your current 2400 Pro. Windows 7 is usually good for multiple GPUs, strange that the PCI and Matrox one didn't work.

This

 

[Juicy]

Thanks for the heads up.
I've confirmed that you need the ~£70 variant of the card with a displayport to do three monitors.

I unfortunately can't run more than 1 PCI-e x16 card as the dell vostro is a rather cut-back spec. It has a single 16x and a single 1x (and then some old PCI slots) - hence my issue.

Unfortunately I think I'm stuck and must resign myself to getting a USB video adapter as the only other way I can see of getting this working.