Video Card
Posted: Wed Oct 30, 2013 7:07 pm
So Kevin suggested I post this here, so here goes:
Back in early June of 2011, I decided to buy a new desktop. I ended up ordering a Dell Inspiron 570 MiniTower with Windows 7 Home Premium. Here are some of the specs that came with it (some I probably tweaked at the time to meet my needs)
Processor: AMD Athlon II X4 635 (2.9GHz, 8MB)
1 TB SATA 3Gbps 3.5-in (7200RPM)
16X DVD +/- RW Optical Drive
Thermal Module Heatsink, 95W
6 GB DDR3 ECC SDRAM 1333MHz (3 DIMMs)
System Chipset AMD 785G
Video (integrated) ATI Radeo HD 4200
External Connectors (Video) 15 pin VGA, 19 pin HDMI
(and other specs can be found at ftp://ftp.dell.com/Manuals/Common/inspi ... _en-us.pdf)
So here's the problem/question- when I bought this computer I had my old CRT monitor as my only monitor (connected via the VGA) and I was able to connect the HDMI port to my TV so I could use the TV as a 2nd monitor and make it into an extended desktop. Thus allowing me to send video/audio to the TV and play or stream video/audio. However, now I finally got around to upgrading my main monitor situation and got an ASUS PB238Q 23 in. This new monitor has an HDMI, DVI, Display, and VGA ports. So now my current configuration is HDMI from the computer to the ASUS monitor and VGA from computer to CRT monitor. But I'd still like to be able to send video/audio from the computer to the tv (since it's bigger than the monitor and the tv is connected to a surround sound system so the audio is also better). So, my solution at the moment was to buy an HDMI splitter (for like $20) that I connected to the HDMI port of the computer and allow the signal to go to both the TV and the ASUS monitor. But, now the tv is a clone image and I'd rather it be extended (and thus making it like a 3rd monitor).
So, after all of this, the question at hand is in order to make the tv into a 3rd monitor, should or can I buy a new video card for the computer. The potential new video card would have to come with at least 3 ports, HDMI, VGA, and either DVI or a Display port. Or should I just be happy that I can send video/audio to the tv as I have it connected now and just live with it being in cloned mode?
Thoughts/suggestions?
Berman
Back in early June of 2011, I decided to buy a new desktop. I ended up ordering a Dell Inspiron 570 MiniTower with Windows 7 Home Premium. Here are some of the specs that came with it (some I probably tweaked at the time to meet my needs)
Processor: AMD Athlon II X4 635 (2.9GHz, 8MB)
1 TB SATA 3Gbps 3.5-in (7200RPM)
16X DVD +/- RW Optical Drive
Thermal Module Heatsink, 95W
6 GB DDR3 ECC SDRAM 1333MHz (3 DIMMs)
System Chipset AMD 785G
Video (integrated) ATI Radeo HD 4200
External Connectors (Video) 15 pin VGA, 19 pin HDMI
(and other specs can be found at ftp://ftp.dell.com/Manuals/Common/inspi ... _en-us.pdf)
So here's the problem/question- when I bought this computer I had my old CRT monitor as my only monitor (connected via the VGA) and I was able to connect the HDMI port to my TV so I could use the TV as a 2nd monitor and make it into an extended desktop. Thus allowing me to send video/audio to the TV and play or stream video/audio. However, now I finally got around to upgrading my main monitor situation and got an ASUS PB238Q 23 in. This new monitor has an HDMI, DVI, Display, and VGA ports. So now my current configuration is HDMI from the computer to the ASUS monitor and VGA from computer to CRT monitor. But I'd still like to be able to send video/audio from the computer to the tv (since it's bigger than the monitor and the tv is connected to a surround sound system so the audio is also better). So, my solution at the moment was to buy an HDMI splitter (for like $20) that I connected to the HDMI port of the computer and allow the signal to go to both the TV and the ASUS monitor. But, now the tv is a clone image and I'd rather it be extended (and thus making it like a 3rd monitor).
So, after all of this, the question at hand is in order to make the tv into a 3rd monitor, should or can I buy a new video card for the computer. The potential new video card would have to come with at least 3 ports, HDMI, VGA, and either DVI or a Display port. Or should I just be happy that I can send video/audio to the tv as I have it connected now and just live with it being in cloned mode?
Thoughts/suggestions?
Berman