I need two extra monitors.. Board fix

[BAMADOOD]

I got a Dell Inspiron 537 ...One day old !! What do I gotta do as far as video boards go ? Thanks Ya'll in advance..

 

[Jonathan_King]

Welcome!

Sounds like you need another video card that will support dual-monitors.

What is your budget? Why do you need the monitors? Will you be gaming, or surfing the web?

 

[Zepher]

Are you needing 3 screens, since you say 2 extra monitors?

 

[BAMADOOD]

Need 3 monitors total

Stock daytrading..running charts, data windows etc...funds up to $400.00

 

[ccatlett1984]

Well adding an extra video card will disable your onboard video, I suggest one of the new ATI video cards that can control 3 monitors.

Something like this:
XFX Radeon HD 5770 Graphics adapter - 1 GB - GDDR5 SDRAM


One of your monitors needs to use mini-hdmi or you will have to get an adapter.

 

[Jonathan_King]

Well adding an extra video card will disable your onboard video, I suggest one of the new ATI video cards that can control 3 monitors.

Something like this:
XFX Radeon HD 5770 Graphics adapter - 1 GB - GDDR5 SDRAM


One of your monitors needs to use mini-hdmi or you will have to get an adapter.

That is not necessarily correct. I have used both discreet and onboard graphics simultaneously, in a dual-monitor setup.

It did not work as well as I would have liked, but I attribute that to the fact that I had ATI onboard and nVidia discreet; totally incompatible.

 

[bobkn]

I got a Dell Inspiron 537 ...One day old !! What do I gotta do as far as video boards go ? Thanks Ya'll in advance..

Your Inspiron 537s has a single PCI-E X16 slot. The bad news is that it only supports half-height cards. I think that none of the Radeon 5xxx series, which support more than 2 monitors from a single card, are available in half-height yet.

(Actually, the multiple-monitor feature of the 5000 series may require use of the DisplayPort output. DisplayPort monitors exist, but they're not the norm.)

I expect that the other posters are correct about not being able to run the onboard graphics and an add-on card at the same time, but I'm not certain.

I think you'll need two cards: a PCI-E X16 one, and a PCI one, both low-profile. Win7 is supposed to permit multiple drivers to be installed at once, but I'd probably prefer to stay with a single manufacturer.

Example: the ATI Radeon 4350 is available as a low-profile card in both PCI-E and PCI variants. (www.newegg.com). You'll be shocked at how expensive the PCI version is, compared to the PCI-E one. I haven't used it, but I suggest it as a low-end card from the latest generation that is available in half-height.

Hanging a bunch of stuff on a small form factor PC like this may not be the best idea, but you may be able to do it if necessary.

 

[BAMADOOD]

Many thanks Ya'll..I should have done my homework first.. Anyone wanna buy a three day old box never used ??

 

[ccatlett1984]

Three days old, you should be able to exchange it. Just call dell up and tell them what you want, or try selling on the local craigslist.

 

[bobkn]

I wonder where "BAMADOOD" acquired the 537s? it's no longer for sale at www.dell.com. It may have been a Dell Outlet item, although they have no others for sale there at the moment.

It looks like a pretty nice system, within its SFF limitations.

 

[thefabe]

Three days old, you should be able to exchange it. Just call dell up and tell them what you want, or try selling on the local craigslist.

This is probably a great idea I'm sure Dell would be willing to sell you an upgrade of course get ready to spend some money not only for the new box but the shipping as well.Fabe