What do I get so I can have 2 Monitors

Alright, so I want 2 monitors attached to my gaming rig. I have a Crosshair IV Formula MoBo, which has a PCIe 2.1 x16 port on it. I know of 3 ways to achieve 2 or more Monitors:

-Display Port 2.0 Daisy Chain
-2 or more HDMI Ports on the Video card
-2 or more VGA Ports on a Video Card

I would prefer not to use VGA. I want the highest quality graphics possible, so either DP or HDMI would be preferable. The issue is, I can't find a high quality video card with 2 HDMI ports on it, or 2 high quality monitors (24") with 2 DP ports on it (input and output).

Can I have some guidance/advice here? Am I misunderstanding DP and only need 1 port to daisy chain? Is there an entire line of graphics cards I am missing that have 2 HDMI ports on it?

 

What you need is a laptop with 1 HDMI port.....3 HDMI cables....2 Monitors (with 1 HDMI input each)....and an HDMI splitter.

That should work out nicely, if I'm not mistaken.

Mr. Mysterious

 

HDMI splitter just clones a signal not extends the monitors.

Sounds like OP is asking for desktop advise not laptop, so just get a gpu with multi monitor connections any of the high end cards have them. My 5870's have 4 outputs for instance.

Most common these days is HDMI, Display Port, and DVI connections, you may not even find VGA (without an adapter)

If you want multi monitor for laptops (not for gaming but for multi tasking) a USB monitor adapter is the way to go.

 

I think only the new Macs can daisy chain from their Thunderbolt port.
(Please correct if im wrong)

On my Clevo i got 1 HDMI out and 1 DVI out, so if i added 2 17" 1080p screens i could make a semi functional Eyefinity setup, but i think i would be heavily limited by my HD 6970m.

Also i recommend discussing Desktop related stuff here: PC Forums - Desktop Computer Forums and Discussions

 

1. VGA isn't an issue for video quality (the difference in data into the monitor is marginal, and there is a VAST difference in a monitor's ability to *display* that data)

2. Yes, you are missing a whole class of desktop graphics cards with multiple video outputs. Many AMD 5000+ series support 3 displays. Newer Nvidia cards do as well.

 

Alright, my video card has 1 HDMI and 2 DVI. What is the difference in quality between DVI and HDMI? Is it noticible?

 

None, its a digital signal only difference is HDMI can carry audio and newer spec HDMI is higher bandwidth for ultra high resolutions.

 

Matter of fact for me to run two monitors off of my M11x I have to use a cable that goes from HDMI to DVI, so as stated above there is no difference for visual effects.

 

You said ultra high resolutions. Would 1920x1080 be counted as ultra high? I'm really happy with my 6970 HD Radeon card, I use the HDMI port. If 1920x1080 will be supported in DVI, and there is no signal difference, then I guess I'm golden with what I have now. Will there be any issue with using one monitor on HDMI and one on DVI?

 

You won't have any issues at all. I think what he means by ultra high is the new 4K that will be coming out in the future, but that won't be for a few years at least.

 

Cool. So what I am getting from this thread is that there is no Difference in picture quality for DVI as opposed to HDMI, and my current Vid Card is fine. If this is true, then my problem has been resolved, and this thread can be locked. Thanks to everyone who contributed.

 

This is correct. DVI cables with a single link generally support 1920x1200@60hz and no higher. Image quality is not related to your cable. Dual link cables support higher resolutions, and HDMI / DP also generally support higher resolutions.