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Thread ID: 64634 2005-12-21 22:24:00 Dual monitors LXXXVIII (6863) Press F1
Post ID Timestamp Content User
414610 2005-12-21 22:24:00 i looked around for a dual monitor forum to post at, but there are none :annoyed: so ill ask here, hopefully you can help

i have a windows xp box with an onboard graphics card, an agp graphics card, a spare monitor and a couple of months of gaming in the school holidays :rolleyes: does anyone know how i can enable onboard graphics while i have my agp also working my motherboard is a MSI MS-6930, i have googled this, im not just a baby wanting everything spoonfed to me! thanks for any help in advance if you guys know anything about this.
LXXXVIII (6863)
414611 2005-12-21 22:59:00 Does the videocard have video out?

All you need is a videocard with video out and the drivers for the videocard (ATI or Nvidia dirvers). Or a videocard with dual VGA on it. Or 2 videocards.

So, you can configure it, so something gets shown on the other monitor.
Speedy Gonzales (78)
414612 2005-12-21 23:04:00 it has tv out? LXXXVIII (6863)
414613 2005-12-21 23:11:00 Well, you could plug it into a TV if the TV has video in RCA sockets .

But, you'll need either a videocard with 2 VGA ports on it, or 2 separate videocards, if you want to use another computer monitor, that uses a VGA port/connection .
Speedy Gonzales (78)
414614 2005-12-21 23:44:00 He has 2 video cards - onboard & agp. I always thought you couldn't run both cards at the same time. Greven (91)
414615 2005-12-22 00:29:00 I've used 2 cards in this before, but AGP and PCI . Not onboard and AGP .

Dunno if this makes any diff or not .

All I did was delete the video cards in device manager, and reboot . The system detected both, and they worked, using the Nvidia drivers .

He could try deleting both videocards in device manager, enable onboard, if its disabled in the BIOS . BUT get the right drivers / install the drivers, for each videocard, before he does this .
Speedy Gonzales (78)
414616 2005-12-22 01:05:00 I don't think you can use both at the same time . That is AGP and onboard . I have a feeling they run through the same bus which would make the computer a little confused :) .

Go grab a cheap PCI card or better yet, replace your AGP card with one with dual heads . Most new cards have them now anyway (through DVI) .

I should also add that dual monitors are pretty useless for gaming (from my experience anyway) . You can't have games stretch over two screens, which would look retarded anyway . I know matrix had that card with 3 heads, but nothing really happened of it . I think jedi knight supported it but the bits between the two monitors would be really distracting . I guess you could hook up three projectors!!! So unless your doing a lot of programming/typing/windows stuff, its not going to be of much use . You also have to remember that CRT monitors have a nice habit of interfering so you have to be running them at the same frequency unless you want interference patterns wreck your fun .

I'm sitting on dual 19's at 1600x1200 and only use one for gaming, however it comes in VERY handy when doing programming/typing up stuff . Being able to put webpages and documentation on one page and the actual thing you're working on, on the other monitor .
DangerousDave (697)
414617 2005-12-22 03:49:00 I'd agree that dual monitors is great for development work. I've got a 17" CRT as my primary monitor & a 15" LCD sitting on top of my stereo (because there is nowhere else to put it.) The text gets a bit small on the LCD when reading it from a distance, so I think I'll buy a 19" LCD once I find permant work. Greven (91)
414618 2005-12-22 04:01:00 Aren't most onboard video "cards" on the PCI bus?

Like most thiings like this, the quickest way to find out if it will work is to just try it .

Plug the AGP card in and power it up . ;)

It will work . Or it won't .
Graham L (2)
414619 2006-01-09 21:29:00 I want to do the same thing-run dual monitors with onboard and an add on AGP card. I have a Dell 4600C and the dual head AGP lowprofile cards are a bit pricey for me. I found a single output AGP card and want to install that, but am concerned about the compatibility with the onboard. It looks like the motherboard video interface is AGP, not PCI. I found one suggestion uninstalling the onboard drivers, installing the AGP driver, then reinstalling the onboard. Any one ever tried that? zemdog (9460)
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