Three displays on one graphics card?

[SSCUSTER]

My wife just got a new HP computer that has a single PCIe 16 slot and three PCIe 1 slots.  She needs an inexpensive graphics card that will allow her to extend the desktop across three displays at once.   Two displays have VGA input ports and one has both a VGA and a DVI port.  She uses the computer for business and working with photographs so there is no need for a high speed gaming card.  I am looking for suggestions of which card to buy for her.  A price tag under $50 would be great; a price tag between $50 and $100 would be tolerable.Thank you.

[old_geekster]

What is the make/model of the computer?  We require this information to help you.

I will add, however, that it is not possible to use the 'Integrated Graphics/Video and a video card simultaneously.  Only one or the other will work at any given time.  Therefore, operating three monitors will be impossible.  A video card will only have two connectors; 2 x DVI or 1 x VGA and 1 x DVI.

[SSCUSTER]

The specs for the computer are below.  Before she bought the computer, the HP tech assured us that we could use the two integrated video heads and plug our ATI Radeon X300 card into the PCIe 16 slot for a total of four display heads:  They lied.  The integrated video is disabled when a card is in the PCIe slot. 

HP Pavilion p6180t customizable Desktop PC

• • Genuine Windows Vista Home Premium with Service Pack 1 (64-bit)
• • Intel(R) Core(TM) 2 Quad processor Q9550 [2.83GHz, 12MB L2, 1333MHz FSB]
• • 35% OFF! 8GB DDR3-1066MHz SDRAM [4 DIMMs]
• • FREE UPGRADE! 640GB 7200 rpm SATA 3Gb/s hard drive from 500GB
• • Integrated graphics - Intel(R) Graphics Media Accelerator X4500 [VGA]
• • LightScribe 16X max. DVD+/-R/RW SuperMulti drive
• • Integrated 10/100/1000 (Gigabit) Ethernet, No wireless LAN
• • 15-in-1 memory card reader, 2 USB, audio
• • No TV Tuner w/remote control
• • Integrated 7.1 channel sound with front audio ports
• • No speakers
• • HP multimedia keyboard and HP optical mouse
• • Microsoft(R) Works 9.0
• • No additional security software
• • HP Home & Home Office Store in-box envelope

[seabee_chief]

Like you I have been attempting to set up a three monitor configuration, with little success, so far.

History:
I was running a dual monitor setup consisting of a HP/Compaq Desktop dc5000 w/4.0GB ram, VisionTek ATI/Radeon HD2400 Pro video card & (2) HP w2207 1680x1050 monitors using Windows XP Pro SP3; and the system was functioning. Because I use SolidWorks (a Computer Aided Design) drawing application, I wanted to migrate to three monitors so that I could spread the drawing application across two of the monitors and have the reference material available on the third. Further the size and complexity of the new release of SolidWorks was pushing the computational capacity of the XP 32 bit operating system.

I purchased a new HP Pavilion A6826f computer w/6.0 GB ram and Windows Vista Home Premium 64 bit operating system. I also procured two video cards and monitors; (1) ATI FirePro V3700 PCIE w/2 DVI-I video connections, (1) PNY GeForce 8400 PCI w/ vga & DVI-I video connections, and (2) I-Inc iH-252HPB 1920x1080 monitors. My goal was to be able to run (1) HP w2207 and (2) I-Inc iH252HPB monitors, and still is.

When I was unable to get the two video cards to play nicely, I called HP's tech support (I think it is located someplace is swahealy land or maybe Mars) after describing my difficulties with several of their 'technical experts', I emailed HP with my problem seeking a resolution.

My email to HP tech support:
I purchased this computer with the plan of migrating from dual monitors to three monitors. I also purchased video cards to drive the monitors. the motherboard has 4 pci slots, 1-pci-3, 2 pci-i & 1 pci. with both the pci-e and pci video card in the computer only one monitor works at 600x400 resolution. with only one pci or pci-e video card installed the system runs dual monitors ok. what do I do to get 3 monitors to run?
troubleshooting : I have talked to your tech support on 5 occasions and they are of no help. theyall suggest installing 2 pci-e video cards, how do I install 2 pci-e video cards onto a mother board with only 1 pci-e slot?????

HP tech supports response:

Hello LeVerne,

Thank you for contacting HP Total Care for Desktop Support. My name is Porter, I am from the Desktop Email support team.

I’ll try my best to provide you with the answer.

From your issue description, I understand that you want to know how to connect 3 monitors to your HP Pavilion a6826f Desktop PC. You have purchased and installed a video card to connect the monitors..

LeVerne, for your information you can connect only one graphics card in your computer. It is not possible to install two graphics card. You need to use a KVM Switch to connect three monitors to your computer. To purchase a KVM Switch and to know how to connect the monitors please visit your local Authorized Service Provider. (none located within 250 miles of my location in Northern AL) To locate the Authorized Service Provider please click on the web link below.

http://vdccnzitg.houston.hp.com/GPL/search.aspx?language_code=en&country_code=US&SearchType=HHO

I would suggest you to go through the web link given below for more information on connecting multiple monitors.

http://www.blackbox.com/resource/files/productdetails/25986b.pdf

NOTE: The URL above will take you to a NON HP Web site. HP does not control and is not responsible for information outside HP Web site. Thank you for your cooperation.

NOTE:  Clicking the link(s) may give an error indicating that it is invalid.  If this occurs, copy the link and paste it on the address bar in your browser until the complete address is displayed in the Address box.

This should resolve the issue.  If you need further assistance, please reply to this message and we will be happy to assist you further.

For information on keeping your HP and Compaq products up and running, please visit our Web site
at:
http://www.hp.com/go/totalcare

Sincerely,

Porter C

HP Total Care

***Do Not Delete Service Ticket Number***

{ticketno:[8031083241]}

***Do Not Delete Service Ticket Number***

Our advice is strictly limited to the question(s) asked and is based on the information provided to us.  HPdoes not assume any responsibility or liability for the advice given and shall not be liable for any direct, indirect, special, incidental or consequential damages in connection with the use of this information.  Always back up your data. 
For more information, including technical information updates, please visit our Web site at http://www.hp.com/support.
HPdoes not require youto send any financial data in your reply to this email.  As a prudent reminder, do not insert credit card details or other financial information in any e-mail replies.

I looked into the KVM switches and they seem to be able to only clone the monitors, not expand the desktop.

I then talked to Tigerdirect's tech support and 'Fred' suggested that I procure an USB to VGA adapter to run the third monitor and he gave me the stock number of S27179 @ ~ $114 as a suitable device. I have not been able to find that stock number on Tigerdirect's website.

Next step - Google search on multiple monitor adapters.

The result for an usb to vga is StarTech.com's USB VGA external dual or multi monitor video adaper graphics adapter. Current retail ~ $63.78

or  Matrox Graphic eXpansion module DualHead2Go Digital edition video converter. This is an external device that takes the VGA output from the computer and then splits and spreads the signal across two DVI-I monitors. The maximum resolution is 3840x1200 (1920x120), that resolution is what I am trying to achieve. The only question that I had was would I be able to run the third monitor off of the 2nd video port on my video card.

I sent the following inquiry to Matrox:

I am trying to go to three monitors on an HP pavilion a6826f desktop computer with an ati firepro v3700 video card. even though both ati and m'soft claim that they support more than dual monitors, HP says that they handle only one video card. would adding the D2G-A2D-IF to one of the outputs of the ati video card provide me with the ability to drive three monitors? the monitors I have are HP w2207 1680x1050 and 2 i-inc ih252 1920x1080. Thanks for the advice.

Matrox's reply:

Dear LeVerne,

Thank you for your inquiry.

The DH2Go is an external device that connects to the video output of the graphic card in the system to enable two displays. Often times, the graphics card has a second port. Connecting a monitor to that second port would allow you to enable an additional display.

Please note that the compatibility and resolution is dependent on the GPU of your system.

Please consult the compatibility list, located at this link,

http://www.matrox.com/graphics/en/support/compatibility/gxm/resolutions/  in order to determine the maximum resolution that you could achieve.

You may also download and run the compatibility tool, located here: http://www.matrox.com/graphics/en/support/drivers/download/gxm/tool/

I do not see your specific model listed. Do you know if this card has a Display Port connection?

If you have any additional questions, please do not hesitate to contact us.

With best regards,

Kimberly

Kimberly Perra

Matrox Graphics Inc.

Tel: 1-800-361-1408

Email: graphics@matrox.com

URL: www.matrox.com/graphics

My next step is to procure one of the Matrox DualHead2Go digital converters and hopefully that will resolve my problem.

I apologize for the lengthy post, however I wanted to provide as complete an answer so as to provide you with the options that I have found. I trust that your problem is resolved soon.

God bless you and be at peace.

[old_geekster]

Here is a link to the 'Product Specifications' for your computer:

http://h10025.www1.hp.com/ewfrf/wc/documentSubCategory?tmp_rule=1541&tmp_task=prodinfoCategory&lc=en&dlc=en&cc=us&lang=en&product=4010451

If you will open the link, then, open the link titled 'Motherboard Specifications'.  Scroll down to the section titled 'Video graphics'.  Here is what it says:

"NOTE: Either integrated graphics or the PCI Express x16 slot are usable at one time; they are not usable concurrently."

Now, for the video card.  The major factor in deciding on which video card to install is the wattage of the power supply unit (PSU).  In your case, it is 300W.  It is getting more difficult all of the time to find cards that will operate on this wattage.  Here is a link to a card that should work that has a minimum requirement of 350W:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130313

I has one VGA port and one DVI port.  However, you still will be short one connector.  So, what can be done?  Here is a link to one option:

http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/searchtools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=3255944&SRCCODE=GOOGLEBASE&cm_mmc_o=VRqCjC7BBTkwCjCECjCE

http://www.geeks.com/details.asp?invtid=WS-UGA16D1&cat=VCD

The one in the bottom link has a higher resolution that the one in the top link.

[SSCUSTER]

Thank you both for your help and advice.  We are still considering the options and trying to figure out which way to go.

As for the warning, "NOTE: Either integrated graphics or the PCI Express x16 slot are usable at one time; they are not usable concurrently.":  Before we ordered the pc, we looked very hard for such a warning and evidently did not get to the right page.  I think we did our due diligence in researching this because when we did not find such a statement before ordering, we called HP and asked about this and were assured that this would work.  I guess the HP technicians could not find that page either.

[zitangy]

hi yr best solution wld be to use a USB to VGA convertor.  and still using both port on your VGA card..  The box currently supports  22inch monitors but I was told that they will be releasing a model that can support a 24 inch monitor or you can purchase a 22 inch USB monitor  made by Samsung. A matrox solution is expensive way to go.

I have used this solution adn it works seamlessly on my Compaq series.

good lick..