PowerDAW - Gainward 9400GT and two monitors

[DarkStar_GT]

I am considering using 2 22"" monitors (1680 x 1050 resolution) side by side. These will be a PowerDAW configuration - gaming and Photoshopping is not required:
-- will the Gainward 9400 GT board ( http://www.scan.co.uk/product.aspx?ProductID=30659 ) be suitable for supporting 2 such monitors?
-- I can see one DVI and one D-Sub connector on the board, does the image quality differ these days?
-- or would the HDMI connector be better (with a suitable converter cable)?
-- the Gainward website is not too informative.

And, I would like the option to pivot the monitors so I get an effective resolution of 2100 horizontal x 1680 vertical):
-- which monitors will let me do that?
-- will the Gainward card support this config?
-- do I need anything else (running Windows XP or Windows 7)?

Thanks in advance for your help.

[PeteG@Scan]

Originally Posted by DarkStar_GT

I am considering using 2 22"" monitors (1680 x 1050 resolution) side by side. These will be a PowerDAW configuration - gaming and Photoshopping is not required:
-- will the Gainward 9400 GT board ( http://www.scan.co.uk/product.aspx?ProductID=30659 ) be suitable for supporting 2 such monitors?

Yes. they'll handle upto 2040 by 1650 via d-sub and the dvi will go higher than that due to it being a Duel-DVI socket (duel dvi is a double data rate standard, and not duel socket as you've already noted).

I've added the 9500Gt's back into the specs. They were on there at the start of this range but got discontinued to use. It appears out buyers have found a new source through so for a few quid more you can have a bit more grunt

http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/512MB...D-Sub-DL-DVI-I

-- I can see one DVI and one D-Sub connector on the board, does the image quality differ these days?

Not really. Suppose some people would argue the toss in gaming but in the day to day use of 2d applications it's not something that you'll notice

-- or would the HDMI connector be better (with a suitable converter cable)?

With a decent converter cable maybe, but I don't think it'd be worth the extra. I don't think you'll be unhappy with the d-sub output, but on the off chance you are the HDMI is always there as another option.

And, I would like the option to pivot the monitors so I get an effective resolution of 2100 horizontal x 1680 vertical):

I scratched my head there but I follow. The resolution would still be 1050 by 1680 but on 2 displays (overall size would be 2100 X 1680). I'm not being picky here it's just by phraseing it the way you did you imply a single screen resolution which would need a far more powerful card to acheive it!

-- which monitors will let me do that?

If your on 2 monitors at 1050 X 1680 and stretching the screen over both in windows then any monitor that allows itself to be pivoted would be suitable. I don't off the top of my head know which monitors would pivot through as my monitor knowledge isn't great. I suppose you'll just need to pick a brand or two that your happy with and start googling up the specs on models that maybe suitable.

-- will the Gainward card support this config?

Yes

-- do I need anything else (running Windows XP or Windows 7)?

To achieve that no you shouldn't. You can do it in the nvidia driver software itself.

[DarkStar_GT]

@PeteG

Thank you for your comprehensive answer.

Apologies for my unclear "pivot" question - I knew what I was talking about - and you interpreted it correctly.

I can't say exactly when I would use that configuration, but the availability is good to have:



That monitor is this one:
http://www.scan.co.uk/Product.aspx?WebProductId=959462

[PeteG@Scan]

Yep, looking at the spec's I don't see any reason that you can't run it all like that. I've got a 9500GT running a 24" Dell and 19" Illyama in my studio set up and it manages perfectly fine in day to day application use.