Re: I hate... oh I guess everyone

[daparnin@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx]

Hardware is cool ...when it works.  I'm a bit off on the latest in
dual-monitor technology but I've been running dual monitors for about 5-6
years.  The issues I remember from back when I first did it with a Pentium
was incompatibilities with cards.  At that time I ended up buying two
identical ATI cards because the two cards I had been using didn't play well
together.  They may have even been from the same manufacturer.  Even then I
couldn't figure out how to assign which one was the primary so I just
unplugged each monitor and plugged it into the other card.  When I built my
Pentium 4 desktop I wanted to avoid those hassles, especially since the
motherboard had only one AGP slot.  I ended up buying an ATI card (a 9700,
I believe) that had dual monitor support built in.  No fuss, no muss,
Windows recognized it, and it just worked.  Mission accomplished.

Like I said, I haven't done the current research that you have.  Unless I'm
misunderstanding it looks like you may be using the nVidia along with the
built-in motherboard video.  That may be the source of the incompatibility.
If so, you may have to disable the on board video and buy a second nVidia
card.  An AGP slot would give you better performance but since you don't
have one then you will have to go with the PCI-whatever.

When I built my system a few years ago I decided to splurge.  I decided to
invest more up front to not compromise what I really wanted, get good
quality, and have a fast system that would last longer than a low-priced
one.  It looks like you are a "value-conscious" consumer.  I'm all for
saving money as long as you get what you want.  I "saved" money by
investing in the specific components and not buying a brand name like the
xSeries.  If it's just business apps then you should be fine going the
low-price route.  If you plan on playing games or playing/editing video you
may want/need to invest a bit more than $100.  Again, I'm not up on the
latest cards, prices, and performance.  YMMV.


Dave Parnin
--
Nishikawa Standard Company
Topeka, IN  46571
daparnin@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx





                                                                                
                                                       
                      "Joe Pluta"                                               
                                                       
                      <joepluta@plutabr        To:       "'PC Technical 
Discussion for iSeries Users'" <pctech@xxxxxxxxxxxx>           
                      others.com>              cc:                              
                                                       
                      Sent by:                 Subject:  [PCTECH] I hate... oh 
I guess everyone                                        
                      pctech-bounces@mi                                         
                                                       
                      drange.com                                                
                                                       
                                                                                
                                                       
                                                                                
                                                       
                      07/25/2006 11:55                                          
                                                       
                      PM                                                        
                                                       
                      Please respond to                                         
                                                       
                      PC Technical                                              
                                                       
                      Discussion for                                            
                                                       
                      iSeries Users                                             
                                                       
                                                                                
                                                       




I just got a widescreen monitor and I wanted to add a second video card to
my xSeries server so it too could take advantage of the 1680x1050
resolution
(which looks great on my workstation).  I did all the due diligence, and
learned about AGP vs PCI vs PCI-X vs PCI Express.  I checked out various
cards, read reviews, and then trotted down to Fry's.  I even found a
screaming deal; I was going to get a card with the nVidia 6200 GPU, but
there was an nVidia 6600 board at half off with rebate (a $180 card for
$90).  I was quite proud of myself.

I got over the fear factor of opening up the xSeries (to find that it's a
really easy box to work with).  I found the two PCI Express slots, opened
up
the box for the card and THAT'S when I found out...

That PCI Express comes in not one, not two, but FOUR different connector
sizes: x4, x8, x16 and x32.  It seems the majority of cards are x16, and
the
fritznframmin xSeries has only x8 slots.  The card will not fit.

So now I have to restart my search.  I'll probably have to use one of the
PCI-X connectors, the xSeries does not support AGP.  The problem is finding
a decent, low-priced (under $100) card that supports SWXGA resolution with
a
PCI-X connector.

I hate hardware.  I really do.

Joe


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