Making my ultimate home entertainment...

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icp222

New Member
My TV remote has been playing up recently, and as I cursed the old tube technology I got to thinking... Why don't I get rid of this derilict contraption. So that's what I am planning on doing... One problem. I have never done this before, and need some advice... So anyway, after that long winded intro here we go...

I want to get rid of my TV, in order to run everything through my PC, so I can record to my hard drive etc etc... I want dual monitors so I can watch TV on one, taking the place of my TV, and just use the second monitor as I do my PC now...

I am not sure of several things in how I would go about doing this...

Here is my current setup so you can see where I am:

2.8 P4 HT
1GB PC333 RAM
nVidia 128MB GeForce FX5200
DVD +/- RW
DVD ROM
120GB 7200rpm HDD
Audigy 2 6.1
Win XP Home Ed
Sony 15" LCD TFT Mon (1024x768 max)
Creative 250D 2.1 Speakers

... at a glance...

Anyhows, I am wondering firstly - does my graphics card support dual monitors?

If it does, what PCI TV Tuner card should I get?

If not, what graphics card can I get that supports dual monitors, and has a TV tuner (along with being a decent graphics card)??? I have looked at the Sapphire All-In-Wonder 128MB 9800Pro and prefferably would like a 256??? Is such a thing available, as I want a step up from a 128, which I already have...

The next thing, logically, is the monitor... I want something 19 or 20 inches... LCD TFT... as stylish as possible for not silly money... and with a resolution of 1280x1024, but prefferably 1600x1200...

I have looked at this...http://www.dabs.com/uk/productview?quicklinx=32QM ... What do you think? Does anyone have any other suggestions???

Final question... That monitor is 1600x1200, but my current is 1024x768... Would the two different resolutions be supported with dual monitor??? Or would I have to set them both the same???

Thankyou for the read if you got to the end... Every suggestion is welcome...

Thankyou
 
Anyhows, I am wondering firstly - does my graphics card support dual monitors?
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Look at it... are their two roughly-rectangular connectors on the back?

what PCI TV Tuner card should I get?
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Haupagge make PCI tuner cards .... a minor pain in the arse to get setup but fairly cheap as far as TV tuners go
ATi make standalone TV tuners
Other companies (ASUS, Creative etc) may have TV tuners
 
The monitor you chose seems nice. The dot pitch is good (even for a LCD .255mm) but the response time is a little slow 25ms. I converted the cost of the monitor to dollars. $867.00ex vat ?(no clue as to what that is) to $1019.00inc vat?. Now personally if you’re going to spend that kind of money I would suggest getting a LCD with a 16ms response time. The View sonic VP201b would be good choice. It’s the one I’ll be getting soon. It only cost $939.00 American.

Here’s a link to read some reviews and check out the Specs.
http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=24-116-285&depa=1

As for the dual monitor dohickey. You want to use the DVI cables to get the best picture and the only video card I know of at the moment that supports dual DVI ports is Nvidia’s 6800 series of video cards. Go for the Ultra or the Ultra Extreme version. I would.

I knew some one that had a dual monitor setup and I believe that the screen resolutions have to match on each screen and so do the refresh rates. I feel pretty sure about this but I could be wrong.

Hope this helps. :)
 
(even for a LCD .255mm)
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Thats the most stunning d.p. on an LCD ive ever encountered. Most are in the 0.28-0.31 range.

You want to use the DVI cables to get the best picture
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Well... on an LCD you wont notice a degradation if you use the DB15 connectors or use adapters.
 
Check out i think its the bottom line of my specs, thats what i use and as its usb, there is no hastle of playing with pci slots.

Jimbob
 
USB = Analog
IEEE1394 = Digital (which is better for video transmission)

As for "playing with PCI slots" -- those PCI Slot cards rule! All the fancy professionals use them at one point or another simply because of the more stable transfer medium associated with a PCI bus rather than a USB bus (which piggybacks the PCI anyways)

Furthermore, it I'm not mistaken your Hauppauge WinTV is a tvtuner (or some form of video-in) and while Hauppage make decent tuners (I've got the fancy PCI card one) .... they are a pain in the arse when it comes to actual professional/fancy use of them. As much as I hate ATI, the ATI TV tuner is a superior choice for roughly the same price range :)

Now as for a videocard, I'd stay away from the ATI AIW because... if you intend to use multimonitor setups, go nVidia -- not for performance or anything (i wont get into that) but ATI drivers dont support multimonitor configs so well.
 
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