Upgrade to support 3 or 4 monitors  | | | 
July 19th, 2009, 12:29 PM
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#1 (permalink)
| | Junior Member
Join Date: Jul 2009
Posts: 13
| Upgrade to support 3 or 4 monitors
My computer is a HP Pavilion, AMD Athlon 64x2 Dual Core Processor 4200+ 2.20GHz, 1.93 GB RAM. Presently this computer only supports one monitor but I would like to upgrade it so that I could have 3 or maybe 4 monitors. I would be displaying price charts of stocks, futures, etc. My questions is, is this possible with this computer or do I have to buy a different one? If it is possible, then what do I need to buy to get it done? Any help would be greatly appreciated. | 
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July 19th, 2009, 12:53 PM
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#2 (permalink)
| | Millwright
Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: New Hampshire
Posts: 3,527
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Welcome to TechIMO!
Yes you can.
Here is a recent post to save me typing.
Dual head graphics card and 2 PCI video cards is pretty easy.
I ran 4 PCI cards on win 98 for a short time. Using the same kind is helpful ATI or Nvidia.
You don't need a powerful computer, I ran them on a P1. Can you run three monitors using a dual-head AGP card & a PCI card
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July 19th, 2009, 12:58 PM
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#3 (permalink)
| | Super Stealthy Moderator
Join Date: Jan 2003 Location: Outside the box
Posts: 5,557
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CAn you give us an exact model number or do you know forsure what slots are available. If you've got an open pci-e slot then adding almost any single card would be fine (most all have dual outputs these days) After that you'd need to know what else is open. Adding in another pci card to make your 3-4 connections would probably be the option there. Since you aren't gaming or pushing high end video then just about any two cards that fit into your open slots would work.
You'll also need to keep an eye on power requirements as factory built pc's are notorious for low end power supplies.
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July 19th, 2009, 03:30 PM
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#4 (permalink)
| | Junior Member
Join Date: Jul 2009
Posts: 13
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Thanks for the quick response. The model # is a1648x, Nvidia GeForce 6150LE video card. There are no more places to hook up another monitor and I don't see where there is another slot where a hook up could be inserted. There are 3 empty horizontal slots towards the bottom of the case where some kind of card could be plugged in but I don't know if this would accomodate additional video cards or not. I have three monitors hooked up to another computer, which is now in the repair shop, and if it is determined to be unwise the repair, as it is old, then I will want to upgrade this HP Pavilion. Can you tell if this can be done from the Model #? | |
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July 19th, 2009, 03:37 PM
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#5 (permalink)
| | Super Stealthy Moderator
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July 19th, 2009, 09:29 PM
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#6 (permalink)
| | Junior Member
Join Date: Jul 2009
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RicheemxX, that is the system I have. What do I have to do to add 1, 2, or possibly 3 monitors to the one I now have? Tell me what card I need to buy, then I'll look at a picture of it and I'm sure I can figure out where and how to install it. Thanks | |
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July 20th, 2009, 01:09 AM
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#7 (permalink)
| | Super Stealthy Moderator
Join Date: Jan 2003 Location: Outside the box
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I haven't had a chance to look to see whats on sale right now, what kind of budget are you looking at? Really pretty much any budget pci-e card would work for just a dual monitor setup. | |
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July 20th, 2009, 10:57 AM
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#8 (permalink)
| | Millwright
Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: New Hampshire
Posts: 3,527
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Here is every thing New Egg has.
Your board LOOKS like PCI-E X16 the older version of PCI Express, but I'm not positive.
Either PCI express will work, but the newer versions will be throttled a little if you have the older slot.
I am not sure If your on-board will work with an expansion card in your PCI Express slot, the specs don't say what kind of on-board graphics you have.
I was surprised to see that most of the PCI cards that New Egg has are dual head. 
If you got a dual head PCI-Express and a dual head PCI that should give you 4 monitors.
My newest card is AGP so I won't be making any recommendations. 
Just make sure the card you pick is dual head, most of them are.
My personal preference is ATI for more than 1 monitor, but I have only done this with older cards. I also would not mix ATI with Nvidia, that may create problems.
PCI-E X16 Newegg.com - Computer Hardware,Video Cards & Video Devices,Desktop Graphics / Video Cards,PCI Express x16
PCI-E 2.0 X16 Newegg.com - Computer Hardware,Video Cards & Video Devices,Desktop Graphics / Video Cards,PCI Express 2.0 x16
PCI Newegg.com - Computer Hardware,Video Cards & Video Devices,Desktop Graphics / Video Cards,PCI | |
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July 21st, 2009, 07:14 PM
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#9 (permalink)
| | Junior Member
Join Date: Jul 2009
Posts: 13
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Thanks stroyal for your help. Here is the info I have on the mainboard on my computer:
Manufacturer: AUSTek Computer INC.
Model: NODUSM3 1.05
Chipset: NVIDIA GeForce 6150 Rev. A2
Southbridge: NVIDIA nForce 410/430 MCP
LPCIO: SMSC
BIOS
Brand: Phoenix Technologies, LTD
Version: 3.07
Date: 08/02/2006
I'll get the PCI-E 2.0 X16 that you mentioned if I can find out if it will be compatible. Can you tell from the info I have given you? Thanks a a lot for your help. | |
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July 21st, 2009, 07:20 PM
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#10 (permalink)
| | Super Stealthy Moderator
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