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Dale W.

Dale W.

Joined on 05/30/02

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Product Reviews
product reviews
  • 5
Most Favorable Review

6 monitors plus 2560X1600 resolution

Visiontek Radeon HD 7750 2GB GDDR5 6M (6 x Mini DP), 900614
Visiontek Radeon HD 7750 2GB GDDR5 6M (6 x Mini DP), 900614

Pros: 6 monitors with independent resolution. With Win 7 monitors can be arranged in any configuration using native Windows Screen Resolution window.

Cons: Not XP compatible. Would show that 6 monitors were attached but would only display on two of them. Had to upgrade to Win7. I was unable to get a Dell u3014 to connect with a DisplayPort cable and enclosed mini-DisplayPort adapter or with a mini-DisplayPort to DisplayPort cable. Ended up having to pay over a hundred $ for an active DisplayPort to dual link DVI adapter. VisionTek tech support answered emails twice on this without giving any meaningful advice.

Overall Review: There is included software that will do screen configuration but is not needed and didn't appear to be as flexible as just configuring the screens in Windows. Check your monitors, only 2 passive DVI or HDMI connections are allowed. Any other monitors without DisplayPort will require ACTIVE adapters. ~30 for single link, over 100 for dual link.

Most Critical Review

Pairs 4 monitors into 2 desktops

Galaxy 21GGE4AM9EKP MDT X4 GeForce 210 Multi Display 1GB 64-bit DDR2 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready  Video Card
Galaxy 21GGE4AM9EKP MDT X4 GeForce 210 Multi Display 1GB 64-bit DDR2 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready Video Card

Pros: Will drive 4 monitors in business computers at a low price. Won't tax the computer's power supply. Fanless - fans usually wear out before other components on a video card. Single width card, doesn't require an empty slot next to the video slot. Fits Dells - the majority of Dell motherboards have the cards facing up rather than down like everyone else. A dual slot card won't fit most Dells, this single width card will.

Cons: Does not give 4 configurable desktops like other cards. With 4 - 1920X1200 monitors, it gives 2 - 3840X1200 desktops, each on a pair of monitors. With 2 monitors that have different resolutions, it will use the lowest to create the max resolution for the pair; a 1920X1200 paired with a 1680X1080, gave resolution of 3360X1080. Windows 7 desktop theme backgrounds scale to fit horizontally so you lose the top and bottom of the picture. Windows that always open in the middle of your first display will be split between those two monitors. If you make a window full screen it will fill two monitors. Because it pairs the monitors, it was not practical for the project that I was doing. The splitter cables that are included have a sloppy fit. Even though they have the smile/frown shape similar to DVI, they are so loose that they can be installed on the card upside down which will mess up one of the pins

Overall Review: This is for multiple monitors not games where you need high video processing speed to navigate through 3-D environments. I tried it with 3 brands of monitors. It worked with the KDS and Acer monitors but didn't work at all with either of the DoubleSight monitors that I tried.

Setup issue

EVGA GeForce GT 430 (Fermi) 1GB DDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 Graphics Card 01G-P3-1431-KR
EVGA GeForce GT 430 (Fermi) 1GB DDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 Graphics Card 01G-P3-1431-KR

Pros: Drives 2 monitors with different resolutions with no problems

Cons: Didn't have video until drivers were loaded, not even during startup. Installed 2 of these in a Dell Optiplex 980 running Windows 7 x64. Plugged a monitor up to the primary one. No video. Started the computer through Remote Desktop from another computer and loaded the drivers from the disk. Restarted with these cards and had video on both monitors on both cards. Without another means to start the computer - other video card or Remote Desktop - it would have been impossible to implement these cards.

Overall Review: Fans are audible but not loud. Good card for business apps and dual monitors.

Good PCI Video for business computers

HIS Radeon 9250 128MB DDR PCI Graphics Card H925H128E1TOPN
HIS Radeon 9250 128MB DDR PCI Graphics Card H925H128E1TOPN

Pros: Passive cooling. I've been replacing other cards as their fans stopped working with these that have no moving parts to wear out. Supports 2 monitors simultaneously, one on DVI and one on D-Sub. These cards have provided every resolution that I've asked of them, including 1080P.

Cons: It's limited by the PCI bus but that won't affect business apps, email or Internet, including YouTube. Would not be a good card for high end gaming.

Overall Review: PCI card, NOT PCI-E, NOT AGP. Be sure that PCI is what you need. We use these for 3rd and 4th monitors with the first two monitors on a PCI-E card. A second PCI-E card would be better but most computers only have one PCI-E x16 slot for video. Good for business apps where refresh rates are in seconds rather than 60 frames per second. This and no other card in it's price range is a gaming card. If you play games with detailed full screen graphics, bite the bullet and buy a high end card.

10/28/2010

Energy efficient but not a 22" monitor

ViewSonic VA2231w - LED Black 22" 1920x1080 5ms Full HD LED Backlight LCD Monitor Slim Design 250 cd/m2 DC 10,000,000:1 (1,000:1)
ViewSonic VA2231w - LED Black 22" 1920x1080 5ms Full HD LED Backlight LCD Monitor Slim Design 250 cd/m2 DC 10,000,000:1 (1,000:1)

Pros: 24 Watts, that's less than half what many similar models use. Light weight, this is energy efficient in resources used. It's good to see Viewsonic with a competitive product in the low price range, it's been a while.

Cons: 21 1/2" monitor marketed as 22", shame on you, Viewsonic. 1080P, while it has more pixels, is also wider and less tall than the 1680 X1050 monitors that are typical in this size. This loses even more sq inches for a given diagonal size. These two factors give a viewable screen that is 18 13/16" wide, 1/16" wider than competing 22" monitors and 10 5/8" high, a troubling 1 1/8" less tall. The screen is 199.9 sq inches compared to 220.3 sq inches for a typical 22" monitor.

Overall Review: A 21 1/2" monitor is a bit small for 1080P. If you have sharp eyes and sit close to your monitor, you will have a really good picture. If you have average eyes and sit back from your monitor, most native Windows text will be small and hard to read. No speakers - this is only a downside for people who prefer the cheap speakers found in monitors over losing desk space for good quality speakers. No DVI cable. The monitor supports DVI but you'll have to find a cable to go digital, only an analog cable (D-Sub) is provided. This doesn't warrant the really poor rating one person gave it but it is a consideration. Newegg sells DVI cables starting at $7 and HDMI to DVI from $8.50, shipping included. I don't see any visual difference with the LED backlight, it does appear to use less power. Curiously, Viewsonic rates the backlight life at 30,000 hrs. (typ) which is less than they rate their fluorescent backlights, 50,000 hrs. (typ)

10/28/2010