Dual DVI

[etilena]

The new Matrox P650 looks tempting, even if it doesn't run blazingly fast, but that's not what it's for. The reason I'm interested is because of the dual DVI outputs.

I've never had the chance to experience DVI quality output onto an LCD screen before. Is there a huge difference in visible quality between that and a normal VGA output? Or would running one monitor off the DVI port and one off the VGA port be good enough for a dual monitor setup?

[crazybus]

Or you could pick up one of these :
http://www.ati.com/designpartners/media/images/fglz1_128_lg.jpg

[etilena]

Hey, that looks cool. An ATI card with dual DVI, and me suspects it's a FireGL card.

[Steel]

I've never had the chance to experience DVI quality output onto an LCD screen before. Is there a huge difference in visible quality between that and a normal VGA output? Or would running one monitor off the DVI port and one off the VGA port be good enough for a dual monitor setup?

On my Viewsonic LCD at work I can't really tell much difference between DVI and analog. The biggest thing is I periodically have to adjust the screen when running analog but other than that it looks virtually identical to the digital side. I have seen other LCDs have trouble with ghosting and syncing up properly running analog, but if you have a good one it shouldn't be a problem.

[etilena]

Really still dreaming of the day I could afford a dual 17" LCD monitor setup.

My 4200 Ti supports dual monitor setup now, so should I get a DVI - VGA adapter and get another 17" monitor (2nd hand of course)?

[Alan_HU]

Really still dreaming of the day I could afford a dual 17" LCD monitor setup.

My 4200 Ti supports dual monitor setup now, so should I get a DVI - VGA adapter and get another 17" monitor (2nd hand of course)?

I don't know if this is still an open question, but I'm currently running two monitors off the DVI port, and the difference compared to dual VGA outputs is, hm, major. DVI output is perfect. No shadows, no ghosting, no discoloration - you can see every pixel from corner to corner, and every color transition is as sharp as possible. And, although my cards (see below) are not exactly the "crappy picture quality" types and their analog output is one of the best, DVI is still vastly superior.

Unfortunately I cannot afford a FireGL, so I bought a Radeon 9500 and an el cheapo Radeon 7500 PCI to have two DVI outputs. Works fine.