What graphics card do you need for monitors?

Mr. tech · 03-07-2007, 07:14 PM

I want a 22 inch monitor... Do I need a specific graphics card to support that?

Would it work on an 8mb graphics card or is there a minimum?

saltynay · 03-07-2007, 08:27 PM

:o 8mb graphics card i think you need an upgrade......

the monitor will display whatever the graphics card sends it so you need to look at the resolutions the card supports and the resolutions the monitor supports but any modern card will handle and most standard monitors

the connection also matters it is either a vga(analogue) connector or a dvi (digital) connector dvi is better then vga generally and most crt screens are vga whilst modern lcd's are mainly dvi.

Matt

Capricorn · 03-08-2007, 11:07 PM

You don't need a specific graphics card, per se, but you should have a reasonably recent one. I have some older graphics cards that will only handle monitors with a 4:3 pixel ratio but not a 16:9 (or similar widescreen) ratio. That is, they handle monitors with a 1600x1200 resolution just fine, but not those with 1680x1050, which is a typical one for 22" monitors.

I'm sure this is a limitation of the drivers in some cases, but not so in others. Newer cards will handle both and typically come with at least one and often two DVI outputs, which a newer LCD display will also have.

8 MB would (barely) handle the 1680x1050 resolution in 32 bit color, but since any recent card will come with at least 128 MB, that's a moot point. These can be had for under $40. They won't be gaming cards, but for text, 2D video (like playing DVDs), and web browsing, such a card would be fine. You didn't say if you had AGP or PCI-e graphics, but I'd guess the former. Just make sure whatever card you get has the same interface.

Mr. tech · 03-08-2007, 11:14 PM

I would buy a new graphics card however it's a pentium 3 and doesn't have a VGA slot... Are PCI graphics card ok?

Capricorn · 03-09-2007, 01:19 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by Mr. tech
I would buy a new graphics card however it's a pentium 3 and doesn't have a VGA slot... Are PCI graphics card ok?

Is the monitor a 22" widescreen or 4:3 ratio one? If it's a 4:3 monitor you might be in luck. All the 22" monitors I know of are widescreen though. If the graphics hardware itself doesn't prevent a 1680x1050 resolution from being used and the manufacturer has been nice enough to retroactively upgrade the drivers for your card, it might work. However, I'd place my bets on the "not going to work" choice.

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