New Graphics Card? - Dual Monitor Dell U2717D Setup

philboy

Hi,
I previously built my computer in 2012 and purchased the spec listed here https://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showpost.php?p=77232735&postcount=2

The current motherboard is an ASRock Z68. As you can see from the spec, it only has D-Sub, DVI-D and HDMI connections.

The Dell monitors have HDMI (MHL), DisplayPort, Mini DisplayPort connections.

I am currently using the HDMI connection to connect to one of the monitors.

Can one of you kind people please advise as to how I can upgrade my system to support a dual-screen setup with these monitors. Also, I work from home and would like to be able to connect my laptop to the monitors when needed. Currently I connect via mini DP but the laptop also has a HDMI port.

TIA,
Philip

Xenoronin

I need to ask the rest of the board if this is a good or a bad idea: https://www.amazon.co.uk/XFX-RX-550P2SFG5-PCI-Express-Video-Card/dp/B071XXZWT1/ref=pd_sbs_147_1/257-4642971-7450941?_encoding=UTF8&pd_rd_i=B071XXZWT1&pd_rd_r=d068e384-eba7-4c95-af06-1ad3d6673bc9&pd_rd_w=fOGTR&pd_rd_wg=52m8X&pf_rd_p=cc188cba-1892-42b3-956f-6c67d0ab7a00&pf_rd_r=HAHKX4EVD4P1059YZDRW&psc=1&refRID=HAHKX4EVD4P1059YZDRW

I really don't know much about this card, but it does seem to fufill your needs. This should get you 1440p on both screens, which no adapter solution will do because of the age of your motherboard/internal gpu. I would wait a little for someone else to respond before ordering anything though. There may be a cheaper solution with even older cards or second hand.

With regards to the laptop, are you hoping to connect it to both screens at once?

philboy

Thanks for the feedback.

To be honest, I don't mind how much it costs up to €400. If I need to replace the motherboard then so be it.

Regarding connecting the laptop, if I could connect to both screens at the same time and have a triple setup, that would be great but it's not a deal breaker.

minitrue

The Dell U2717D is a 2560x1440 monitor and the motherboard only supports up to 1920x1200 on it's outputs so I presume you are running the monitor currently at 1920x1080 so it is being upscaled. You could keep going like that and use a dvi to hdmi cable but I would be getting a graphics card that can run the two monitors at their native resolution.

If you get a displayport cable to go between the monitors you should be able to use daisy-chaining so the mini-dp to displayport cable you have from the laptop would let you drive them both.

Depending on the output on the graphics card you get you just want a dvi to hdmi cable or a displayport to hdmi cable so you can hook both monitors up directly to the PC using the monitors hdmi ports leaving the displayport side free for the laptop.

I think even a gt710 should do, a gt1030 (or rx550) is probably a lot saner though and given the value of the original PC and both monitors I suspect shaving off under €50 isn't the priority! I'd lean to the nvidia side (e.g. gt1030) just for power efficiency. Part of why it's saner is if the daisy-chaining causes problems (I've never used it and while the monitors support it just maybe your laptop wouldn't like it) you could switch to using hdmi and displayport from both the PC and the laptop.

K.O.Kiki

Nvidia Quadro NVS 295 can be picked up for €18-25 on eBay & should be able to handle dual-1440p monitors via DisplayPort.

I'd also highly suggest replacing the PSU - your model is well past its shelf-life.
Corsair CX450 or be quiet Pure Power 11 400W are <€60 & have 5 year warranty; Corsair TX550M is <€75 and has 7 year warranty.

As for your laptop, check the user manual to confirm if it can connect to multiple displays.

philboy

Thanks for your advice.

Yes, the monitor is currently display at 1920 x something and upscaling it as it doesn't look great to be honest.

Is this the card you are referring to on Amazon as there seems to be a few types: GTX1030?

I read about the daisy-chaining method in the user guide and it looks interesting and hopefully that works for the laptop connection.

Regarding the PC and dual-config, is there any issue with having both monitors connected via HDMI (one from the motherboard and one from the graphics card)?

philboy

K.O.Kiki wrote: »

Nvidia Quadro NVS 295 can be picked up for €18-25 on eBay & should be able to handle dual-1440p monitors via DisplayPort.

I'd also highly suggest replacing the PSU - your model is well past its shelf-life.
Corsair CX450 or be quiet Pure Power 11 400W are <€60 & have 5 year warranty; Corsair TX550M is <€75 and has 7 year warranty.

As for your laptop, check the user manual to confirm if it can connect to multiple displays.

Am I better off upgrading the whole computer at this stage? I can purchase a new system and donate the old one to a family member.

Best regards,
Philip

XMG

I have 6 monitors (don’t ask!) and I run 2 x 27” Acer 2560X1440 on a GTX 1060 via DP with no problems, the rest run on a 1080TI

K.O.Kiki

philboy wrote: »

Am I better off upgrading the whole computer at this stage? I can purchase a new system and donate the old one to a family member.

Best regards,
Philip

To build a better PC would be a bit over €400 - might be worth it to you for better responsiveness.
https://uk.pcpartpicker.com/list/yq3sXv

Alternatively, get an old cheap workstation GPU for the monitors, new PSU for safety, maybe a bigger 480Gb+ SSD for speed.

minitrue

philboy wrote: »

Is this the card you are referring to on Amazon as there seems to be a few types: GTX1030?

Yes, that's a gt 1030 and the sort of card I was talking about. There are lots of them but I'd stick to a fanless one like that if taking that route.

philboy wrote: »

I read about the daisy-chaining method in the user guide and it looks interesting and hopefully that works for the laptop connection.

Regarding the PC and dual-config, is there any issue with having both monitors connected via HDMI (one from the motherboard and one from the graphics card)?

You know I'm not sure if it's possible but I wouldn't even think about doing it (if nothing else remember the motherboard cannot do 2560x1440)! Connect both up to the graphics card, so if you got the card above get a displayport to hdmi converter or cable (nothing fancy, probably €10) and then two wires from the PC going in to the hdmi ports on the monitors and then daisy chain the displayport connections for the laptop.

philboy

Thank you for all the advice. I'm thinking now since the build is over 7 years old, perhaps I will just build a new machine and donate the old one.

My requirements for a new machine would be the following:

OS: Windows
Storage: SSD for fast loading OS. Ability to add further drives, will only use SSDs.
Processor: I will be using the PC for office work, browsing and some web development (Wordpress). Nothing too demanding, although I do always have quite a lot of tabs and applications open so a lot of RAM would be useful.
RAM: As mentioned, I tend to have a lot of Browser windows with lots of tabs open in conjunction with lots of applications. I'd think probably
Graphics: No Gaming but I will have 2 x Dell U2717D and need to connect a laptop also (so triple monitor setup would be nice if possible).
Case: I would like a silent case. One of the most important aspects of the build is for the PC to be as silent as possible.
Extras/Peripherals: I have a good wireless mouse/keyboard so all good here. I would like the machine to be able to read various cards

Thank you so much all of you for your appreciated advice!

I don't need a fancy case, just something big enough to hold what is needed and for it to be as silent as possible.

Homelander

Your old PC is still perfectly fine and the processor is still a good one, and 16gb ram is plenty. I don't think there is any point getting a whole new PC (unless you want to) when all you have to do is throw in a new ssd and a cheap graphics card to use the monitor.

K.O.Kiki

Homelander wrote: »

Your old PC is still perfectly fine and the processor is still a good one, and 16gb ram is plenty. I don't think there is any point getting a whole new PC (unless you want to) when all you have to do is throw in a new ssd and a cheap graphics card to use the monitor.

New platform will be snappier & use a lot less power - can be useful when left on for 8+ hrs a day.

philboy

Thanks for the feedback guys. I'm definitely going to upgrade as I have the PC over 7 years now and it's paid for itself. I'll sell it on as family members have no need for it.

What do you reckon it is worth? It is in perfect condition and here is the spec: https://touch.boards.ie/thread/2056556982/1/#post77232735

I started a new thread on the new build I am looking for here: https://touch.boards.ie/thread/2058032082/1/#post111810319