MacandPcStore.com

good price on a solid graphics card

Customer Rating:
This seems like a lot of card for the money. Installing the driver was a long repetitive process, but the card works fine.

Good Solution, but...

Customer Rating:
If you run Windows Vista and want two monitors, you need to have them both running on the same driver, so this is a great solution.

If you run XP and are just looking for a second monitor, you don't need the second VGA port here, you can simply get a card with one port and run one monitor off your existing VGA port, one off the new one.

If you don't have room for another card and this one replaces your exisitng card (thus giving you two VGA ports), this is a good solution.... but...

The "but" is an odd glitch I ran into: At first I set the monitors (Dual DELL 24 ") to both run on the new card. Everything except Remote Desktop (RDP) worked great! RDP, which I use frequently, was incredibly slow. After some futzing around, I discovered that it was the new card - even running just one monitor was slow. RDP works fine on my old card, but if I try to run it on the new card in any configuration, I get really slow response (you can see the characters as they slowly echo back in a text editor).

For me the solution was easy - I just run one monitor on the old card (and always open RDP there) and one on the new card and I have a third VGA port in the back in case I ever want to hook up a third monitor (maybe to watch TV or something). I can do this because I have XP and no plans to upgrade this computer to a later OS so the multiple drivers between the two main displays is fine.

If you don't use RDP, or plan on continuing to use your existing VGA port, this is a great buy and easy to install and it gives you a third VGA port for later use (or a third monitor if you have the deskpace!).

If you use RDP and are solely depending on this to run two monitors (Windows Vista/replacment for single VGA), I'd recommend that you keep looking, perhaps try a higher horsepower unit, one with more memory - I really don't know what the issue is with this card and RDP.

In any case, check out [...] for a great free tool that extends your taskbar to your second monitor and [...] for a free utilityt o allow you to put a second background on that second manitor!

Multiple monitors rule! Enjoy!

Works on Dell Dimension 2400 as promised

Customer Rating:
Very easy installation. I know this has been stated on older reviews but just to restate installation instructions for Dell Dimension 2400.

1.) If your Graphics Controller is set on Onboard on Bios, make sure to set it on Auto.
2.) Disable your integrated graphics controller in the Device manager.
3.) Shut down your computer.
4.) Install the card on the available PCI slot.
5.) MAKE SURE YOU UNPLUG THE MONITOR FROM THE OLD VGA PORT and plug in 1 of the 2 available vga ports on your newly installed graphics card. Forgetting to do this will make you think something is wrong with your computer since it is still hooked up to the old port you disabled, naturally you will get a black screen. (Yes, I was a momentary idiot this actually happened to me. lol.)
6.) Restart your computer, it will auto detect the newly added hardware and installing the drivers from the CD is unnecessary.

Enjoy your new graphics card for whatever purpose you got it for. As for me, I got it for my son to enable him to play a few video games such as TMNT, Kung Fu Panda, Lego Star Wars etc.

Honestly, not that much of a difference from the old integrated graphics controller on a Flat Panel LCD screen except for the capability to play more recently released games. Nevertheless, I am very happy and satisfied with the outcome.

Since my purpose of getting this has been met, I give it 5 stars.

Update an older Compaq

Customer Rating:
The low resolution on the flat screen monitor on my six year old Compaq desktop computer was not displaying properly, lots of double images and blurring. I decided to replace the monitor with a new widescreen one, a Compaq Q1859 with 1366X768 resolution and read that I first needed to install a new PCI video card. The computer is running Windows XP Home, an Intel Celeron processor and an integrated video card which, as it turned out, had failed. This PNY video card worked out perfectly. Installation was simple, the 250 watt power supply was sufficient, and the picture quality is GREAT!!!

PCI Graphics card

Customer Rating:
Great graphics card but the instructions suck.The instuctions that came with the card do not match what I found on line. Looks like they were written for Windows 95. After I installed the card I had a blank screen, Called the help desk and you have to leave a message and they will call you back. They did 24 hours later. They argued that the instuctions in the box were good. By that time with trial and error I fixed it myself.