dual display options

wpublic · Post by **wpublic** » Sat Jun 03, 2006 1:03 am

i have this dell (optiplex i think) at work, the ones that are very small (12" x 12" x 6" high)that i have attached to the back of the LCD. PCI cards and most other add-ons are not an option due to its very small size. the video card (onboard Intel)only has a DVI out that i have the LCD connected to.

I am needing to find a way to set up dual display with the LCD and a 19" CRT

in device manager under display adapters, i see the INtel device listed twice so i figure that it has dual display capabilities. I have seen some "Y" cables that have a DVI and VGA jack in some of those machines at work, but they are just being used to adapt the DVI out to their VGA monitors.

If anyone has seen those, do you know if they can be used to set up dual display? If not, is there another way to do it? mostly looking for external solutions, since it will be difficult to install anything in the box due to lack of space.

GuardianAsher · Post by **GuardianAsher** » Sat Jun 03, 2006 1:22 am

Well, if it's the kind of box I think it is, I'm not sure if you'd be able to do dual displays using the Y cable. You might end up having compatability issues and such later on, but I'm not 100% sure on that. If you can give the exact model # of the computer, I can do some research and get back to you with some solutions

GuardianAsher · Post by **GuardianAsher** » Sat Jun 03, 2006 2:09 am

Well, I went ahead and took the liberty of lining up some other options, in case the Y splitter doesn't end up working

I know you said it's a very small case. But if it's like I think it is, there are some special low-profile video cards that come with special low-profile brackets that should fit into that case. Here's some examples in different flavors, since I don't know what sockets that motherboard has.

Jaton GeForce4 MX440 PCI Low Profile Video Card With Low Profile Bracket

Jaton GeForce MX4000 AGP 4X/8X Low Profile Video Card with Low Profile Bracket

Rosewill GeForce 6200TC PCI-Express x16 Low Profile Video Card With Low Profile Bracket

Unfortunately, these solutions are a bit on the expensive side, and they may not work for you.
There is another solution I have been investigating for my own purposes. It's a little known device that plugs into a USB 2.0 port, and is able to act as a second video card. It's commonly used for laptop applications, but again, it isn't cheap.

USB 2.0 Hi-Speed USB Video Card Adapter SVGA

A couple of these on Tiger Direct, if you want a more familiar suplier:

Cables To Go USB 2.0 to SVGA Adapter

Tritton SEE2 USB 2.0 to SVGA Adapter

Also something to note on these USB adaptors are the specifications and the resolution limits. The Cables to Go version has a limit of 1024x768 at 16-bit color, while the Tritton flavor has much more resolutions settings, up to 1280x1024 at 16-bit color.

I hope this information can be of some assistance.

Edit: I did a little more research on the USB to SVGA adaptors, and it turns out all three of those are capable of 1280x1024 resolution at 16-bit color with updated drivers.

Post by **FlyingPenguin** » Sat Jun 03, 2006 5:30 am

Most optiplex systems ARE dual display. There's a "Y" cable that should have come with it that connects to the DVI output and provides either 2 DVI or 2 SVGA (you can't mix and match).

This is not a cable that you'll find in the store, it's a specialty item. One of these:
http://cgi.ebay.com/Dual-VGA-Y-splitter ... dZViewItem

b-man1 · Post by **b-man1** » Sat Jun 03, 2006 8:23 am

if you do end up buying a new small form factor video card, be careful that the LENGTH will fit into the case. i had that problem before in an HP sff system. the bracket of the card was sff, but the card was too long and would hit the cpu hsf.

DoPeY5007 · Post by **DoPeY5007** » Sat Jun 03, 2006 8:39 am

I have the Y cable (a **** load of them)

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vi ... %3AIT&rd=1

PM me for your price

wpublic · Post by **wpublic** » Sat Jun 03, 2006 10:26 am

thanks for your replies. it's an optiplex gx620 ultra small form factor.

the Y cable that dopey gave a link to is the one that was sent with one of the other systems where i work. they are just using it a a DVI-VGA adapter, but now i am thinking i can just put a regular DVI-VGA on that one and get their Y cable.