Tuesday, December 15, 2009

I'm trying to figure out what video card to get and if I'll need to upgrade the power supply?

I have a brand new HP a6152n with a stock 300watt power supply. I want to upgrade the video card so I can have dual monitors.. I've searched google for recommended video cards for my system and everything I keep finding are gamers upgrading to ridiculously powerful video cards and then having to also upgrade their power supply at the same time since the video card requires more power.





All I need is a good PCI-Express card that will run Vista with aero turned on smoothly on Dual 22'' Monitors.





Can I just pick any 128MB PCI-E card with good ratings off new egg? Should any 128MB PCI-E card be sufficient to handle vista and dual 22'' monitors? Also will I have to upgrade the power supply? If so, what should the watt be on the new power supply?I'm trying to figure out what video card to get and if I'll need to upgrade the power supply?
Most modern video cards can handle dual monitors. Most of the major brands (Nvidia, ATI, etc.) have drivers for Vista by now, so they should be able to handle it.





You will want to make sure that there are two outputs on your video card for the two monitors. Most modern cards come with a VGA output and a DVI output. You may need an adaptor from one or both of these depending on your monitor(s).





You will probably need a new power supply. The description of the the video card on newegg will probably specify a minimum wattage. 300 is usually too low. 350 is usually the minimum, but you'll probably want something higher (because you WILL have more than just your video card running from the power supply).

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