What card for Dual (Monitor/TV) Setup

[gguerra]

What card for Dual (Monitor/TV) Multimedia PC

I am looking to setup a multimedia PC to play movies. I already have the PC which is a Intel Quad Core (Q6600) and Asus P5K-VM Mobo with integrated graphics and audio. The audio is already 5.1 ready (6 ports) although currently I only use it as stereo and I run the sound to a home receiver (also a 5.1)..It also has S/PDIF Out. I currently watch DVD's on my 22" inch monitor and hear sound through my stereo..

I am looking to add a TV.

Can anyone recommend a card to use so that I can use my monitor for PC tasks (Windows) and use the TV to watch DVD's (via PowerDVD). Would it be the same as a standard dual monitor setup? The TV has HDMI in as well as VGA input (No DVI on TV). My Monitor has of course VGA and DVI inputs.

I am using XP Pro and plan to someday upgrade to Win7 so naturally I would need to have drivers to to support the card in Win7.

I am not a gamer so I dont need anything for that. Only video playback.

Will I need 2 cards for dual or just one??

As for slots this is what the mobo has

1 PCI Express x16
1 PCI Express x4
2 PCI Slots

I do plan to upgrade to Blu Ray as well soon. I know the Win7 drivers will take a while to come out (i know Asus support is slow)

So I am looking for 720p/1080p output (DVI or HDMI??) as well as DVI or VGA out.

 

[Ritwik7]

What's your budget for the card?

 

[gguerra]

Well since it's not for gaming it doesn't need to be very high-end. I just need dual monitor or monitor/tv support. I found this for $50 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...oogle-_-Video+Cards-_-MSI+COMPUTER-_-14127398 and this one for $100 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...TC-Froogle-_-Video+Cards-_-Diamond-_-14103062.. I am still looking around though.

 

[Ritwik7]

This card would be a good choice IMO. It has a slight performance advantage over the 9400GT.

 

[gguerra]

Well I would prefer to have HDMI output for the TV since there are some known sync issues using DVI to HDMI adapters. As for the monitor that could be DVI or VGA.. I am thinking I may need 2 cards to do what I want. My Motherboard may not have the slots or be capable of running two video cards.. I dont know at this point. This is the motherboard http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131187

 

[Ritwik7]

Then you'll have to run one PCI-E and one PCI card from the specs of your mobo. I'm not too sure though how it should work.