Question All I Want is Two Monitors!

[Fender4]

My PC consists of an old Gigabyte motherboard + an AMD 6 core processor with pcie 2.o and a decent video card but what I want is to be able to work on my PC and watch a movie on a second monitor. I know it can be done but I don't have a card with multiple outputs. I didn't want to but if I have to I will update to a pcie 4.0 system if I absolutely have to. I D NOT play games.

 

[Lutfij]

Welcome to the forums, newcomer!

Please list the specs to your build like so:
CPU:
CPU cooler:
Motherboard:
Ram:
SSD/HDD:
GPU:
PSU:
Chassis:
OS:
Monitor:
include the age of the PSU apart from it's make and model. BIOS version for your motherboard at this moment of time.

 

[COLGeek]

...and your budget.

In the meantime, something along these lines should suffice:

https://www.newegg.com/msi-geforce-gtx-1050-ti-gtx-1050-ti-4gt-oc/p/N82E16814137055

 

[Fender4]

Gigabyte GA-970A-D3 bios is stock AFAIK
AMD Phenom II X6 1090T Processor 3.20 GHz Fan cooled, not overclocked
8GB ram
Samsung 850 EVO SSD + several terrabytes of extra storage
ATI Radeon HD 4600 series ......don't know which one but is only 1080 TV is also 1080
AutoSpeed ? PSU multiple detachable cables. I don't know wattage...was added maybe 8 years ago
Windows7 64 bit ...... YiPEE!
Acer 28" Monitor and a Samsung TV. Is hooked up now with a 1 into 2 box looks good on TV but ...

 

[Fender4]

while I may have your attention, Aside of gaming, Are those M2 SSDs worth installing? I've never used a pc with one installed.

 

[ohio_buckeye]

They are about the same price as a normal ssd and usually a lot faster. Day to day use you may not notice but when you start copying a lot of data it should be more noticeable. Some them can go theoretically over 7000mbps. Whereas your sata ssd is going to be closer to 500mbps.

https://www.pcworld.com/article/558324/nvme-vs-m-2-vs-sata-ssd-whats-the-difference.html

As far as a second monitor and not gaming, look on Amazon. They make such a thing as a USB to HDMI adapter if you’ve got a USB 3 port available.

There are cheaper ones but for example…

https://www.amazon.com/StarTech-com...1714328737&sprefix=USB+to+hdm,aps,259&sr=8-13

We’ve used these at work and they mostly work fine if you just want a 2nd or 3rd monitor and are not trying to game or do a lot of heavy stuff on it.

 

[COLGeek]

while I may have your attention, Aside of gaming, Are those M2 SSDs worth installing? I've never used a pc with one installed.

It would be a waste of potential in this old rig. From your perspective, a regular ol' SATA 2.5 SSD would be a huge leap forward compared to a HDD.

 

[Fender4]

a regular ol' SATA 2.5 SSD would be a huge leap forward compared to a HDD.

That's what I have now

 

[COLGeek]

That's what I have now

Then don't waste your money stuffing an m.2 SSD (and adapter) into your current rig. Nothing gained.

Now, if you want to build a completely new system, then that is a different topic altogether.

 

[COLGeek]

They are about the same price as a normal ssd and usually a lot faster. Day to day use you may not notice but when you start copying a lot of data it should be more noticeable. Some them can go theoretically over 7000mbps. Whereas your sata ssd is going to be closer to 500mbps.

https://www.pcworld.com/article/558324/nvme-vs-m-2-vs-sata-ssd-whats-the-difference.html

As far as a second monitor and not gaming, look on Amazon. They make such a thing as a USB to HDMI adapter if you’ve got a USB 3 port available.

There are cheaper ones but for example…

https://www.amazon.com/StarTech-com-USB-HDMI-Adapter-External/dp/B00H91BQ7Y/ref=mp_s_a_1_13?crid=30Z40UUBSTL0I&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.zu2cInVuptbSdCSY7VNN2lb6fd3TGdJQhi1bcXITU0XWtsm2wGUNU0xpHHXP9fdI-Q2fJUH0lV5t6aPsa_xXuqg9B19TYgYhM2dRR6L1LjWHdYu61uc1LIHzWpdwUefZKEl5Uveuwjc--hjhjnoApKHq8K3tESR78Lnrd8BYBB_HG5d2wZ3zP_Bz_5Fe3vueS1g0E0RUsghc7uGEZBs1_g.eLJyuzdvFuYemOOSUA_Pst-4MGnp9nlQWZ0d7pedoU8&dib_tag=se&keywords=usb+to+hdmi+adapter&qid=1714328737&sprefix=USB+to+hdm,aps,259&sr=8-13

We’ve used these at work and they mostly work fine if you just want a 2nd or 3rd monitor and are not trying to game or do a lot of heavy stuff on it.

Just something to keep in mind regarding the 3rd party USB 3 ports found on motherboards of this vintage. They are turds in terms of performance. Your mileage may vary widely from such an adapter in a modern system.

 

[Fender4]

No I would never think about adding it to my current mess. Only if I were to upgrade for video card reasons, I was considering the M2 path.

 

[COLGeek]

No I would never think about adding it to my current mess. Only if I were to upgrade for video card reasons, I was considering the M2 path.

Upgrading the video card is an independent decision from adding a m.2 adapter and SSD. One has nothing to do with the other.

All you really need is a video card with (at least) two output ports. That can be done for very little.

 

[35below0]

As far as a second monitor and not gaming, look on Amazon. They make such a thing as a USB to HDMI adapter if you’ve got a USB 3 port available.

There are cheaper ones but for example…

https://www.amazon.com/StarTech-com-USB-HDMI-Adapter-External/dp/B00H91BQ7Y/ref=mp_s_a_1_13?crid=30Z40UUBSTL0I&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.zu2cInVuptbSdCSY7VNN2lb6fd3TGdJQhi1bcXITU0XWtsm2wGUNU0xpHHXP9fdI-Q2fJUH0lV5t6aPsa_xXuqg9B19TYgYhM2dRR6L1LjWHdYu61uc1LIHzWpdwUefZKEl5Uveuwjc--hjhjnoApKHq8K3tESR78Lnrd8BYBB_HG5d2wZ3zP_Bz_5Fe3vueS1g0E0RUsghc7uGEZBs1_g.eLJyuzdvFuYemOOSUA_Pst-4MGnp9nlQWZ0d7pedoU8&dib_tag=se&keywords=usb+to+hdmi+adapter&qid=1714328737&sprefix=USB+to+hdm,aps,259&sr=8-13

We’ve used these at work and they mostly work fine if you just want a 2nd or 3rd monitor and are not trying to game or do a lot of heavy stuff on it.

Try this. All GA-970A-D3 motherboards have a USB 3 port at the back. This is probably the easiest way to get two outputs.

Buying a GPU with two outputs... Not impossible but very frustrating if the GPU is not compatible. There are revisions of GPUS and motherboards and landing a compatible GPU is not as simple as you may think. Plus, it's likely to cost too much.

Last option is a new PC. You can get by with a very cheap and capable machine since you don't care at all about gaming. For under ~$500 it's not normally possible to buy anything decent, but there are exceptions.
Here's one to consider:
PCPartPicker Part List

CPU: Intel Core i3-12100 3.3 GHz Quad-Core Processor ($115.98 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: Gigabyte B760M DS3H DDR4 Micro ATX LGA1700 Motherboard ($99.99 @ Amazon)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws V 16 GB (2 x 8 GB) DDR4-3200 CL16 Memory ($36.00 @ Amazon)
Storage: Crucial P3 1 TB M.2-2280 PCIe 3.0 X4 NVME Solid State Drive ($66.52 @ Amazon)
Case: Fractal Design Core 1100 MicroATX Mini Tower Case ($49.99 @ B&H)
Power Supply: be quiet! Pure Power 11 400 W 80+ Gold Certified ATX Power Supply ($68.67 @ Amazon)
Total: $437.15
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2024-04-28 17:35 EDT-0400

Here is an even cheaper AMD build:
PCPartPicker Part List

CPU: AMD Ryzen 5 4600G 3.7 GHz 6-Core Processor ($92.00 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: Gigabyte A520M S2H Micro ATX AM4 Motherboard ($84.99 @ Amazon)
Memory: Corsair Vengeance LPX 16 GB (2 x 8 GB) DDR4-3200 CL16 Memory ($45.99 @ Amazon)
Storage: Crucial P3 1 TB M.2-2280 PCIe 3.0 X4 NVME Solid State Drive ($66.52 @ Amazon)
Case: Fractal Design Core 1100 MicroATX Mini Tower Case ($49.99 @ B&H)
Power Supply: be quiet! Pure Power 11 400 W 80+ Gold Certified ATX Power Supply ($68.67 @ Amazon)
Total: $408.16
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2024-04-28 18:10 EDT-0400

If you reuse your case, that's one less thing to spend on, but you will probably want to hold onto your Win 7 build.

 

[logainofhades]

I would say it is time for a new rig altogether.

 

[Fender4]

goodbye

 

[ohio_buckeye]

Her really is correct. That hardware is from about 2010 most likely. You can imagine the last bios updates are close to 10 years old or any security updates for that came out for the motherboard. Plus if you are using windows 10, support for that ends next year so you certainly shouldn’t do any banking or sensitive data on that system after that. Same always applies if running windows 7 or 8. That computer had a good run for you. Give the poor thing a rest.