[SOLVED] Cheap graphics card to support 2xQHD displays

jamesm113

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Dec 6, 2012
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I've become spoiled because I have two QHD displays at work. At home, I currently have 2xFHD, but one is powered by VGA as my video card (Radeon HD 5450) doesn't support dual digital outputs

I was wondering what graphics cards would power 2xQHD displays? Is there a specific spec I should be looking at? Most cards have a max resolution, but I'm not sure if that is for a single monitor or for powering both displays.

My computer is pretty old (AMD FX-6100), so I'm hoping to find something fairly cheap. I do absolutely zero gaming, so just desktop use (email, internet, youtube, etc).

Bonus points if I can hook up a 3rd port to my bedroom TV via HDMI. Maybe I can do that with the motherboard's onboard video card? Is it allowed to use two video cards at once?
 
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Cool, then as long as all the ports do what you want, you should be set. :)

Don't underestimate older hardware--that's all I use, and it's amazing how quick the older stuff can be in just regular productivity if optimized. I regularly play around on computer store systems going to sites I frequent like this one just to compare how fast/slow the newer systems are and usually I walk away unhappy unless it's nearly the top of the line system, and then I look at the price and still walk away, lol. I spent $50 on this i5-2500 I'm using right now, lol.

That being said, the fx-6100 is still quite capable of doing regular work, and even more than that. My cousin as an fx-6350 paired with an r9 270x and his gpu wasn't even 50% when gaming...

jamesm113

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So my current card has VGA, DVI, and HDMI. In theory, I'd be able to run 3 monitors, but I can't output DVI and HDMI at the same time.

Are most other cards like that?

The QHD monitors I'm planning on getting support both HDMI and DisplayPort. Is DVI ancient now?
 

jamesm113

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I found a Radeon HD 6570 that has 2xDP, 1xDVI. I'm assuming if it has two DP's, at the very least it would support 2 monitors. Question is if it can support running all 3 ports at once. I could get a DVI->HDMI cable for the bedroom TV
 
Check the max resolution of the 6570 before you buy it as I don't know if it will support the full 2560x1440 you're shooting for.

I know it's a stretch in terms of budget, but a gaming card that covers the resolutions and number of monitors you want will really wake up your system, even for the casual stuff you're doing. I put gpus in everything I have and all I do is look at high-res pdfs all day.
 

jamesm113

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I seem to be OK there. AMD says 3840x2400 on the DP ports.
https://web.archive.org/web/2018020...com/en-us/products/graphics/desktop/6000/6570

I mean, the thing is, it's an ancient computer that I use a few times a month. I'd have to spend hundreds upon hundreds to get it anywhere near modern.

I mainly wanted to upgrade the monitors so when I bring my work laptop home, I have a nice display setup to work from home.
 
Cool, then as long as all the ports do what you want, you should be set. :)

Don't underestimate older hardware--that's all I use, and it's amazing how quick the older stuff can be in just regular productivity if optimized. I regularly play around on computer store systems going to sites I frequent like this one just to compare how fast/slow the newer systems are and usually I walk away unhappy unless it's nearly the top of the line system, and then I look at the price and still walk away, lol. I spent $50 on this i5-2500 I'm using right now, lol.

That being said, the fx-6100 is still quite capable of doing regular work, and even more than that. My cousin as an fx-6350 paired with an r9 270x and his gpu wasn't even 50% when gaming 1080p. Youtube and any other thing just worked lightning fast. (We upgraded to an ssd and 24GB of ram.) I was fully expecting to look for a motherboard combo to upgrade to, but I left more than impressed with the old fx series.

All this being said, you can pick up older quality cards for under $100 almost anywhere, like this thread here:

These will seriously breathe new life into the system and honestly aren't much of a jump in price when you consider the performance jump from something like the 6570:
https://www.techpowerup.com/gpu-specs/radeon-hd-6570.c277

https://www.techpowerup.com/gpu-specs/xfx-rs-rx-470-triple-x-best-buy-exclusive.b3774
 
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