Dual Video Card on the Dell Vostro 420 - Please help!

[gups]

Hi everyone,

My first post!

I am thinking of buying the Dell Vostro 420 with the following specs:

PROCESSOR
Intel® Core™ 2 Duo E7500 (2.93GHz, 3M, L2Cache, 1066FSB)

OPERATING SYSTEM Genuine Windows® 7 Professional Bonus- Windows XP Professional downgrade

HARD DRIVE 250GB Serial ATA Hard Drive (7200RPM) w/DataBurst Cache™

MEMORY 3GB DDR2 SDRAM 800MHZ - 1x2GB 1x1GB

VIDEO CARD 512MB ATI Radeon™ HD 4350

POWER Supply: 350 Watts

The ATI HD 4350 video card that it comes with sits in the PCIe x16 slot. I understand it supports two discrete monitors. However, I want to add 3 or 4 discreet displays. Since I don't have any free PCIe x16 slots, can I add another video card to one of the two free PCIe x1 slots to add three or four discreet displays to this machine?

I was thinking of this card:


HIS H435F512EP Radeon HD 4350 512MB 64-bit DDR2 PCI Express x1 HDCP Ready Low Profile Ready Video Card

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6814161280

I am a newbie when it comes to this sort of stuff. Would this be a fairly simple process? Are there any power supply concerns or compatibility issues I should be aware of? Is it just a simple matter of installing the second video card in the PCIe x1 slot or are there settings I would have to tinker with.

Any input would be appreciated!

 

[dougie_boy]

i believe you can do so. you would not be able to use gaming apps but for desktop use that should be fine.

 

[gups]

Thanks for the response dougie_boy!

I am not going to be using gaming apps. My primary goal is to have 3 or 4 discreet displays.

I am assuming that I would just install the second HD 4350 PCIe x1 card and that would be it! Since both the cards are the ATI HD 4350 chipset, the drivers already installed for the PCIe x16 slot should recognize the second card, right?

 

[dougie_boy]

should do but i have never done so.

my theory is the card uses a pci express bus still and the same gpu core so the driver should be the same. therefore it would just be seen as the same.

sounds like an awesome screen setup.

 

[gups]

Thanks again!

So, all I would need to do is:

1. Shut down the computer
2. Install the card in one of the two free PCIe x1 slots
3. Restart

At this point, Windows 7 would automatically detect the new hardware and the existing drivers?

Sorry if I sound daft, but I really am a novice at this stuff...

Yes, I am looking forward to having 3 or 4 displays. I multi-task quite a bit and have at least 15 different windows open at any given time. I need the extra real estate!

 

[dougie_boy]

yep. i would have a look over the info that comes with the card before you stick it in to your PC first just to be sure. as always, RTFM.

windows 7 should find it and recognise it right away.

 

[gups]

Thanks for your input.