Two-fold question

[kragox]

I recently got an Optiplex 390 PC from a friend of mine for cheap that came stock with a 4gb Ram that I plan to upgrade to 8 here soon but it didn't come with a video card so first question that I wanted to find out is what kind of card would be good for that particular model. I know it has an intel core processor, 3.3 Mhz I believe so I THINK that I would need something like a PCI express (its the thinner tower, not the standard wide one) but I am just not sure and I don't want to go spend 90-100 bucks on a card that isn't going to work. Secondly, I have a Dell 19" LCD monitor (unsure on the model) that has 4 usb ports (2 on the side and 2 in back) in addition to the VGA and DVI ports. I was wanting to know if the computer could be connected to the tower via USB or would I need one of the aforementioned DVI or VGA cables? I've plenty of usb and usb 2.0 cables but I don't have the VGA or DVI since I have 2 other towers aside from this one and only 2 monitors. I'm eventually going to maybe consolidate all three PC's into one network and just use 2 monitors but I am not sure if I could usb one monitor on three PC's. 2 of them run Windows XP and one runs Windows 7. The problem is that the 7 is more of a business computer whereas the Optiplex 750 I have (even though it is meant for business also) I use as a gaming computer and my old Dimension 4600 I use for storage of my media files since it has the largest hard drive. So, the rub is, I don't know if I can have all three computers networked to one dual monitor set up and still be able to use the right computer for what it was intended (gaming for gaming, work for work, storage for storage) without having to shuffle around cables all day long. If there is a way to do that, great, then I could possibly just VGA and DVI both monitors into one desktop and work from one computer utilizing all three towers. Let me know what you guys think and if you need any further information.

 

[hytecgowthaman]

Make it a one computer by picking good parts and put it on anither.

 

[kragox]

I couldn't do that just because of the fact that the three computers are incompatible with one another. The one that I have that I think is the best is my Optiplex 390 which has no video card to it, the Intel Core i3-2120 CUP @ 3.30 Ghz with an installed RAM of 4gb (upgradable to maybe 8 or higher, not sure, it has 2 ram slots so I am not entirely sure if there is an 8GB ram stick or not) but due to its size the video card from my 750 will not fit. (See: http://desktops.productwiki.com/dell-optiplex-390/ for a photo, mine is the one in the middle.) On top of this, I have to share the computer with my girlfriend who isn't too computer savvy so for the sake of my work it is best for me to have a PC of my own in case she gets a virus or something, it doesn't compromise my own files.

 

[kragox]

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