Monitor Video Card Sticky?

[Jim Kuhn]

The first sticky per ancientpc as taken from the internet gambling forum should be:


I'm tired of the gazillion video questions asked in the Zoo so hopefully this will cut down on the number of threads.

Monitors are very similar to headphones / stereo systems. It is best if you visit a local store and compare for yourself the differences between LCD / CRT and DVI / VGA before buying a monitor. If your eyes can't tell a difference, it is not worth it to buy something more expensive for the sake of buying something more expensive.

Questions TOC:
1) What will it take for me multi-table without overlap?
2) How can I support two monitors?
3) What video card do I need to get?
4) What if I have onboard video?
5) How do I use two screens with a laptop?
6) Where can I buy a video card and how much should I spend?
7) Where can I buy a Dell 2001FP or <insert monitor here>?
8) How do I install a video card?
9) I just installed my new video card and hooked up my second monitor, but the second screen goes black when I startup!
10) Party tables don't fit inside their windows! (Occurs mostly in laptops.)
11) I want a 3rd (or 4th monitor).
12) Single / dual monitor software
13) Is it possible to shrink poker tables?
14) CRTs vs LCDs
15) How much overlap will I get if I buy a monitor with a different resolution?

1) What will it take for me multi-table without overlap?

A monitor that supports 1600x1200 resolution or higher. The most popular LCD for poker is the Dell 2001FP, with Samsung 213T being second.

The only Dell widescreen LCD able to fit 4 tables without overlap is the Dell 2405FPW.

In regards to CRTs, resolution is not dependent on screen size. Check the technical specs to see the maximum resolution. Most 21" and 20" CRTs should support 1600x1200. Higher end 19" and 17" CRTs will also support 1600x1200. Some of the lower end CRTs may not support this resolution.

For laptops, the display resolution needs to be at least 1600x1200 or greater so only WUXGA (1920x1200) on the Dell laptops will do.

2) How can I support two monitors?

The only thing limiting multi-monitor support on a video card is the number of connections built onto the video card. Most video card chipsets support at least 1600x1200, and if yours doesn't then it should be 5+ years old / time to get a new video card.

Look at the back of your computer and look at your video card:


You need 1 VGA (blue) + 1 DVI (white) connector, or 2 DVI connections. Some older video cards may have 2 VGA connections, but those are pretty rare.

If you only have 1 connection, then you need a new video card with two connections or a second PCI video card.

The advantages to buying a card with 2 connections is you can upgrade your current card to something better. However, it may be cheaper to buy a second PCI slot video card.

3) What video card do I need to get?

If your monitor supports it, DVI is a better option. LCD displays a picture digitally, i.e. by the pixel. DVI gives the data needed for each pixal digitally. When using an VGA input on an LCD, the video card converts the signal to analog and then monitor converts the analog signal back to digital resulting in quality loss.

VGA is used on most CRTs, although higher end CRTs have composite connections.

There are 3 ports used for video cards: PCI-Express (aka PCI-x16), AGP, and PCI.

PCI-Express is only found on newer motherboards (2005+) and is the newest standardised port for video cards.

AGP is used by most motherboards made 1999 - 2005 (rough personal estimation). AGP cards will fit in AGP Pro slots, but not the other way around (they will fit, but these video cards require more power given by AGP Pro slots).

PCI slots are used for cards to add functionality to your computer, be it Firewire, USB 2.0, RAID cards, modems, or video.

You need to find out what slot your computer has and buy a video card with the same slot. All computers have PCI slots, but motherboards have a limited quantity (2-5 PCI slots usually) and some of them may be used.

4) What if I have onboard video?

Then your motherboard sucks. Integrated video is bad, bad, bad (unless you're using a laptop and even then it's still pretty bad).

Your motherboard will most likely have a spare AGP slot as well, just buy an AGP video card, install it, and disable the onboard video card through BIOS.

Your computer may also speed up quite a bit from offloading the video calculations / RAM onto the video card rather than the CPU.

5) How do I use two screens with a laptop?

Almost all laptops have a VGA (blue) and S-video (circular) connections:


You can connect a monitor to the VGA connection and extend the desktop over and use two screens at once.

You can probably do the same with the S-video connection and a TV, but TVs don't support 1600x1200 resolution.

6) Where can I buy a video card and how much should I spend?

Best place is to visit Newegg.com. Go to Video Cards, select your interface, fill in any other preferences and click on search / go.

If you do not play any graphic intensive games on the computer (like first person shooters) or do a lot of rendering you can get away with the cheapest video card you can find that supports your requirements (which is two connections).

If you are buying a PCI video card, you do not need to spend anything more than the bare necessity. Games will be driven off your primary video card anyway.

You can buy DVI -> VGA adaptors from Newegg.com for ~$5. These are usually overpriced in B&M computer stores, usually selling for $15 - $25.

If you want to go cheaper you can use PriceWatch.com, just make sure to check the reseller's reputation at ResellerRatings.com or eBay.com. Just keep in mind you run the risk of horrible customer service / late shipments / bad warranty service with the cheapest sites.

7) Where can I buy a Dell 2001FP or <insert monitor here>?

If you're looking for the Dell 2001FP and live outside the US your best choice is to buy it off eBay from a seller who will ship internationally or just suck it up and pay inflated Dell prices.

If you're in the US and in a hurry, you can find Dell 2001FP for ~$500 shipped off eBay.

If you can afford to wait a bit, Dell tends to run crazy deals once or twice a year where you can get the 2001FP for $370 - $450 shipped. Just monitor Slickdeals.net or the FatWallet.com forums.

These prices are of May 2005.

When in doubt regarding CRTs, Samsung produces good quality high end CRTs.

8) How do I install a video card?

Disclaimer: I'm not responsible if you break anything.

You need 30 minutes and a Phillips screwdriver (the cross head).

a) Turn your computer off.

b) Open up your case, touch something metal in your case / around you before proceeding.

c) Unplug the power cord.

d) Find which slot your video card fits into. The AGP and PCI-Express slots are near the top of the motherboard and there's only one of them. The PCI slots are the multiple white ones towards the bottom.

Some PCI-x / AGP slots have a little tab holding the installed video card in place. If you are replacing the primary video card, just push that tab down to pop the existing video card out.

e) Put the video card in, make sure to push it down securely. If it doesn't fit, don't force it.

f) You may want to plug the power cord in and turn the computer on and verify the video card is working before completely putting your computer back together again.

9) I just installed my new video card and hooked up my second monitor, but the second screen goes black when I startup!

For WinXP, right-click on the Desktop and go to Properties. Click on the Settings tab and select the second monitor, then check the "Extend my Windows desktop onto this monitor."

10) Party tables don't fit inside their windows! (Occurs mostly in laptops.)

On high resolution laptops, the default DPI is sometimes set at 120 DPI instead of 96 DPI to make text and icons appear larger. This causes problems with Party tables and skins so change it back to 96 DPI by right-clicking on your Desktop, click on Properties, Settings tab, Advanced button, change DPI setting to 96, click on OK. Windows will ask you to restart your computer.

To make icons / text seem bigger, refer to EyeRelief

11) I want a 3rd (or 4th monitor).

Cheapest solution is to throw in additional 1-port / 2-port PCI video cards.

The best brand for 3-port or 4-port video cards is definately Matrox, but these cards tend to start at $500+.

If you're using LCD, you may want to look into an LCD monitor rack as well.

12) Single / dual monitor software

AllSnap (Google for it) - Snaps windows next to each other.

Ultramon - Extend wallpaper and taskbar to second monitor.

TweakUI - Enabling Mouse -> X-mouse allows for auto-focus on the window under the mouse pointer.

EyeRelief = Increases font / icon sizes without messing with Windows DPI settings, mostly for high resolution laptops.

DeviantArt Wallpapers - Dual display, Widescreen


13) Is it possible to shrink poker tables?

If it's not coded as a feature by the poker site, no. The only big sites that offer mini-tables are UltimateBet and Prima skins (The Gaming Club Poker, Royal Vegas, etc.)

14) CRTs vs LCDs

CRT pros: Price, color contrast (specifically a darker black), better refresh rate for games.
CRT cons: Size, weight, eyestrain.

Some individuals experience eyestrain when using CRTs for an extended period of time. This can be alleviated by higher end CRTs. Higher end CRTs have faster refresh rates at higher resolutions resulting in less eye strain.

LCD pros: Size, DVI, reduced eyestrain.
LCD cons: Price, resolution (very few LCDs support 1600x1200+), dead pixels, color contrast, ghosting.

Ghosting is a smearing type of effect seen while playing video games or watching DVDs, where images stay on the screen longer than they should be. As LCD technology gets better, ghosting is reduced and dead pixels occur less often.

15) How much overlap will I get if I buy a monitor with a different resolution?

I've uploaded these two images to help give you an idea as to the relative size of resolutions.

Party skins:


Crypto skins:

[MyMindIsGoing]

"1) What will it take for me multi-table without overlap?

A monitor that supports 1600x1200 resolution or higher. The most popular LCD for poker is the Dell 2001FP, with Samsung 213T being second."

That is not true, a monitor with pivot like Samsung 710T supports dual table with no overlap, but only being a 1280*1024.