Another 2 Monitor Setup Question

[Ajax410]

I saw a post in this forum a few weeks ago about what the configuration of a computer needs to be to run the two Dell 19 inch LCD monitors at max resolution. I currently have around 2k in my bankroll - I hope that by the time I build it up to 4k, I will be able to reinvest in these monitors and either upgrade my Dell laptop to be able to run two monitors at max resolution, or buy a new, preferably cheap, computer that can do it. Does anyone know how much I should expect to spend? What sort of package am I looking for? Any advice is appreciated.

Ajax

[BusterStacks]

depending on how new the laptop is, it probably won't run 2 monitors. If it can, well it won't be hard to set up at all

[Ajax410]

I got the laptop the summer before this past one (the summer of '03) - It has a pretty awful graphics card...when I run 4 tables at max resolution I can only see the corners of tables, except for the one that is at the front. I'm guessing I'd need at least a new graphics card.

Ajax

[BusterStacks]

not gonna happen on a laptop. they are built into the motherboard.

[Ajax410]

How cheaply can I buy a desktop if all I want to do is 8-table on it? What do I need besides the graphic card?

Ajax

[BusterStacks]

desktop you can get for probably 350$ with no monitors. for a good graphics card (Dual DVI), count on about 150

edited to say, computer, monitors, and card is all you need for 8 tabling. you could even go less on your graphics card if you dont mind the slight difference in VGA output compared to DVI.

[Ajax410]

Seeing as how I don't know what VGA or DPI is, I don't really know if I would even notice the difference. Do you think I'd need a decent sized harddrive if I wanted to run 8 tables + pokertracker + move my entire database to that computer?

[BusterStacks]

No, any hard drive in a computer in the last 3 years can hold a lifetime worth of pokertracker. Anything over 40 gigs should be fine. In fact, to 8 table you dont even need a newer computer.

[Ajax410]

I have a 3 year old dell computer at home (I'd have to ship it out to school) - I don't know offhand what the graphics card is on that, but do you think, if it was a pretty standard machine when I bought it, that'd it'd be able to handle high resolution with 2 monitors?

Ajax

[BusterStacks]

you need to open it and see if it has an AGP port. basically look at your card expansion slots and if you see a brown smaller one above all the others, you are good to go. 3 years ald though... it depends.