Three monitors; opinions needed

[tyruk]

I'm currently rocking a dual-display set up, and I'm seriously contemplating adding a third. The only problem is I have a Dell Studio system, so I'm stuck with their 350w psu and an Nvidia gt220, which has three display outputs but only supports dual display. Plus I only have one PCI Express slot.

My question is: If I purchased a very low-end PCI graphics card -- such as a Geforce 5200, etcetera -- would it fry my psu? I've read that the 5200 only consumes around 15w, so I may be able to run both cards together, though I admit it'll be a squeeze.

If another card would burden my psu, the only other option would be one of those USB to DVI adapters, and I don't know if I want to risk one.

Specs:

Q8300 (stock speeds)
8GB DDR2 800mhz (again, stock)
Nvidia GT220
Onboard sound card

Any response would be much appreciated.

Regards,

Tyruk

 

[WeedCali]

Correct me if im wrong but i think that 350W could do it. idk, if its in your budget you may want to get a better PSU.

 

[Redpill]

Adding a PCI video card should have very little effect on your current PSU, even though it is only low wattage. A USB to DVI adapter is going to draw power as well, probably not quite as much but not sure how reliable they are (never used one). USB ports draw 5V.

 

[WeedCali]

just had a thought. would a DVI splitter work?

 

[Celegorm]

just had a thought. would a DVI splitter work?

No, typically, those will just output the same thing to both monitors connectect to it.

 

[disturbed13]

i would go with the PCI option
why dont you measure your PSU and see if you couldnt find a bigger one somewhere
then you wont have that concern

 

[cultadium]

http://www.amazon.com/PNY-VCG84512S...1?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1254768189&sr=8-1
Here's a video card I just bought for the exact same reason (third monitor)

http://images10.newegg.com/uploadfilesfornewegg/rebate/SH/PNY14-133-245Aug21Oct1509cd12.pdf
here's the rebate

I know PCI cards take less power than Express..
I know being a secondary card makes video cards take less power
I know that Gs is the weakest class of video cards (less power)

But I don't have the actual numbers.
Personally I'm just going to throw mine in and not worry about it.
Because I think I have a 250 Watt PSU And don't want to think too hard about it.

 

[disturbed13]

balls to the wall can hurt when the dodge ball nails them
just be sure you have everything covered
like an extra PSU just incase

 

[cultadium]

wrong rebate... this one
http://g-ecx.images-amazon.com/images/G/01/00/00/05/92/95/14/592951410._V230196909_.pdf