[NTLUG:Discuss] DualHead and XFree86

[Steve Baker]

Jack Snodgrass wrote:
> I'm thinking of getting a video card ( Radeon 7500 or
> Geforce4 MX 440 ) that both have some sort of
> dualhead support from XFree86 4.2.x ( RedHat 7.3 )
>  
> Has anyone had any real world experience with this
> type of setup?

Dualhead support works quite well with the GeForce - but
you need to have one analog monitor and one DVI monitor
(eg an LCD flat panel).

Aside from that, the GeForce-4 card has MUCH better
3D drivers than the Radion - so if you are planning
to do any 3D rendering, the GeForce wins hands-down.

The only downsides for the GeForce are:

   1) The drivers are closed-source.

   2) Some people complain that the analog video
      quality of the GeForce is inferior to the the
      Radion - you won't see that problem on the DVI output.
      I'm not convinced that the difference is noticable
      though...I guess it depends a lot on how good your
      monitor is, what resolution you plan to use and
      how tolerant you are!  I've also heard that some
      board manufacturers are using higher quality
      analog components than some others - so it may
      matter which card manufacturer you go to.

> Are there any better options for doing dualhead
> with XFree86?

Not that do reasonable 3D performance - I guess there
may be some older non-3D cards that do better.


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