Tell me more ×
Unix & Linux Stack Exchange is a question and answer site for users of Linux, FreeBSD and other Un*x-like operating systems.. It's 100% free, no registration required.
up vote 3 down vote favorite

What video cards for a Desktop computer compatible with Linux can support Dual Monitors?

Our start up needs to use two monitors but our default enviroment needs two monitors, can somebody recommend a cheap Video Card that could help us to use two monitors?

share|improve this question

1 Answer

up vote 3 down vote accepted

It's been years since I last saw a graphics card that wasn't properly supported on Linux, and quite a while since I last saw a single-framebuffer card. The two biggest off-board chipsets, nVidia and AMD (ex ATI) both offer well-supported multi-screen configurations for X11 on Linux (closed-source binary drivers may be needed to enable all features on some chipsets).

After a tiny amount of research, I found a sub-£20 card with a well-known chipset and three ports (VGA, HDMI, DVI). You can attach the two digital outputs to two monitors and they'll work fine.

I'd optimise on the feature set of the cards, not the availability of double framebuffers.

Also, if your workstations have on-board video, and depending on your needs, you can get a card with a single framebuffer (assuming you can find them) and get two displays that way — they don't need to be provided by the same card!

share|improve this answer
A few years ago (I haven't been keeping current) the free nv driver couldn't handle more than one head on Nvidia, you had to use the proprietary nvidia driver. What's the situation now with nouveau? – Gilles Jan 14 '12 at 23:52
possible according to nouveau.freedesktop.org/wiki/FeatureMatrix (at least thats what i read from the table) – Informaficker Jan 15 '12 at 0:44
My only current machine with an nVidia card and two monitors runs on the proprietary driver. When it comes to getting your work done, I see nothing wrong with that, at least until nouveau catches up. There are Debian/Ubuntu packages that download the driver, install it, and keep it up to date, so it's not too bad at all. These days, it plays well with Xorg and friends. – Alexios Jan 15 '12 at 1:08

Your Answer

 
discard

By posting your answer, you agree to the privacy policy and terms of service.

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged or ask your own question.