redcolours

for the life of me, i can NOT find any decent DUAL DVI graphics card out there that meets these criteria:

1) AGP (yep, im still holding out til vista comes around. maybe.)
2) DUAL DVI out (cuz the 15pin D-Sub analog out simply looks crap)
3) at least a 6600GT. preferably that. apparently they dont make the 6600GTs anymore. bastards. (has to be NVIDIA, im shifting away from ATI)
4) $180 or under (thats actually too much since i dont even game)
5) sold by a reputable online/B&M retailer
6) and DOES NOT USE any extra power source (i have a SFF PC).

ive searched dealtime, pricegrabber, froogle, pricewatch, amazon, buy.com, zipzoomfly, newegg, directron, mwave, tigerdirect, outpost, geeks.com, and (ugh!) ebay (i despise shopping there).

know of any other stores i can try? know of a direct link to the product im looking for i can go to that youre aware of?

if you can help, i'd appreciate it. Thanks in advance!

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DarkFury

Here is an affordable option for you...

XFX GeForce 6800 XTREME 256MB DDR3 AGP 8x Video Card ( DUAL DVI ) - PVT42KUDE3

NewEgg - $139.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...MP=OTC-17exta6

Buy.com - $139.00
http://www.buy.com/retail/Product.as...&dcaid =15894

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Memo

I think that card takes extra power DF. If you look at the front it has the small black plastic rectangle. On my 6800 that is for plugging power specifically for the card.

Devhux

Good luck finding a dual-DVI card that doesn't require external power.

Typically, dual DVI cards are only available on the Geforce 7600 and higher, and the Radeon X1600 Pro and higher -- both of which require external power.

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DarkFury

Well that's the best I can do...


I guess RedColors is SOL at this point... (I suggest he just get a power connector splitter and just chance it with the SFF power supply.)

I have a GeForce 6800 in my SFF PC and I haven't had any problems with it.

Jeffbx

I don't think you're gonna meet all of those requirements.

If you can get around the 'reputable dealer' requirement, have a look at ebay for used nVidia Quadro cards. Many of them sport dual DVI with no additional power requirements, but those will be lower end cards. The more powerful cards will all require additional power for the bigger graphics engines.

What applications are you going to be running? Any graphics intensive ones, or are you just looking for dual outputs?

redcolours

Well, im back from researching and exhausting ALL possible avenues. I must say, theres A TON of information i gained from it. The ironic thing is that its all "legacy" info! Catching up on over 2 years of absence in the computing world is a LOT of ground to cover.

Thanks for the Links, DF. I actually considered those too in my search. Theyre powerful cards for the money (theyre so freakin cheap). Theyre essentially the 6800LEs, and are as fast if not faster than a 6600GT (which is now officially discontinued, in place of which is the 7600s). I was gonna get them, if not for one thing about those cards - theyre more than likely to be "unlockable" to perform as Quadro FXs.

Which brings me to what jeffbx mentioned - Quadro FX cards are some of the best 2D/3D cards out there, which i was interested in mainly for 3DSMax. But theyre freakin expensive. Over $1000. Yeah.
Enter the 6800 cards, of which the cores are also used by the Quadro FX4000 cards (NV40). You can unlock the masked pipelines in a 6800 AGP card, and do a softBIOS change, to produce a Quadro, using Rivatuner (which i use for OC'ing my videocards before). Its so easy its not even funny. Almost ALL 6800 AGP cards can be unlocked to a Quadro, all except for the 6800XT. Apparently Nvidia has found a way to prevent the Quadro performance by physically laser cutting the extra pipelines. Even if you did unmask the extra pipelines, it still wont perform like a Quadro. I think those cards are renamed as NV42.
Keep in mind this is only for 6800 AGP cards. PCI-E cards are phsyically different, so no, theyre NOT unlockable in anyway. Theres nothing to unlock, the pipelines are either there or not.

Anyways, i thought to share that interesting tidbit to the few that dont know, but im sure all of you know it already. But my main point is that the 6800XT is what i ALMOST got, but refrained from getting, because theyre possibly crippled 6800LEs (although some older 6800XTs have been shipped as rebadged 6800LEs). I can try to get a lower performing quadroFX on ebay, which will still perform decently, but i like the modding part (always a modder at heart).

Ive also found out the reason why those cards need an extra power connector: AGP by its nature can only put out so much voltage (and wattage), its simply not enough to supply the needs of the newer generation cards. PCI-E cards have a higher voltage capacity, so most PCI-E counterparts of the same AGP card DO NOT need an external power supply. So yeah, its not likely i can find a card in the range im looking for without an external connector. Ive given up THAT criteria. Its only because i use a SFF PC that i thought i can find one. Its too bad that no one makes higher wattage PSUs for shuttle SFFs. I may have to make another serial PSU mini-monster...

SO what did i end up with? A Dual-DVI 128MB 6600GT.
With a power connector.
On *shiver* EBay.

we all have to compromise sometime

With all my shpiel about the 6800s modded to a QuadroFX, I didnt get a 6800-flavored card (not just yet), for one reason: WMV hardware acceleration. Nvidia themselves back in late 2004 admitted that the 6800s had the WMV acceleration crippled (or nonexistent) in the 6800s. It was later included in the 7xxx cards. But the weird thing is that 6600s have it. Dont ask me how or why, but they do.
Whats the significance of this? HIGH DEFINITION. Its essential for building an HTPC, especially if you run it through HDTVs. The picture quality is so much better when you playback HD material.

Im thinking of later on moving the 6600GT up to the HTPC, and THEN getting a 6800 AGP card (to possibly mod to a Quadro).
Or just simply settle for a lower speed quadro, but whats the fun in that?

thanks again, guys! and hopefully this long post helps others who are in the same boat as i am.

DarkFury

Good luck... sounds like you gonna need it.