I have an ASUS P5B Deluxe MB with 2 PCIEx16 slots. I want to run a dual monitor set-up - twin 19 inch Dell screens. I need this for video editing and other biz related tasks, I'm not a gamer. I think I would like it to run as one large display of 2560x1024. I use DVI connectors. Is it better for me to go with something like a 512Mb twin DVI card or a pair of similar(ish) 256Mb cards? I know NVIDIA and ATI control center software let you set-up twin monitors but I have never actually used it for this. Is any brand better than the other for doing this?Would the config be easier with one twin port card? I am waiting for my other DVI lead to arrive but running my NVIDIA 7900GT card with one screen has that horizontal line issue. I wouldn't mind changing this card for something else. ASUS P5B deluxe Intel Core 2 Duo 3.16 GHz 4 Gb RAM Windows 7-64
any of the newer cards support eyefinity/surround vision. personally i'd go for something like a 460/560 if you want something that will handle dual displays and play games well, although it may be overkill if you only plan to game on one of those monitors. an amd 6850 is a good budget option.
Do I need a 1 Gb card? I am not a gamer, the most intensive thing I would need is to edit and play videos.
If you use for example Avid that program window does not care if your dual displays are treated as two separate displays or as one big one. It only doesn't like when they are calibrated as not being in the same height. Going for separate cards per display might end up disastrous if your software have support for GPU acceleration. Besides, going dual display is cake for any kind of card. A Nvidia GT 430 can do dual displays just fine. But for "two displays as one" I think it's still team AMD that you opt for. For prof. video editing and the like, going with a Nvidia quadro card (optimized for CUDA and OpenGL) or with an AMD FirePro (OpenGL) is usually what one does if a sufficient performance increase can be seen in the software. They are usually more expensive than a gamer card though. edit: added some lines.
Just one card is more than enough. Personally i'm using an nvidia 260 for dual monitor setup and is fine. Any newer card would do fine.