Another person trying to add a 3rd monitor to Mac Pro 1,1

[ohh epic fail]

i picked this up for dirt cheap from my work when they were doing an outdated equipment sell off. it has the x1900 graphics card in it running my dual 20" insignia displays. i've got it in my home studio/office with a 32" LCD tv mounted above and i'd like to be able to run my media to the tv when i want to watch movies.

i don't want to spend $200+ on a graphics card with 3 outputs that will require expensive adapters on top of the cost of the card so i want to get a cheap DVI PCIe card for the 3rd monitor since it will only be used occasionally. i've thought about just using a DVI splitter for my second screen and using that, but the resolution is different between the monitor and the TV and i know i wouldn't be satisfied.

so what i want to know is what's my absolute cheapest option? all the searching i've done has just been said to get the expensive card, but if i can't do it for $50-$75 i'll just keep switching the plug out when i want to watch a movie.

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here's what the setup looks like if that shows anything that you need to know.

 

[Jeff Troiano]

I was going to suggest a Black Magic Designs Intensity pro card. But it's $190. Its video capture card, but has hdmi out, you could send 1080p signal to your tv.

 

[ActionableMango]

The cheapest solution is free. Apple x1900 video card was recalled and were replaced with more capable video cards for free. The expiration date on returns has just passed in December 2012, so unless you are really lucky you won't be able to do this. Worth a try though; some geniuses are known to stretch policy.

Next up is to add an Nvidia GT520 for about $50. If you don't have Lion, you'll need to upgrade to that because the GT520 drivers are only available in Lion and ML (but you can't run ML on a 1,1). The combined price ($80) is very close to your maximum budget. More info here.

EDIT:
It just occurs to me that your requirements imply that you don't need to run all three at the same time. If this is the case, you could just get a DVI switcher for about $30.

 

[ohh epic fail]

The cheapest solution is free. Apple x1900 video card was recalled and were replaced with more capable video cards for free. The expiration date on returns has just passed in December 2012, so unless you are really lucky you won't be able to do this. Worth a try though; some geniuses are known to stretch policy.

Next up is to add an Nvidia GT520 for about $50. If you don't have Lion, you'll need to upgrade to that because the GT120 drivers are only available in Lion and ML (but you can't run ML on a 1,1). The combined price ($80) is very close to your maximum budget. More info here.

EDIT:
It just occurs to me that your requirements imply that you don't need to run all three at the same time. If this is the case, you could just get a DVI switcher for about $30.

did you mean GT120 or GT520? i've already got lion installed on it, so the GT120 may be the perfect option. i had read about it, but couldn't find much info on whether it would work on the 1,1. i may give apple a call about the x1900 and see if they'll work with me since it's barely past the date it expired. i'm not sure if i can make them stretch it much since i'm not the original owner but it's worth a shot.

i don't need to run all 3 monitors at once, but having the option would definitely be nice.

 

[GermanyChris]

GT 610 PCi-e x1

http://www.arlt.com/Hardware/PC-Komponenten/Grafikkarten/Club-3D-GeForce-610GT-x1-Edition.html

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814500260

 

[Mackilroy]

did you mean GT120 or GT520?

Looks like he means GT520, if you check his linked topic.

 

[ohh epic fail]

Looks like he means GT520, if you check his linked topic.

yeah i realized that after i posted that haha

just ordered a used GT520, i opted to get this one since it has 2GB of GDDR3 instead of 1GB

http://www.amazon.com/Galaxy-GeForc...UTF8&qid=1359307270&sr=1-2&keywords=fermi+gtx

 

[ActionableMango]

did you mean GT120 or GT520?

Sorry, GT520. I've fixed the typo.

 

[ohh epic fail]

Sorry, GT520. I've fixed the typo.

got it, thanks man! the seller on amazon that i got it from shipped it first class when i paid extra for expedited shipping, so who knows when i'll actually receive it gotta email them about it, i hate when sellers do that!