two monitors one computer - screen changing

alright, im trying to hook up 2 monitors to the one computer im using now. Ive been trying to do some research...but i dont know....

so wat i figured out was my only AGP port is being used by the monitor im using now...so now I'm left with two PCI ports (they're white, right?)

ok, from what I read you need an aditional video card installed into one of the PCI ports which you can then plug your second monitor into.

HEREs what I need help with
1. from what I know APG ports are brown (and I dont see any of those inside my CPU) and im assuming the only ports left (which are white) are PCI ports. soo...I need a PCI (graphic or video?) card that I can pop in, then plug in my extra monitor. which leads me to my next question

2. whast the difference between a graphics card and a video card....it seems like some sites use video..other graphics.

and finally

3. where can I get a decent one for around $100 (cheaper would be nice, but I dont want to sacrifice preformance)

thanks for all your help...ive been readin sites all night (and into this morning) and I cant get any rock solid answers. So all you computer hardware people (im completly a software kinda guy) any help would make my life so much better.....(plus id have 2 monitors on one computer HOW SWEET IS THAT?!)

and if it means anything im not really a gammer....but i would like a card that would allow me to in the future (for a reasonable price...im no megaULTRApwnzor gamer...just an ocassional half-life or somethin...ive always wanted to game on my PC

1. Yes, you are right
2. Graphics Card and Video Card is the same thing
3. There are two options for you:
1. You can go for a dual output AGP graphics card.
2. Get a PCI graphics as your original plan
Basically, option 1 is much better in performance since PCI graphics card in the market now is not so powerful than those AGP graphics card. And normally latest card (with your budget) are dual output ready. I will choose option 2 if I just want an extra monitor running, coz that's a cheap solution~

thanks for the quick reply! ive been thinkin about this for hours...glad to finally get some answers.

well if APG has better preformance...and not that much more expensive (which im sure it is...lol) id want to go with that. the only problem is I would have no idea how to install it. it looks like its covered by something, I can bearly see it, and Im not about to pay for an install.

PCI seems easiest and as you said, cheapest. I am basically looking just to get 2 monitors going at once (mainly used for webdesign. I think designers agree that itd be sick to have photoshop on one screen and an code editor on the other) So it seems as if im leaning towards the PCI. Do you have any suggestions? i really wouldnt know where to begin looking.


EDIT---------

i wa slooking at the Matrox Millenium 400 or 450. theyre around $100...but i really have no idea how to install the thing...considering i cant see where mine is now

If you don't see an AGP slot why would you buy an AGP card?

Video cards are easy to install. Shut down the PC, insert the card into the appropriate slot. Reboot machine. Install drivers from the CD that comes with the card. Go to card manufacturer's website for updated drivers. Download and install.

well i dont see an extra one. isnt the monitor i have now installed into a AGP port...or do different computers vary? That way, if I at least have one I can go with a dualhead AGP card from Matrox, like I mentioned above

EDIT---

i jsut looked at my comp. it loks like the thing you plug your one (and only normally) monitor into is just wired to the motherboard. I dont know...like i said, i dont do hardware lol

So your monitor is plugged into onboard video? You don't have a graphics card at all?

Most motherboards come equipped with one AGP slot and 4 or 5 PCI slots (this is not referring to the newer motherboards with PCI-e). If this is how your motherboard is set up then you can use one AGP card with dual out puts (my preference) or one AGP card and one PCI card or if you want to go cheap 2 PCI cards.

how can I use an AGP card if I dont have an AGP port? because i guess I have onboard video...the monitor im using now is defintly directly hooked into the motherboard.
I just got this computer like 2 months ago...so what the f?

but ok, heres what im getting from all of this
I cant go dual AGP cause I dont even have an AGP port...

- my question is, can I leave my first monitor alone (wired to the motherboard) and just add a PCI card?

- an even better question is...is it hopeless for me to use AGP since I apparently dont have a port for it?

thanks for all your help by the way (thats a smile btw...ozzu made their smilies creepy...lol)

You definitely cannot use agp without an agp slot.

Yes you could hook up a PCI card and leave the one monitor hooked into the motherboard and hook a second monitor to the PCI card.

What kind of PC do you have? It is rare to see a PC that is 2 months old without an AGP slot.

i honestly dont remember exactly and dont care to find out. Its a little HP...round $500.... If i remember the specs correctly its
p4...3ishGHz
256 or 512....somewhere in there
80 gig
yatta yatta

my last PC was more top-o-the line but it kinda died. this baby's just kinda an in-betweener before i get something way more powerful for college (in two years)

i can find the exact model if you want, but i figure its not that big of a deal

but back to the PCI cards. any you suggest? i have no idea whats good, fast or anything

Personally, I am an ATi fan so I recommend this:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6814102434

But if I were you i would go to http://www.newegg.com and do a search for PCI video cards and poke around. I would look for a PCI card with as much RAM as you can find on it. The one I posted has 256MB so it isn't too bad and it got good reviews by customers who bought it.

i used that card as a base for my own little search. i came up with this

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6814145087

its almost identical to the one you suggested, just a little less expensive. im probibly going to end up gettin this one unless theres some major flaw I havent seen

thanks for all you help grinch, i appreciate it.

No problem, it is what I am here for.

I did another search and found cheaper cards that had more for the buck. This card is a good one because it has two outputs. So you could ditch te onboard video and plug both monitors into that one card. The card should come with a DVI to VGA adapter so you can use it with a regular monitor.

for $5 more
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6814133134

it is faster also...

well since im not really going to be using this for gaming, wouldnt it be more benificial to have more memory as opposed to more speed?

the one you posted only has 128mb of memory and is only a little faster

correct me if im wrong..i dont know much about this

The one I posted has 256MB 128-bit DDR memory.