USB External Video Cards and Monitors

I was recently looking at the prospect of buying a another video card for another computer. It wasn’t going to be doing anything particularly exciting, but I didn’t want to waste money on a matching video card for the system.

I’ve been watching and reading articles on USB External Video Cards. I was looking at some of the shopping websites and found a deal on a USB External Video Card; it was $39. For what I was going to be using it for and the fact it could be used on other machines as required for another display, and undeniably XP is going to be around a while, I made the choice to try it out.

Without issue I was able to load the drivers, reboot the system and plug the adapter in and wha-la! I had another display; worked perfectly. It extended the desktop automatically. It had maximum capabilities to do 1280 x 1024 and 32 bit color. The display seems to work perfectly on quasi-stationary information. It’s the performance equivalent to having a VNC connection to another PC over a LAN [that's simplest way to explain it].

Having experienced this I’m optimistic about USB External Video Cards in general; seeing they can only get better.

The greater expectation is the purely USB driven LCD Monitors. USB plug and play monitors are on the market, but the transfer rates and CPU limitations are most likely keeping this market from taking off. I see many people embracing this very quickly; especially in the corporate market. Gamers aren’t going to get in to this very quickly; it uses too much CPU and the frame rates are going to be way to slow.

But there’s an answer to this. We have 64bit CPU’s becoming more predominate in the market and the release of USB 3 [with GB speed] is really going to kick up this option.

I’m going to keep my eye out for more USB video cards and monitors- it should be interesting.

Regards,
NapoleonAG
Email/IM: NapoleonAG.TSS@Gmail.com
Website: www.TechSideStories.com