[ecking01]

The Setup:
I am saving money and should be able to get the 17" imac cd soon, I'll max it out to 2gb ram.

The Idea:
To replace the old crt in my bedroom with a second lcd monitor that isn't an lcd tv but just an off self lcd monitor. Probably the dell 2007wfp.

The Plan:

I saw someone on this forum buy the ATI TV Wonder USB 2.0. which is meant for pc and use it on an imac by using elgato software so the plan is as follows:

1. Get 17" iMac Core Duo, put 2gb ram in it.

2. Get 20.1" Dell 2007wfp

3. Span them

4. Get ATI TV Wonder USB 2.0. and run it with Elgato Eyetv 2 (because it's cheaper than an eyetv ez in Canada)

The Question:
Is the 17" imac's video card strong enough to run the ati+eyetv2 combination FULLSCREEN on the dell while working REGULARLY on the imac's screen without extreme slowdown or lag?
Should I just save even more money and just get a 20" lcd hdtv since it'll have it's own tuner?

Guys I could really use help figuring out what to do.

[SSharon]

I don't really advise the setup you suggest, but yes I think the video card can handle it. My 64mb radeon 9000 pro was able to do fullscreen video on my 19" NEC CRT and fullscreen tv (via eyetv) on my dell 1905 fp.

I would consider getting the 20" imac and waiting a bit before getting a second monitor to see if you really need it. The resoution of the tv stream will be much lower than the dell so it seems wasteful. For the same price as above (roughly) you could get the 20" imac with 1gb and a 17" lcd.

[iREZ]

i have a 17" imac core duo and a dell 20" lcd and find this setup much better than having just a single 20" lcd...instead of using computer software/hardware to watch tv, i just hooked up an old VCR i had laying around to the dell and watch tv that way. soon the vcr will be replaced by a dvr of some some sort.

[ecking01]

SSharon thanks for the advice I guess forcing all that on the video card isn't a good idea.

But iREZ that's one hell of an idea I hadn't thought of a vcr hmmmmm.....