Re: 4 monitors

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Leon wrote:
Hi,
I would like to have 4 monitors setup on my new PC with windows XP Pro. 2 above the other 2. What is the best Graphics card and computer setup for this. This is for checking the markets (not gaming)
Thanks



To see examples, try this site.

http://www.realtimesoft.com/multimon/gallery_browse.asp?ID=594&date=desc&nummon=true&mon=desc

Generally, one video card will drive two displays. Many moderately
priced cards are "dual head" capable. And with DVI-I connectors,
and a DVI to VGA adapter connector, they can even drive a mix of
digital and analog monitors.

One issue to watch for, is with the drivers. Sometimes, two "same brand"
cards will have trouble working together.

For example, a couple entries here -

http://www.realtimesoft.com/multimon/gallery_browse.asp?ID=711&date=desc&nummon=true&mon=desc

"PCI Matrox Marvel G200-TV, Matrox MGA-G200 chipset
My system would not allow 2 PCI video cards to work at the same time. I tried everything,
updated BIOS, mainboard drivers, flashed video cards etc. Never got two PCI video cards
to work. Had to use one PCI (quad) and one AGP (quad)"

http://www.realtimesoft.com/multimon/gallery_browse.asp?ID=901&date=desc&nummon=true&mon=desc

"PCIe, ATI Radeon X1650 Pro 512MB chipset
At first, Vista didn't provide Aero with more than one installed. Submitted a bug, got a
new driver. OK in Catalyst 7.9 or higher."

The latest video card types are PCI Express x16 interface. You can find
motherboards with two PCI Express x16 sized slots, which would have no
trouble with a stock trading application. About the most slots of that
size you can find, is a motherboard with room for four video cards. That
would allow eight monitors, with plenty of bandwidth for screen updates.

If you use the search engine here, you can select the number of slots
("PCI Express x16").

http://www.newegg.com/Store/SubCategory.aspx?SubCategory=280&name=Intel-Motherboards

This is an example of about the best spacing between slots. This board
(probably near the end of its sales life) has four PCI Express x16 slots.
But for your stated purpose, even two of the big slots would be enough.

http://c1.neweggimages.com/NeweggImage/productimage/13-130-080-14.jpg

This is an example of a board with two slots. A bit pricey at $259, and
you can find cheaper. But the reviews appear good. Claims to handle
up to FSB1600 processors, so ready for the latest stuff. Uses the
cheaper DDR2 memory. Also claims to support ECC, but that is hard to
prove. There are very few reports of success or failure with
DDR2 ECC memory installed in X38 boards, so it is hard to say
whether it is worth the bother or not (i.e. getting it, and
then discovering it is not actually fully supported and working).

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductReview.aspx?Item=N82E16813128326
http://c1.neweggimages.com/NeweggImage/productimage/13-128-326-05.jpg
http://www.gigabyte-usa.com/Support/Motherboard/Manual_Model.aspx?ProductID=2653

The video card doesn't have to be expensive. There is one here for
$45 that will drive two digital monitors (and for cheap LCD monitors,
sometimes all they come with, is a digital DVI connector on them).

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814131038

Another one here for slightly more, with two dual link DVI connectors.
That is a digital connector that supports higher resolutions (see
examples in Wikipedia article).

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductReview.aspx?Item=N82E16814102103
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dvi

There are purpose-built cards that support four monitors out of the
box. Matrox makes some. But the one I was looking at, uses the
old PCI bus, and at 133MB/sec, a desktop PCI bus is not exactly
a high performance way to update four screens. I'd sooner take
my chances with a couple PCI Express x16 cards. If the drivers
don't get along, you can always buy an additional video card
of a different brand, and play the "mix and match" driver game.

HTH,
Paul
.

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