lenny
Tue Mar 25 11:17:07 PDT 2008
Paul, Thanks for the informative reply!
I haven't got the computer yet so I will take a long look at your
suggestions and work from there.
"Paul" <nospam@needed.com> wrote in message news:fsam6r$3sk$1@aioe.org...
> 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
