4 monitors, 1 card

revo1059 · Post by **revo1059** » Tue Jan 17, 2012 3:40 pm

Any recommendations for a card that can run 4 19" monitors as 1 desktop. There will be NO gaming on this system.

Post by **FlyingPenguin** » Tue Jan 17, 2012 4:39 pm

3 monitors yes, but 4 monitor outputs on one card tend to be on pricey high-end cards like this one: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6814129172

First off what OS? WinXP does not natively support more than 2 monitors on one card. Vista & Win7 does.

Your other options would be to install two dual output cards. Do you have more than one PCI-E x8 or x16 slots? If not, and since you're not gaming, they do make PCI-E x1 video cards. They're a little hard to find, but I've found them on Newegg. I even have one in my kit as a spare. x1 is plenty fast for desktop work.

Fair warning if you're going to use two cards: Stick to the same chipset (NVidia or AMD) and stick to the same chipset generation. For instance if one card is a 6000 series AMD card then the other should also be 6000 series. They don't have to be the same model, just the same series. I have run into driver conflicts when you mix series, because sometimes the two drivers will not co-exist.

Post the model of your current video card and your mobo and I can make some suggestions.

revo1059 · Post by **revo1059** » Wed Jan 18, 2012 8:59 am

Haven't bought any hardware yet, so I'm open. The only thing I have are the 4 monitors (all standard VGA connectors). This will be replacing an old system with an AGP NVidia Quadro card that was running the 4 monitors.

Win 7 would be the OS

Post by **FlyingPenguin** » Wed Jan 18, 2012 9:41 am

I'd recommend using two video cards. Even though there are a few 4 display cards around they tend to be pricey and driver support for them can sometimes be iffy since 4 outputs is not standard. If you stick with two standard cards then have no worries about any issues. You're also not dead in the water if one card fails on you.

So I'd buy a mobo with dual PCI-E x16 slots, and get two video cards.

As for the cards, you pay a premium for Quadro type cards because they're workstation class GPUs. Unless you're specifically using some 3D software that's optimized for workstation class GPUs, I'd stick to standard cards.

If you're not doing any 3D at all then a fanless card like this ASUS EAH6450 would be fine. Still does 3D, just not gaming class but you don't have to worry about the fan noise or a fan failing: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6814121439
You'll also need a couple of DVI to VGA adapters if you want to go all VGA.

If you want to save a little more money, you can go with a last-gen 5000 series like this HD5450: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6814131338

If 3D isn't an issue, the difference between 5000 & 6000 series won't mean anything, you'll just get longer driver support on the 6000 series.

Not sure what a good equivalent NVidia card would b, but someone here can chime in.

revo1059 · Post by **revo1059** » Wed Jan 18, 2012 10:10 am

What if I throw 1 curveball.....I do have an Intel DQ57TM motherboard I'd 'like' to use if possible, but it only has 1 16x PCI-E slot and no 8x slots. If it's unrealistic to use this board then I won't

Post by **FlyingPenguin** » Wed Jan 18, 2012 10:59 am

As long as you're not doing any 3D then a PCI-E x1 slot will be fine for the 2nd card. Regular desktop use won't come near saturating the the x1 bus.

Geforce 520 PCI-E x16:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6814121475

Geforce 520 PCI-E x1:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6814500233

revo1059 · Post by **revo1059** » Thu Jan 19, 2012 8:22 am

Slick, thanks FP