SPCR

Greetings to all,

Currently deciding on the makeup of a BTO computer, and have a basic question about the mobo. Since I'll be using a 30" monitor and a 24" monitor side-by-side, I guess that means I'll need to install a discrete graphics card. In that case, is there any advantage (in terms of less heat, noise, clutter) to getting a motherboard without DVI/VGA ports (since I won't be using them)?

AlphaCat wrote:Currently deciding on the makeup of a BTO computer, and have a basic question about the mobo. Since I'll be using a 30" monitor and a 24" monitor side-by-side, I guess that means I'll need to install a discrete graphics card. In that case, is there any advantage (in terms of less heat, noise, clutter) to getting a motherboard without DVI/VGA ports (since I won't be using them)?

You can use dual monitors with the integrated graphics, and it will do a fine job if all you do is office/web/video. Integrated graphics will not play video games well, or accelerate media applications.

If you are not using the video ports, then they are not using power. While I have not seen any quantitative tests. I do expect that the on-motherboard video ports would use no power when a discrete card is in use.

In my experience, dual monitor setups with integrated graphics only suffer when running a 3D application. Playing a DVD, using an office suite, or browsing the web will run just fine. Even all three at once shouldn't hit 100 percent.

If you plan to play games or run a 3D rendering program, then you'll want a discreet card. However, you can set up the integrated graphics to run the second monitor, assuming it won't be used for 3D stuff. That way neither GPU will suffer a performance impact from the other monitor.

Thanks, that's good to know.

On thing though. According to the specs for the mobo that's currently selected in my order, it support "supports DVI with max. resolution 1920 x 1200 @ 60 Hz". Since that's clearly not enough for the 30" display, does this mean I should look for a mother board that can support dual monitors?

Thanks

AlphaCat wrote:On[e] thing though. According to the specs for the mobo that's currently selected in my order, it support "supports DVI with max. resolution 1920 x 1200 @ 60 Hz". Since that's clearly not enough for the 30" display, does this mean I should look for a mother board that can support dual monitors?

What is the native resolution of the 30" display?

Could you give us the brands and models of the screens and motherboards you are considering?

Hi Jim,

I plan on using the two displays I currently own -- a 30-inch display with a native resolution of 2560 x 1600 pixels, and the 24-incher at 1920 x 1200. Currently, they're connected to the DVI ports of an nvidia gpu installed in a (noisy) six-year old Dell tower.

Here's the list of mother boards I can choose from:

AlphaCat wrote:Hi Jim,
I plan on using the two displays I currently own -- a 30-inch display with a native resolution of 2560 x 1600 pixels, and the 24-incher at 1920 x 1200. Currently, they're connected to the DVI ports of an nvidia gpu installed in a (noisy) six-year old Dell tower.

Hi!

I understand why you would want to upgrade to a cool and quiet new system. Dell has, mostly, made good systems. For a long time they did not appear to care about the noise that their systems made. Some new Dell computers are quiet.

AlphaCat wrote:Here's the list of mother boards I can choose from:

Oh wow. I think that you need to look up each of these boards and find out if they support dual-link DVI. An HDMI port or a DVI port on a low-end card (and most integrated video) is limited to 1920x1200 for a 60hz refresh rate.

Read more about Digital Visual Interface at Wikipedia.

The first thing to check is the product marketing material. Next, you would want to check the user manual PDF that you can download from the manufacture's web site. Finally, you could write an email to the manufacturer asking about the DVI port -- and the maximum resolution and refresh rate that the DVI port can support.

You can also check to see what resolutions are supported by the other connectors, like DisplayPort. You would then need to find a DisplayPort to DVI adapter. That might cost a lot of money, and might not work well.

In the end, you may be better served by a discrete add-in video processor like the AMD HD 6670, 6770, or 6850. Make sure you get a video card with GDDR5, as it will help you get the best performance.

The DVI port on any mainboard I've seen so far only supports 1920x1200.
But some mainboards have a Displayport that supports 2560x1600.
Boards from your list with Displayport that support 2560x1600 and DVI for 1920x1200 include:
Gigabyte GA-Z68MX-UD2H-B3
ASRock Z68 Extreme4
Gigabyte GA-Z68X-UD3H-B3
I checked the specs, with either of these boards you don't need a discreet graphics card to drive the displays at their native resolution.

You didn't specify the connectors of your displays. If your 30" display does not have Displayport you need an aktive Displayport-to-Dual-Link-DVI connector. It has to be dual-link, otherwise 1920x1200 is the maximum resolution. This connector is expensive, at least 100$ so it might still be cheaper to buy a discrete graphics card.

boost wrote:
You didn't specify the connectors of your displays. If your 30" display does not have Displayport you need an aktive Displayport-to-Dual-Link-DVI connector. It has to be dual-link, otherwise 1920x1200 is the maximum resolution. This connector is expensive, at least 100$ so it might still be cheaper to buy a discrete graphics card.

The moment you need to do displayport to DVI, I'd immediately say the much better choice is to get a low power discrete card. Any of the good $30-40 modern video cards should be more than good enough for your needs, while also having extremely low power usage. A Radeon 5450 or 6450 would both be great picks.