Inexpensive quad-monitor solution

jeans · Post by **jeans** » Thu Mar 29, 2007 12:01 pm

Hi all,

My dad needs a (silent) quad-monitor machine (for financial market, what else...).
I was thinking about a couple of NVidia 7600GS, but after I suggested this in a computer shop I was told that I need an SLI-ready cards in order to support 4 separate monitors

. So I decided to consult the more knowledgeable people out there (that's you

) - and the only useful info I found was on your forum.

My assumption was that SLI was only useful for performance and that's not the requirement in my case.
Now the question is whether my dad is going to pay for 2 x 7600GT or a couple of simple 7600GS (non-SLIable) will suffice

Thanks in advance for your answers,
Jean

floffe · Post by **floffe** » Thu Mar 29, 2007 1:05 pm

No, you do not want to enable SLI to use 4 monitors, in fact it's not possible to use SLI with more than one monitor in windows.

angelkiller · Post by **angelkiller** » Thu Mar 29, 2007 1:31 pm

You may not need a SLI capable mobo, but you do need a mobo with TWO physical PCI-E 16x slots. (Regardless of how they are electrically.) Like floffe said, SLI does not work with quad moniters. Look at this thread for more info. And in terms of graphics cards, what type of work will your dad be doing? If it is graphically intensive get 2 7600GS's. If he just needs four moniters, get a less powerful card, like a 7300GS. (without a fan)

sleepygenius · Post by **sleepygenius** » Thu Mar 29, 2007 2:06 pm

If I remember correctly, you can also use a motherboard with integrated graphics (preferrably ones from ati and nvidia) that allow support of extending the amount of monitors through use of dedicated graphics card from their respective companies.

sea2stars · Post by **sea2stars** » Thu Mar 29, 2007 4:49 pm

I had an Asrock mobo that supports surround monitors using the onboard video and a PCI-E card; total of 5 possible monitors. That was a few years ago and I'm not sure what they're offering these days.

Moogles · Post by **Moogles** » Thu Mar 29, 2007 10:53 pm

I wouldn't go with the 7600GS because you're getting one DVI + D-SUB per card. If you have a four monitor setup used for financial trading, I would assume you're dealing with LCDs and not CRTs. DVI makes a huge difference when it comes to making text readable, and that alone would make the premium of a 7600GT worth it.

In your case I would opt for two of the cheapest dual DVI cards you can find, preferably passively cooled. You may find this card interesting: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6814150162

Also, as floffe pointed out, SLI does not work with multiple monitors. At all. If you have an SLI configuration and you want to use more than one monitor, you have to disable it. Poor advice from your local computer shop.

gasganet · Post by **gasganet** » Fri Mar 30, 2007 1:34 am

The Asrock 4CoreDual-VSTA can use one AGP and one PCI-E at the same time.
But the AGP card must be really low profile or it will touch the other one.

Post by **NeilBlanchard** » Fri Mar 30, 2007 4:16 am

Hello,

This is exactly what I have in my main computer: two 7600GS cards with 4 DVI ports in total and it supports multiple monitors (I have three) and also can be run with SLI on just one monitor. This is far less money than getting a single card that can run four monitors.

Scroll down for pictures of the system:
viewtopic.php?p=319124&highlight=#319124

jeans · Post by **jeans** » Fri Mar 30, 2007 5:15 am

Thanks everybody,

This is one of the most helpful forums I've encountered, really

You answers were very valuable and are highly appreciated

Jean

Inexpensive quad-monitor solution

Inexpensive quad-monitor solution

Thank you