3 lcds

[jimmyjam]

i just managed to score a few lcd monitors for damn near nothing and want to hook them all up to my main rig. i have plenty of processing power(dual xps at 1533 mHz) and plenty of ram (1.5 gB) and plenty of hdd(240 gB) all i need is a video card. i want it to be able to run 3 monitors with dvi connections. is that possible? im not a huge gamer, i mostly just use my pcs for music and movies and video encoding. i mostly just want a cool looking desk with 3 lcds on one rig. any ideas?

 

[jiffylube1024]

I don't know if it's going to be possible (are there PCI video cards with DVI?). The only dual-DVI card I know of is the rare Gainward Ti4400 I believe, and I don't know about PCI video cards with DVI. Perhaps someone else has encouraging info, but I don't think it's possible (certainly not very economical as you'd need 3 video cards to do it).

 

[RiceARoni]

I haven't found any video cards w/ 3 dvi connections but this video card can support three monitors.

Do not click me

 

[chizow]

Originally posted by: RiceARoni
I haven't found any video cards w/ 3 dvi connections but this video card can support three monitors.

Do not click me

I'd second that. Probably the best implementation around, but 2 will be analog I believe. Look at its triple-head/surround gaming set-up.

Otherwise you'd have to look into a dual-DVI card (rare and pricey, GF4 is the only I know of other than the Matrox) and possibly a PCI card for the third DVI.

Chiz

 

[jimmyjam]

thanks for the info guys. now i just need to decide if its important enough for me to blow that kinda money just so my desk looks cool. maybe i should just sell one of the lcds and use dual-head. hmmm.... choices.

 

[Glitchny]

i dont what combination of cards u would use, but i know it is possible, i think i have seen 6 lcds on one comp before, cept it wasnt in person.

 

[Hazer]

Hey there. Ever heard of the Nvidia Quadro NVS? The NVS 400 comes in PCI and AGP, and supports upto 4 displays via analog OR 4 DVI-I!

PNY makes it and can be bought for less than $400 on Mwave. Display resolutions past 2000x1600. Would be really sweet except that even though its NVidia, the Quadro is not optimized for gaming.



Beyond this card, your looking at $4000+ with professional rigs. They do it by using multiple PCI Vcards linked together.

 

[jimmyjam]

Originally posted by: Hazer
Hey there. Ever heard of the Nvidia Quadro NVS? The NVS 400 comes in PCI and AGP, and supports upto 4 displays via analog OR 4 DVI-I!

PNY makes it and can be bought for less than $400 on Mwave. Display resolutions past 2000x1600. Would be really sweet except that even though its NVidia, the Quadro is not optimized for gaming.



Beyond this card, your looking at $4000+ with professional rigs. They do it by using multiple PCI Vcards linked together.

so i could possibly keep my current agp card thats good for gaming to run one of the lcds, then run 2 off a pci quadro card for regular apps?
although if im going to spend $400 on a quadro shouldnt i just get the parhelia? btw the lcds only support 1280 x 1024.

 

[bunnyfubbles]

There are PCI Radeon 7500 and 9000 boards that have a DVI out put, that and a dual DVI AGP would be all you would need, or two PCI boards and one AGP...

Newegg has some Power Coloer Radeon powered PCI video cards for < $100. Both the Radeon 9000 and 7500 are low profile and they do support DVI output. I'm thinking the 7500 would work well considering that its cheaper and it should easily do the trick I would think...

 

[wicktron]

Go with the Parhelia, it'll give you less headaches when trying to implement that Triple Monitor setup.

 

[heliomphalodon]

Look at the Appian cards. They have several (PCI) cards that can drive four digital panels.
Stay away from the multiple-Radeon 9000 setup -- I tried everything to get two PowerColor PCI Radeon 9000s to work, but the drivers just aren't up to the challenge.

 

[Hazer]

No. Sorry about that, I wasnt clear. The NVidia NVS 400 supports 4 DVDI outputs. This will allow you to use those 3 LCD's. You cannot use a second PCI card to drive 2 while using an AGP to drive the third. (Well, you can, but a real headache).

You said that you dont play games much, so I gave you a one card solution. If you do care about games, your gonna have do some real research to find out how to power more than one Vcard at a time.