3 Monitors - 1 PCI Express

[leckley]

Hi Guys,

I have a situation where I am not sure where to head. I currently have 3 monitors and want to power them all by the same PC, however I only have a single PCI-Express slot.

With that, I currently have an 8800GT for the main two, but am unsure how to proceed with getting the 3rd one online.

I have been holding out for a 4850X2, which can power up to 4, but they are a little out of my price range for the moment (when you can find them).

I have read where allot of people have issues when they use various video cards together that are not the same series.

Assuming I go with an additional PCI based card, any idea what will work?

 

[sciwizam]

AMD HD5XXX series w/ Eyefinity?

 

[Zargon]

I used to run a PCI nvidia card along with my main NVIDIA card, way back when in XP

it had no problems, configured it in the display settings

 

[Jules]

http://www.tigerdirect.com/applicati...018&CatId=3669

 

[Rebel44]

AMD HD5XXX series w/ Eyefinity?

I agree

 

[Jules]

...

 

[kalrith]

I used to run a PCI nvidia card along with my main NVIDIA card, way back when in XP

it had no problems, configured it in the display settings

This would be the least-expensive option.

 

[ZetaEpyon]

I'm currently running an 8800GT along with a PCI 8400GS to drive 3 LCDs in Windows 7. Works perfectly fine, no real complaints, and didn't have to do anything weird to get it to work.

 

[betasub]

Depends on intended usage.

If third monitor is simply for an extended desktop with 2D usage only, then adding a PCI video card is simplest.

4850x2 and 3850x2 have exotic versions with up to 4 DVI, so they avoid the problem of needing a DisplayPort screen or expensive adaptor that exists with the otherwise neat Eyefinity 5xxx cards. But Eyefinity is the solution for full 3D usage across all monitors.

 

[Zargon]

does SLI/XFire allow 3-4 displays of 3d? oir just amp the power of the main display for 3d?

 

[leckley]

I'm currently running an 8800GT along with a PCI 8400GS to drive 3 LCDs in Windows 7. Works perfectly fine, no real complaints, and didn't have to do anything weird to get it to work.

Very cool!

Thanks everyone!

 

[leckley]

does SLI/XFire allow 3-4 displays of 3d? oir just amp the power of the main display for 3d?

I believe they are only designed for the use on a single monitor.

 

[aka1nas]

I believe they are only designed for the use on a single monitor.

The only limitation with SLI is that the display outputs on the "slave" cards will not be active when SLI mode is enabled. So, you can have the 2 displays on the primary card enabled.

You can still have 3+ displays with SLI enabled, however. The additional displays need to be attached to a 3rd(or 4th) card that is not part of the SLI set. If you're on Vista, these would all need to be Nvidia cards that can use the same driver.