3 monitors per computer? / what does Quadro mean? / is PCI-Ex1 superior to PCI?

[chmod777]

The topic is somewhat unclear to me so this going to be a little long.

short version:
I have Asus P5B that has only one PCI-Ex16 slot. My graphics card is Leadtek WF PX 7600 GT.
How can I connect 4 monitors to this machine?




long version:

- should I use PCI or PCI-E x1 video card?
That means: are the PCI-E cards faster? i.e. will my computer run slower with PCI card? All I need is 2D but I don't know how the communication between card and CPU influences the performance (I don't want to slow down my CPU).


- can you recomend any (probably nVidia) graphics card?
I mean the only PCI-Ex1 card that I've found is this:
http://www.amazon.com/NVS285-1...00G29IP0/ref=sr_1_175/
There are also some HP cards but I cannot find a single shop that has it in stock.
Also the card is only 1-DVI. I need 3 monitors right now. Will the computer handle 3 video cards when I need to add-up the 4th monitor or is there a PCI-Ex1 card with 2 DVIs?


- my graphics card is Geforce 7600. Can the second card be Quadro?
I heard that you should use a card that can use the same driver. But Quadro and Geforce uses separate drivers.



- If yes which one?
AFAIK the only difference between NVS 440/290/285/280 is the performance for CAD/CAM. I don't use any. All I need is very wide desktop.
I can go with the cheapest (i.e. 285), correct?




If you have something additional I should be aware, please, point me to that.
Also I would appreciate some articles if available. All I found was some articles about two PCI-Ex16 set-up what isn't my situation.
Thanks.

 

[BladeVenom]

While I've never done a threesome, at least not with monitors. I think the simplest and cheapest is just to add a PCI card. I would go with a cheap DX9 Nvidia card. Probably something like this http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16814130289 will do fine for 2d.

Quadro is just their name for their professional line. It's more for workstations. You can get a 4 monitor Quadro card if you want, but they are a bit expensive.

There's also the Matrox Tripple head to go external box for running 3 monitors with one video card.

I don't know of a Nvidia PCI or PCI Express x1 card that has 2 DVI connectors. You could add a third card if you have to have 4 DVI connectors. Or upgrade your motherboard to one that has more graphic card slots.

You might also want to check out some multi monitor software. The two I remember are Multimon and Ultramon.

 

[aka1nas]

If you're on Vista, then you need to run all the cards off the same driver to use Aero. XP is a little less picky in that regard, but I would still recommend sticking to one IHV. Most regular forceware drivers can be used with Quadro cards if you add those models to the drivers .inf file. There are several sites that have pre-modified the infs for you if you look around.

I would just pick up a cheap PCI 6200 in your case, unless you need everything to be DVI.

If you intend to run Vista, be aware that Aero's video RAM requirements scale with the number of displays and the resolution of those displays. A good breakdown of those requirements can be found here:

Vista Aero Video RAM Requirements

 

[chmod777]

Originally posted by: BladeVenom
Quadro is just their name for their professional line. It's more for workstations. You can get a 4 monitor Quadro card if you want, but they are a bit expensive.

I have a budget of $200 for that graphic card. That's enough for any reasonable card.
The problem is that the only PCI-Ex1 cards I found were Quadro.

Primarily I was searching for PCI-Ex1 because I don't want to slow down my CPU by communicating through the old PCI (I have no clue what the real impact is however and if any).

Originally posted by: aka1nas
I would just pick up a cheap PCI 6200 in your case, unless you need everything to be DVI.

I need everything to be DVI. But I need 3 monitors right now (the linked graphic card has one) and as I read I can add another graphic card later so that's not a problem.

The real problem now is what is the best option (in terms of speed as I don't care about driver modifying or more hours configuring):
(1) PCI-E Quadro
(2) PCI Geforce 6200

(3) PCI-Ex1 Geforce xxxx would be the best option but I haven't found any.

 

[PingSpike]

I don't think PCI is going to slow down your PC/CPU. The main problem with PCI is that its bandwidth is shat. But if you're just going to be pushing 2D with the PCI card, I really don't think it'll have any large impact for what you do. PCI-E 1x graphics cards generally are lower end parts, which is fine for your application...but they're also a total ripoff simply because they happen to be PCI-e 1x.

You can install a PCI-E 16x card into a 1x slot, if you break out the back of the 1x slot to allow the card to be installed or you buy an adapter. I had a thread for a similar project recently, and a there were a couple others discussing the same kind of thing. PCI-e 1x is about the same as AGP 1x...although it has better card -> system bandwidth.

 

[dawza]

I have a 7800GT driving two LCD monitors over DVI, and a 3D Fuzion PCI 6200 card driving a third LCD monitor (DVI) and a 720P HDTV (VGA). If I recall correctly, all I did when adding in the 6200 was to remove and reinstall the (same) nVidia video drivers.

I have not noticed any impact on speed on any aspect of the system. I do not game on the 6200-driven monitors, obviously, but I regularly pipe over video to the HDTV, and there is no noticeable lag or performance degradation. As an added bonus, the dinky stock cooler that came with the 6200 can actually keep the card at <60C with the fan unplugged (2D only); this is with the card sandwiched between two cards, in a low-airflow case.

FYI, I have a NIC and an X-Fi in my other two PCI slots, and I have seen no adverse impact on network performance or sound.

OS is XP.

 

[BladeVenom]

Originally posted by: PingSpike
You can install a PCI-E 16x card into a 1x slot, if you break out the back of the 1x slot to allow the card to be installed or you buy an adapter. I had a thread for a similar project recently, and a there were a couple others discussing the same kind of thing. PCI-e 1x is about the same as AGP 1x...although it has better card -> system bandwidth.

I was thinking about that since I remember an article where they taped up a card to simulate x1 bandwidth. But it might not work with every motherboard.

 

[aka1nas]

If you need Dual DVI on PCI, then here are your choices at Newegg.

You're paying a big premium as they just aren't making new cards on PCI at all and PCI-E 1x cards are a pretty small niche.

 

[PingSpike]

Originally posted by: BladeVenom

Originally posted by: PingSpike
You can install a PCI-E 16x card into a 1x slot, if you break out the back of the 1x slot to allow the card to be installed or you buy an adapter. I had a thread for a similar project recently, and a there were a couple others discussing the same kind of thing. PCI-e 1x is about the same as AGP 1x...although it has better card -> system bandwidth.

I was thinking about that since I remember an article where they taped up a card to simulate x1 bandwidth. But it might not work with every motherboard.

Ah! I'd read that article but I must have glossed over that section some how. Interesting.

 

[Chapbass]

I just quickly skimmed the article, but I can tell you that an inexpensive pci graphics card does the trick just fine. I use an 8800GTS 640 with a 5200 FX with my 8800 powering a 24" dell and a 19" gateway and my 5200 powering another 19" gateway.


I'm runnin winxp, and can easily swap between them, and while the 3d performance is complete crap, I can even move a 3d app (i used world of warcraft) from one monitor on the 8800 to another monitor on the 5200....and it works....

runs like hell but it works with no errors or anything. Interesting, but ill take it!