Multiple Display Question

[Umberger]

UPDATE 2:
I got the LCD and video card in the mail this week and finally had time to set everything up. Pics are here, I will post better ones when I finish my homework and have a chance to clean up and Windex my desk. My roommates have been making fun of me, telling me about how unnecessary it is. I have Ultramon installed and working great. I tried the old drivers, but they wouldn't work with the 7100GS, so I had to install the newer drivers. Everything works fine, though.

Thanks to everyone for their help!

:beer:
Umberger


UPDATE 1:

I bought the LCD and video card today, they should be here later this week. I'll be giving Ultramon a try, and will buy it if I like it. I am using the built-in NVIDIA software right now, but I don't imagine it'll work as well with 3 monitors.

Original Post:

OK, here's the deal: I have 2 LCD's right now on my 6800GT's 2 outputs. (PIC) The desktop is spanned across both screens.

I want to get a third identical LCD and span my desktop across all 3. (they're like $180 off-lease from Dell right now)

The questions:
1) How hard is it to set up the third LCD (software-wise) since it will be on a separate video card?

2) I assume I just need a mid-lower end card since it will pretty much be just rendering desktop and non-graphic-intensive applications. Newegg has an EVGA 7100GS for $40 AR right now. There isn't any reason that I'd need identical video cards or anything, is there?
One must is that the new card must NOT have a fan. I am a noise freak, and everything is watercooled and silent right now, and I don't want to add a fan to the system...


If you have any other input, I'd be interested to hear it.
Thanks in advance, folks. :beer:

-Umberger

 

[Old Hippie]

(PIC) The desktop is spanned across both screens.

Very Stylish. :thumbsup:

 

[dawza]

I have no experience with using the native Nvidia drivers for triple monitors, but with Ultramon, it is a cinch.

As far as the second video card is concerned, as long as it is Nvidia, you should have no problems; mixing video drivers (i.e. Nvidia + ATI) is not recommended. I have a 7800GT driving two LCDs, and a 3DFuzion PCI 6200 driving a third. All I had to do when I first plugged the 6200 in was to reinstall the Nvidia drivers, reboot, and everything worked. Again, not sure how it would be without Ultramon.

 

[Eomer of Aldburg]

agreed, ultramon is a very nice program for those running multiple monitors.

 

[Umberger]

Originally posted by: dawza
I have no experience with using the native Nvidia drivers for triple monitors, but with Ultramon, it is a cinch.

As far as the second video card is concerned, as long as it is Nvidia, you should have no problems; mixing video drivers (i.e. Nvidia + ATI) is not recommended. I have a 7800GT driving two LCDs, and a 3DFuzion PCI 6200 driving a third. All I had to do when I first plugged the 6200 in was to reinstall the Nvidia drivers, reboot, and everything worked. Again, not sure how it would be without Ultramon.

Is there any issue with getting the drivers installed properly? IIRC the NVIDIA drivers are still universal... one download for all their cards... How does it know which card it's installing drivers for? Is Ultramon free or do I have to buy it?

Thanks for the replies.

-Umberger

 

[dawza]

Not sure about the whether the drivers are universal for all cards, as the release notes usually specify which series said drivers are made for. I imagine that this is a non-issue for you, as the 6800GT and 7100GS are both relatively recent cards, and any drivers released since the advent of the "6" series should be fine. Of course, certain versions are better than others for certain purposes. I used/use the 84.21 version, as they have been rock-solid for me, and others as well. Google for nvidia 84.21 and you should be able to pull them up. As far as the actual installation, here is what I did:

1. Download 84.21 (save to HDD)
2. Remove existing Nvidia display driver using add/remove programs. You may want to run Driver Cleaner at this step to really ensure a clean removal, but I did not.
3. Install 84.21 downloaded in step 1 (forgot if there was a reboot involved after uninstalling the existing drivers).
4. Reboot
5. Automatic detection of both video cards in Nvidia control panel.

Ultramon is free as a fully-functional demo for 30 days, after which a license costs $50. It is money well-spent, as the program does so much more than Windows or Nvidia allows.

 

[Umberger]

Originally posted by: dawza
Not sure about the whether the drivers are universal for all cards, as the release notes usually specify which series said drivers are made for. I imagine that this is a non-issue for you, as the 6800GT and 7100GS are both relatively recent cards, and any drivers released since the advent of the "6" series should be fine. Of course, certain versions are better than others for certain purposes. I used/use the 84.21 version, as they have been rock-solid for me, and others as well. Google for nvidia 84.21 and you should be able to pull them up. As far as the actual installation, here is what I did:

1. Download 84.21 (save to HDD)
2. Remove existing Nvidia display driver using add/remove programs. You may want to run Driver Cleaner at this step to really ensure a clean removal, but I did not.
3. Install 84.21 downloaded in step 1 (forgot if there was a reboot involved after uninstalling the existing drivers).
4. Reboot
5. Automatic detection of both video cards in Nvidia control panel.

Ultramon is free as a fully-functional demo for 30 days, after which a license costs $50. It is money well-spent, as the program does so much more than Windows or Nvidia allows.

Thanks for the info. I bought the LCD and video card today, they should be here later this week. I'll be giving Ultramon a try, and will buy it if I like it. I am using the built-in NVIDIA software right now, but I don't imagine it'll work as well with 3 monitors.

Thanks for the input. :beer:

 

[Umberger]

Originally posted by: dawza
I used/use the 84.21 version, as they have been rock-solid for me, and others as well.

Another quick question:
The newest driver version is 93.71. Is there a reason that people use the older drivers? Have there been stability issues with the newer ones? I'd just like to understand the reasoning behind using the older ones.
Thanks!

-Umberger

 

[dawza]

There have been some people who have reported various problems with the newer drivers, and you will find more than a few who are big fans of 84.21. I value stability over all else, and the 84.21s have been working flawlessly for me for over a year, so I figure I will stick with them.

Let us know how things turn out, and post pics if possible!

 

[Umberger]

Originally posted by: dawza
There have been some people who have reported various problems with the newer drivers, and you will find more than a few who are big fans of 84.21. I value stability over all else, and the 84.21s have been working flawlessly for me for over a year, so I figure I will stick with them.

Let us know how things turn out, and post pics if possible!

That's what I figured the reason was, I downloaded 84.21 and I'll start with that. I'll post pictures once I get everything put together...

Thanks again.

 

[Umberger]

UPDATE
I got the LCD and video card in the mail this week and finally had time to set everything up. Pics are here, I will post better ones when I finish my homework and have a chance to clean up and Windex my desk. My roommates have been making fun of me, telling me about how unnecessary it is. I have Ultramon installed and working great. I tried the old drivers, but they wouldn't work with the 7100GS, so I had to install the newer drivers. Everything works fine, though.

Thanks to everyone for their help!

:beer:
Umberger

 

[Penth]

WINAMP? :Q

Triple Monitors is awesome.

Show your roommates this and then yours won't seem so over the top.