Tri-LCD, Need Advice

[telstar1]

Here's my situation. I'm building a new PC that will be a multi-purpose box with the following priorities:

Web Design / Photoshop / Photography: 70%
General Internet Use: 20%
Gaming: 10%

I currently have dual 19" LCDs. I plan to add a 30" as my primary monitor. My hope is to use the 30" as the center panel, with an 19" LCD on each side. What would I need, in terms of video-card hardware, in order to support a 30" center panel, w/ two 19" side-panels? I realize I won't be able to run most games at 30" w/ all the bells and whistles turned on. I'd still like to be able to game ... but it's not the priority. I'd just like it to be usable so I don't have a box I can't occasionally play games on. I'd prefer an NVidia solution over an ATI solution if possible. Any recommendations for a motherboard/video card combo that would work for my situation?

 

[sutahz]

http://www.naplestech.com/shopcart/products.asp?cat=10 top 2
oh and forget about gaming... or run one of those pci cards and a PCI-E card at the same time (I'm sure thats possible).
http://9xmedia.com/Pages-produ...%20-video%20cards.html

 

[dawza]

You can run a modern dual-DVI PCIe x16 card with at least one dual-link DVI-out (dual-link for the 30"- resolutions below 25x16 will be fine on a single or dual-link). This would probably act as your primary gaming card as well.

For the third monitor, your options depend on your motherboard. If you have a mobo with two x16 PCIe slots (i.e. an SLI-capable mobo), you can buy a cheap secondary PCIe card with at least one DVI-out for the third 19" LCD. You can also use a PCI card for the third display (if you do not have a second x16 slot, or if you simply prefer to use a PCI card). This is assuming that your 19" monitors have DVI inputs.

To minimize driver conflicts, both cards should be the same manufacturer (i.e. both Nvidia or both ATI). You can then use the same driver for both, and ideally, all would be OK. The second card will be used only for 2D apps, so it does not need to be high-end in any way.

To manage your displays, a third party application called UltraMon is highly recommended. A free fully-functional 30-day trial is available, after which it is $50 for the license for continued use.

To give you an example using my setup:

Mobo: A8N-SLI
PCIe x16 card: 7800GT
PCI card: 6200

Monitor #1 = 2405FPW (7800GT, DVI)
Monitor #2 = 2007FP (7800GT, DVI)
Monitor #3 = L2000C (6200, DVI)
Monitor #4 = LCD TV (6200, VGA)

Both video cards are running the 84.21 drivers. The 7800GT is for 3D apps (using the 2405 as the primary display).