Three Monitors

[norm]

Hey Eagle I know you asked about this in the shoutbox so I figured this was the place for it.

I don't believe there is a video card with three adapters. If so I haven't seen it. Generally you would need dual video cards either Nvidia cards running in SLI or ATI cards running in Crossover.

If you're using a laptop you could always get a docking station with dual monitor outputs. Even then I think it cuts off your laptop screen and will only output to the external monitors.


There are some nice stands out there for dual monitors and up if you are thinking about it. Good luck and if you do this I want to see pictures!

[Rommel]

I'm running my laptop with dual monitors, so laptop screen + 21" LCD monitor. The 21"er also gets used as a display for my PS3, so I can game while surfing the web. This is useful if you're testing something about a game and need to browse forums.

The real reason I went for a dual monitor system is school. I can keep a Reference Manual, PDF, or eBook on my right screen, a Book or notebook on the desk, and leave only the word processor/compiler/IDE on the laptop screen. I get sooooooo much stuff done quicker and more organized than ever, plus it looks cool.

And here is my small segway into the actual point of this thread... If I could save more time by adding a third monitor, I would definitely invest in it. If you get it working with just one card, please show me how and if it's worth it. And I second the motion for PICS!

[Rommel]

Oh, and consider downloading UltraMon if you're on a Windows OS. It's a little application that manages your external monitors. It has tons of features, easy to use, and saves your settings so you never have to deal with the Windows Desktop managers.

[EagleOne]

Good Good good, but the question was how do I physically hook up the monitors to one computer. Norm said another video card but is there a splitter or device that I link the monitor to and then to the computer?

[Rdaug27]

This article might help. Still have to buy more video cards though :(

http://daggle.com/my-multimonitor-setup-three-screens-for-one-computer-76

[norm]

Honestly I don't know. You can look on Google or Newegg for a splitter.

I'm thinking the mechanics behind it would be a pain in the ass. You would need a splitter and software that can facilitate the split. Also you have to make sure your current video card (and system in general) can handle it. Ratix or even AndyPants might know more about it then me. I've only seen it done with a docking station for the laptop and dual video cards.

I'm thinking an extra video card would be cheaper if not easier.



Just looked on Newegg and saw this Workstation Video Card

I completely forgot about workstation cards, they are expensive though.

Hope the info helps or gives you a couple of ideas and directions on where to go.

[Rdaug27]

Yeah the video card I updated to has two slots on it, I just never thought of putting up two monitors. It wasn't real expensive, I think I got it at Walmart, or Office Depot on clearance. Unless your doing some gaming on the PC, you don't need a real expensive card. If you are trying to do this on our work PC's Eagle.......well you know your screwed :p

[EagleOne]

Nope, this is for the house, fuck Big Truck (IT guy at work) He can keep his sorry ass system.

[Rdaug27]

Nope, this is for the house, fuck Big Truck (IT guy at work) He can keep his sorry ass system.

Oh is that his nick name? I thought you were calling him Dumb Fuck....my bad.

[sovereign]

Under Windows XP I have no problem running two video cards, one AGP and one PCI (yeah it's an older motherboard, but it serves me very well for my needs); both are ATI cards (Radeon 9800 Pro and Radeon X1300).

Just out of curiosity I have tried both Vista and Win7 installations on this PC, however both of those OSes flake out with the secondary video card (PCI) enabled; not sure if that's a catalyst/driver or OS issue, since those cards are now considered "legacy." I did briefly did some searches regarding the issue under Vista/7 and found others with the same issue, but no solution... not a pressing issue since XP works flawlessly and I have no need for 7.

Here's a pic of my setup: Two 19" 4x3 and one 22" 16x9

[sovereign]

Just stumbled across a gallery of multi-monitor setups, along with system/video specs... there's some pretty sick setups in there... Also a compatibility database, which should helpful in determining what hardware to get...

http://www.realtimesoft.com/multimon/gallery.asp?date=desc&nummon=false&mon=desc