NON-GAMING QUESTION. - Need 4 screens. What Mobo?

KolaKola
edited January 2008 in Hardware
Hi there.

I currently have 2 LCD screens and my TV (what is in a different room) linked up to my PC so 3 screens so far in all. As a web designer I feel I can do with even more space so am buying yet another screen.

Now in theory I know and understand how to do this. You just buy 3 PCI ex video cards and set up windows and hey presto.

Yup but what mobo will take this many PCI ex cards along with my current Intel quad core CPU I have only just bought and am reluctant to sell.

I have searched the net and found nothing.

Does anyone know of a suitable Mobo with 2 or 3 graphics PCI ex graphics slots?

Comments

  • Your-Amish-DaddyYour-Amish-Daddy The heart of Texas
    edited January 2008
    You might want to look into the Matrox line of head splitters. I don't think they make a quad, but they do make a triple. This is a good alternative to wasting PCI slots and system power.
  • SnarkasmSnarkasm Madison, WI Icrontian
    edited January 2008
    The new 780i boards have three PCI-E slots meant for triple-SLi, haha, but to be very honest, you don't need that as you're describing it, from my experience. I used to run three monitors, and had two on an X800XL and an LCD TV on a 9700 Pro; the X800 was PCI-E and the 9700 was straight PCI. So if your standard video card already has two outputs, just find a two-output PCI video card and you'll have four heads out lickety split. As I understand it, if you have an nVidia main card, you might want to get an ATI PCI card, so the drivers don't interfere with each other, but check with others on that, I don't remember where I heard it.
  • KolaKola
    edited January 2008
    Hi there,

    @ Daddy

    Ive looked at triple head to go (sounds like a superb whore at a brothel) but you are limited to screens smaller than 20"'s I have two 20" screens and am looking at getting a 30" so this wouldn't work but thanks for the idea m8.

    @ MJ

    Noting 780i boards, this could be the solution

    Im after using the 30" for any gaming and dvds I watch so I would like it to have a GPU to itself as opposed to sharing whilst the 2 x 20"s will be used only for coding etc so can happily share a 6200 or whatever.

    I can buy a cheapo old PCI only AVG card no probs of Ebayto power my TV and then the 6200 for the two 20"'s as said.

    If I were to add another GFX card for the 30" display Id need another PCI ex slot.

    Suppose the ultimate question is......

    ......If I were to buy a cheap SLI mobo could I run one 6200 and another PCI ex card (EG an 7800 or even an ATI) along side the 6200 as long as they weren't used for SLI and simply as seperate unsync'd cards?


    Anyone?
  • SnarkasmSnarkasm Madison, WI Icrontian
    edited January 2008
    Yes, I believe that's possible. You just don't enable SLi mode and they operate just like normal video cards. Sounds like you've got it worked out pretty well.
  • RyderRyder Kalamazoo, Mi Icrontian
    edited January 2008
    Kola wrote:
    ......If I were to buy a cheap SLI mobo could I run one 6200 and another PCI ex card (EG an 7800 or even an ATI) along side the 6200 as long as they weren't used for SLI and simply as seperate unsync'd cards?


    Anyone?
    Absolutely....you could even run 2 ATI cards, because you will not be using SLI. Enabling SLI would disable all but 1 monitor.

    So, to sum up. Yes an SLI mobo is exactly what you want if you want to run 2 PCI-e cards for up to 4 monitors :)

    Make sure of the specs on the 30" monitor, many that size need a "Dual Link" video card to achieve full resolution so you will need to have that feature on the single card to drive that monitor. Dual Link does not refer to having 2 DVI connectors, its just a feature of the card and the monitor still only uses 1 DVI cable.
  • KolaKola
    edited January 2008
    Great stuff. Thanks everyone. An SLI mobo it is them. That was easier than I thought:]
  • Your-Amish-DaddyYour-Amish-Daddy The heart of Texas
    edited January 2008
    Doesn't dual link use both the Analog and Digital halves of DVI?
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