3 monitors, need answer/opinion

[Shigan5]

So ive been wanting to get 2 swivel monitors to go with my current 22" to make 5 boxing much easier and snazzier ( and i think two portrait swivel monitors with the 22" wide will look sweet.)

But anyways computer specs as follows (for informational purposes)

Amd Athlon 6400+ x2
4gb Ram
9800 GTX Black Edition
700w power supply

But anyways what would be a good way of adding in the extra 2 monitors? (cost effective as well)

Should i just throw in the extra video card i have on me (9600gt) or should i just build a whole new machine? (obviously just throwing in the card would be cheaper, though id have to buy a new mobo to get a second PCIx16)
Or is there another way of throwing in that third monitor that im unaware of? (my mobo has no onboard video, and remember im going cost effective here so the tri2go is a little too expensive. No dual DVI outputs either :( though it may have an svideo out)

Also the monitors im choosing are some 22" acer ones off newegg for $199. Anyone get theirs for cheaper elsewhere?

[Style1one]

There is the option of this, it will allow you to hook up a third moniter and then have2 running off your vid card. http://www.xkeys.com/viewport.php

[mikekim]

when i first got my dual 22" swivel monitors, I tried adding another card to my system and found that the FPS was really poor, so I just purchased another cheap similar spec Pc to run the two screens (quad core, 4GB).

(running more screens off one card would probably give you the same fps drain)


Now on the main i get between 60-100 fps (1,920x1,200) high detail 4x multisample, and on the dual screen machine (x2 1,050x1,680) i get 50-60fps on each client medium detail 2x Multisample.

Another good use of the screens is that you can rotate them back when you box with less characters :thumbup: (all screens in landscape mode for tri- boxing, or dual boxing and a web page open on the spare)

build another cheap machine - less hassle in the long run

[pinotnoir]

I am running 3 LCD's with two ATI 3800 series cards. I had a 3800 series with my old xtx1950xt and it didnt like it. You can check out my setup in the gallery. I really like having the middle monitor for my main and the two side portrait lcd's for the other 4 accounts.

[Shigan5]

Well i have to buy a new mobo to add in the second card anyways so if i get fps issues i can just use the old board and build a second comp. Im sure i have the parts laying around to do so. And besides, im not worried about fps too much on the alts. As long as i can get at least 10 on each im happy. Though I could probably get more, im just limiting the alts to 10.

[mikekim]

im not worried about fps too much on the alts. As long as i can get at least 10 on each im happy. Though I could probably get more, im just limiting the alts to 10.once you start running this type of setup, you'd be surprised about how much 10 fps windows running on these screens start to annoy you (and can make you feel sick in some cases) - anything above 30 fps is far better

[Motgib]

I'm not sure what the quality of these monitors are, but here is a cheaper price for ya:

Hyundai X224W 22" Widescreen LCD Monitor - 5ms, 1680x1050 (WSXGA+), 1000:1, DVI-D, VGA, Internal Speakers

$169.99 from TigerDirect.com.


http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=3876416&Sku=H54-2200

[Shigan5]

im not worried about fps too much on the alts. As long as i can get at least 10 on each im happy. Though I could probably get more, im just limiting the alts to 10.once you start running this type of setup, you'd be surprised about how much 10 fps windows running on these screens start to annoy you (and can make you feel sick in some cases) - anything above 30 fps is far better

You're probably right, but i havent had issues yet, though its all been on one monitor. Oh well, ill just build the second machine anyways, ive been thinking of doing for a while.

As for themonitors, thsoe are indeed nice monitors, but im looking for the whole swivel effect. I want to have a monitor setup like mikes. Itl make my screen real estate much easier to handle when boxing.