1 PC, 2-3 monitors

[Caspian]

I am currently building a new rig. I plan to 5 box on 1 physical box but would like to go to multiple monitors. I can go to multiple computers because of space & heat/cooling issues.

I found this thread, that is kind of old but addresses what I would like to do. The IT Monkey had a shot of his setup and said this is what they are doing.

[Keyclone] PIP w/ multiple monitors

The IT Monkey said:

Works across multiple monitors and multiple video cards. It's exactly how I run it.

So, Could you post your System specs if you are still using this set up and how happy you are with it please, The IT Monkey?

If anyone else is doing this I would be interested in learning what your specs are and how happy you are with the setup and if there was anything you would change or upgrade at this point.

I was thinking of going with one 4850 to drive the main monitor and then less expensive card(s) do drive the 2nd and maybe 3rd monitor.
Anyone know how bad it would be to mix and match video card brands (ATI and NVIDIA) in the same machine? Would the drivers get along? Or am I asking for too much trouble doing that? What about different revisions of the same brand, 9800 and 8800 NVIDAs?

[-silencer-]

You can use different brands (AMD & nVidia) videocards, and you can also use different models of the same brand (8800GTX & 9600GT). However, if you use two of the same, you have to use the same drivers - like nVidia 172.69. You *cannot* use SLI/Crossfire with different brands, but most people hooking up multiple monitors with multiple videocards shouldn't be thinking about SLI anyway.

If I were to build a new and relatively inexpensive 5-box machine with 3 monitors, I'd do something like this:
q9450 (cheapest 45nm quad core with more cache than q9300)
8gb ddr2 memory (ram is cheap, so $100 goes from 4gb to 8gb)
evga 780i or asus P5E3 premium (either board for 3x pci-x16 slots, even if 2 of them run slower than 16x.. asus if using ddr3 and/or pci sound card)
3x 8800gt/9600gt or 3x hd4850 (wow isn't demanding, and either of these cards will be fine for the lcd resolution)
3x dell/samsung 20"/22" 1680x1050 or 3x dell/samsung 24" 1920x1200 LCDs (depending on money available)
g15 & x-keys pro.
vista 64
keyclone

Lot of options for hard drives, cases, power supplies.. but the above would be perfect for the input/output/processing.

[Masterdenk]

cant delete my post. sorry

[Klamor]

You can use different brands (AMD & nVidia) videocards, and you can also use different models of the same brand (8800GTX & 9600GT). However, if you use two of the same, you have to use the same drivers - like nVidia 172.69. You *cannot* use SLI/Crossfire with different brands, but most people hooking up multiple monitors with multiple videocards shouldn't be thinking about SLI anyway.

trying not to lead the thread away from it's topic, but could you explain this a little more? i tried to install an extra video card so i could run an additional monitor, but i can't set it up >_>

i have a geforce 8600 GT as my original video card, and the other one is a geforce 4000 MX.... the card get's signal from the mobo as the monitor tells me, but i can't figure out how to display anything if you could PM me or reply it would be much appreciated

[-silencer-]

You can use different brands (AMD & nVidia) videocards, and you can also use different models of the same brand (8800GTX & 9600GT). However, if you use two of the same, you have to use the same drivers - like nVidia 172.69. You *cannot* use SLI/Crossfire with different brands, but most people hooking up multiple monitors with multiple videocards shouldn't be thinking about SLI anyway.

trying not to lead the thread away from it's topic, but could you explain this a little more? i tried to install an extra video card so i could run an additional monitor, but i can't set it up >_>

i have a geforce 8600 GT as my original video card, and the other one is a geforce 4000 MX.... the card get's signal from the mobo as the monitor tells me, but i can't figure out how to display anything if you could PM me or reply it would be much appreciated

I'm not too familiar with drivers for the 4000 MX, but for this to work with same-brand cards, BOTH videocards have to be able to use the same drivers. That means the nVidia drivers your 8600GT uses (current geforce drivers work) need to work with your 4000 MX. If the 4000 MX doesn't work with the current drivers, you'll need to either rollback to a driver version that both cards do run with, or get a second newer card that works with recent drivers, like a 7300, 8200, or another 8600GT.
To actually enable both videocards once you've verified you can use either independently with the current drivers, you just need to set your display settings to view both monitors. It's been around 6 months since I've done this, but the setting is either in the windows display settings, or the nvidia control panel. Remember to make sure your monitor resolution settings are valid if you're testing the videocards with monitors. The hard part is finding a driver that works for both videocards. When reformatting my old media server last weekend, even though the current nVidia drivers say they worked with my old 6800GT, I had to go back to an archived version (forceware 90.7x) to get drivers that actually worked.

[triplef]

cant do that... the 9XXX and 8xxx drivers stop before your 4XXX.. check the product applies to section of the driver download... tried same shit here with a 9800 gtx and a geoforce 5750 or something

[Jamien]

I'm kind of in the same boat, wanting to have 3 monitors on the one PC.

Currently I'm running dual monitors off my 8800gts, which works fine, but it leaves 4 copies of wow squashed onto a 19".
I have a spare ... ugh ATI 9600 lying around somewhere I think, would I be right to chuck that in too (using asus p5b-deluxe) and install ATI drivers?
Or would my PC have a shit attack and wish it could kick me in the nads?

[mikekim]

I have this type of setup, but mine is running over two pc's - i tried initially running this on one pc (with 8gb RAM), but the FPS on each instance was too slow for my liking (about 20-30fps)




Main PC - specs

Gigabyte Aruora 3D Tower Case
Enermax Galaxy EGX850EWL 850W Modular PSU
2x NorthQ 92mm SilentFan BlueLED
Samsung SM-245B 24" Widescreen LCD Monitor (1,920 x 1,200)
Intel Q6600 G0 2.4Ghz Quadcore CPU
Asus Striker Extreme nForce 680 (Socket 775) DDR2 Motherboard
OCZ 4GB (2x2GB) PC2-6400C4 800MHz Reaper HPC Enhanced Bandwidth Edition Dual Channel DDR2 4-4-4-15
Tuniq 120 Tower CPU Cooler
XFX 8800ULTRA Extreme 768MB PV-T80U-SHE9 Graphics Card
150Gb Western Digital SATA, 10,000 rpm, 16MB Cache, “Raptor”
2x Pioneer DVR212BK 18x DVD±R/±RW (Black) SATA
Creative labs XFi Xtream Fatality Pro

Running Windows Vista Ultimate 64Bit Sp1
Keyclone
kaVoom KM


Second PC - specs

Antec Sonata Piano Black Quiet Case
Hiper Type-R 730w Modular PSU
AcoustiPack Pre-cut Foam Kit For Antec Sonata
2x HP 2207h 22" LCD Monitor (1,280 x 1,024) connected via HDMI (using DVI to HDMI adaptors)
Intel Q6600 G0 2.4Ghz Quadcore CPU
Asus P5K Motherboard
OCZ 4GB (2x2GB) PC2-6400C4 800MHz Reaper HPC Enhanced Bandwidth Edition Dual Channel DDR2 4-4-4-15
BFG GTX 260 OC Graphics Card
Western Digital Caviar 250GB SATA, 7200 rpm, 16MB Cache
1x Pioneer 110D 16x DVD±R/±RW
Creative Soundblaster Audigy


Running Windows Vista Home Premium 64Bit Sp1
Keyclone
kaVoom KM


Logitech G15 Gaming Keyboard
Logitech G5 Laser Mouse
SSeries Steelpad 5L Gaming Mat
5.1 Creative Speakers





main runs at between 40-100 fps (depending on location) all settings maxed (8x multisample)


slaves run at between 40-60 fps (depending on location) settings medium (2x multisample)

[gamemaster000]

I am trying to setup something similar (three monitors, one PC, two video cards). I'd like to have one monitor be my main, one monitor be for a second client, and one be for surfing/winamp/whatever.

I initially setup the two video cards (a GTX 260, and an 8800GTS 320) and just two monitors, and couldn't get it working right. One client running on one monitor would work fine; but both clients, one running on each monitor, was choppy on both clients. Has anyone seen this before or know how to fix something like this? I'm thinking about getting a second matching GTX 260 to see if this would smooth things out, but don't want to spend the money if I don't have to. Or maybe just upgrading to 64bit windows and bumping up to 8GB would work... Any suggestions?

System: q6700 @ 3.0GHz / evga750i FTW / 4GB / Vista32 / GTX260 & 8800GTS320 with latest nvidia drivers

[Noids99]

Not sure if this is possible, but how would 2 x high end GPUs go driving 3 monitors. Have one of them driving your main and the other setup to drive the two side monitors. Surely a 260GTX would be able to run 2 x 1680 x 1050 monitors (or even 1920 x 1200) without a glitch?

Cheers