multi monitor set up

[9800gt]

hi everyone. i've got a question about a multi monitor set up i'm planning to do but i'm new here soi would like to introduce myself first.

i'm 9800gt, real name andreas. i'm in my late 20s and live in london.
been spending the last 8 years working in clubs here and i'm now trying to change profession to become a trader.
i like keeping fit, analysing fx market and i love food. friends say i'm a good cook
thats about all there is to say about me, any questions please feel free to ask.

anyway, to come back to my query.
i'm about to set up a three monitor system( possibly 4) for mainly live trading but i also love gaming (battlefield bad company, rainbow6,gears of war, that kind of stuff) and watching movies.
after looking into this matter i've come up with the following:

cpu:AMD PHENOM II X2 550 3.1GHZ AM3, Manufacturer Supplied Cooler,
mboard:AM3 DDR2 X-fire - ASROCK A790GXH/128M - 2600FSB. 790GX + SB700 X-FIRE 4XDDR2 1066,
graphics: 2 x ATI HD 5670 1024MB PCI Express DDR DVI or could i use niveda gforce instead?

each of the hd 5670 is able to support up to three monitors (apparently) but i'm planning to use two monitors on each of the two cards.

memory will be 4gb, hdd between 500gb and 1tb

is this set up ok. or could it do with any improvenments?

thank you
regards

9800gt

 

[PositiveKaram]

Welcome to T-F, Andreas.

The setup looks fine to me. Are you planning on overclocking at all?

And what powersupply will you be using?

Best regards,
Mike

EDIT: RAM -> http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=MY-180-OC&groupid=701&catid=8&subcat=1517

Here's a better motherboard IMO, It supports DDR3 RAM -> http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=MB-242-GI&groupid=701&catid=5&subcat=1481

 

[9800gt]

hi, thanks for your response.
looks like the power supply comes with the case it says :
2206 Black Midi Case with 500W PSU.

 

[9800gt]

not sure about overglocking. how does it work?

 

[PositiveKaram]

Post up a link to the case you're going to buy.

Overclocking is just a way of getting more out of your PC without spending more money. If you're going to OC then I'd suggest an aftermarket heatsink and fan.

Can you give me your budget?

 

[9800gt]

hi, my budget is £600.00

 

[PositiveKaram]

And does it include Speakers, Monitor, Keyboard, Mouse, Operating System?

Can I have a link to the case you're getting?

 

[9800gt]

hi, i've got keyboard and mouse and two screens . i'll get another screen shortly.
£600 is for purely for the pc unit

the link i've been looking at is
2206 Black Midi Case with 500W PSU [6683-CSCIT2206] : Trymarket.com, Cheap Graphics Cards, LCD Monitors, TV's, Netbooks, Notebooks and more

but i found the case on ebay as well so i might be getting the case from there

 

[PositiveKaram]

Okay so you have £600 to build purely a PC. Sounds simple enough. Hopefully Alive or Sean will come in here and throw up a pretend build for you.

I'd go for a name brand PSU, Like Corsair, rosewill, antec, ocz. Not the one that comes with the case.

 

[CalcProgrammer1]

The nVidia cards do not support multi-monitor as well as ATi does. ATi has "Eyefinity" which is capable of not only driving 3 monitors per card, but can also map those multiple monitors together into one large screen. This means that ATi's Eyefinity is the first consumer multi-monitor graphics card that can play games across monitors (with a single card + 3 monitors you get a wide "surround screen" effect which is really nice). It can also drive the monitors independently as 3 individual monitors. Eyefinity is good for gaming but extended individual monitors is better for working. The ATi drivers let you set up profiles to quickly switch between modes so you can go from work to play in no time. You can even disable monitors you aren't using in profiles.

The downside is that the 5xxx Radeon cards (other than the Eyefinity 6 edition cards) can only drive 2 DVI/HDMI/VGA monitors at a time. If you want 3 monitors, the third monitor absolutely has to be on the DisplayPort connector and it must take a DisplayPort signal (not a passive adapter which uses a DVI signal). To use monitors that do not have DisplayPort you must use a DisplayPort to VGA or DisplayPort to DVI active adapter. Active adapters are more expensive because they have an electronic chip that converts the DisplayPort signal to VGA or DVI depending on the model.

If you're using 2 cards to drive 4 monitors, you have up to 6 possible monitors (4 DVI/HDMI/VGA, 2 DisplayPort) so you should be able to just use the 4 DVI ports. If you want 6 monitors you'll need to use the DisplayPorts.

I would recommend 3 monitors (not 4) as it is an easier setup to manage. You don't need any kind of special mounting systems (if you want a 2x2 setup you need special stands that can hold one monitor above the other, this requires expensive monitors with mounting brackets). 3 monitors can simply be set next to each other in a 3x1 pattern. A DisplayPort to VGA adapter is $25 USD or so. I have 3 1920x1080 Dell st2210 (21.5") monitors, 2 connected with DVI cables and the third connected through a DP to VGA adapter (the DP to DVI active adapters are $100, which is why I'm not using one).

Also I would not recommend 5670's. In general, a single more expensive GPU is better than two lower end GPU's in CrossFire/SLi. I would go with a single 58xx card or a 57xx. If you want to do 3 monitor gaming you'll definitely want a 58xx. My 5870 can play most games at 6000+ by 1080 (the horizontal span is greater than 1920*3 because it adds gaps to account for the screen bezels). However, I can only run at 2-4x AA even on older games like Team Fortress 2. I would not recommend 3 monitors on much less than a 5850, a 5830 maybe but 5770 is probably the lowest I'd even consider.