Hello, I need to install 4 monitors and am seeking suggestions. What is the best card available currently. This would be primarily used for day trading. Thanks, Agassi
Nvidia Quadro NVS 420, NVS 510, NVS 450, AMD FirePro 2460. Or, you could run 2, dualhead cards. Don't know if there is a "best".
Must you use only 1 card to support 4 monitors? It's a matter of available expansion slots. If you can do 2 cards, your cost will most likely be much lower (to use 2 dual cards as Scat suggested) for the same function.
I use an ATI FirePro 2460 and am very satisfied with it. The only restriction is that the four monitors should be pairwise identical.
Thanks for the responses... I have many slots available. That was exactly my next point. What are the advantages and disadvantages of both these options? i.e. Obviously i would save a lot of money if I simply install another card in an open slot. However, I was told that this option is less preferable by the "technician" who built my computer. If I were to do this, would i be able to open many windows in the same application across all 4 monitors? e.g. I use Ninjatrader. So if I have 2 cards in 2 slots each supporting 2 monitors for a total of 4 monitors, can i open 4 different charts in 4 different monitors? Please advise. So I am thinking I can put 2 monitors for this Christmas and 2 more monitors next thanksgiving since i have more empty slots. Is it very hard to configure this way?
Your technician overstated. Extended Desktop (multi-monitor) is a Windows function. As long as the video cards are compatible with your mobo and each other, you can mount and use as many monitors as your mobo can accommodate... and open as many charts as you wish as well. If you like the video card you already have, install a 2nd one of the same.... assuming your mobo has at least 2, x16 slots, of course. Easy to configure. Just drag and drop the monitor icons into the array you want.
>>>>> I have many slots available. <<<<< You need to be careful with that. Having many available, empty slots is one thing. Are they all of the same kind? For example, many motherboards have a mix of the old PCI, or the older AGP, along with the new (current) PCI Express buses. Mostly for providing an upgrade path for the older peripheral hardware. Mixing graphic cards with different bus types (e.g. one PCI card, one PCIe X16 card) should be avoided if you don't want potential headaches. Assuming if you have 2 or more PCIe X16 slots, then the solution would be easy. Buy 2 PCIe X16 dual graphics card. The best is the identical model, identical make. If not, at least identical make, different models - which usually works out okay. But with different models, different makes, again that is asking for trouble. Compatibility and driver conflicts can be big issues. As to "what's best"... it really depends on what your goal is. If you want a no-frills graphics solution for trading, I have been using the low-end EVGA 8400 GS cards (dual monitor each). You can have one for less than USD $30. Nothing fancy. They work. And fairly reliable. (I have about 8 of them and haven't had any failed on me yet, for about 2 to 3 years now.) Though they won't earn you a bragging right for playing computer games with fastest, most photo-realistic animation. For plotting price charts only and 256 basic colors, they are more than fine.
>>>>> What are the advantages and disadvantages of both these options? i.e. Obviously i would save a lot of money if I simply install another card in an open slot. <<<<< From a software perspective, this is really a no-big-deal. Whether you have 1 card x 4 mon, or 2 cards @2 mon each, or 4 cards @1 mon each. The software (Windows OS) takes care of that. You hardly perceive any difference. Advantages: - Dual cards are typically cheaper, less than half the price of a quad card. So cost-saving to use 2 x dual cards than 1 x quad card. - Survivability. 1 quad card, when fails, all 4 monitors black. 2 dual cards, when 1 fails, you can still use 2 monitors out of the 4 until you get the problem fixed.
Thanks again every one. One thing the technician told me today is to buy one with PCI Express 16. Based on what every one has said, I will take the advise and buy the same exact card to avoid headache with driver conflicts etc.
I have a question as well about 4 monitor setup. I am currently using 2 monitors but I am using the dual motherboard gpu video. My question is this- if I were to add one dual monitor video card in the available PCI slot(s), will windows 7 recognize the 4 monitors (2 via motherboard GPU interface) and the new 2 dual monitor card? or once I add the dual monitor video card, it will no longer recognize the motherboad GPU (m4a785td-m evo ASUS) monitors and default to the new card only? Thanks in advance, just was not clear on if I need to get 1 dual monitor to get to my 4 monitors, or if I need to add 2 dual cards.