Hi All, I"m new to the Elite Trader. This is a great site that I stumbled on here. I hope hardware experts can help me with the following. I'm thinking of setting up a dual 30" Samsungs and I'm wondering what video card to use. I have evga 780 i mb. I will probably use my existing 3 19" sync master 910t's also for a total of 5 monitors. I use several futures tick, time and volume charts (ninja trader) with at least two domes open.I know that I need dual link cards, but I keep reading that you don't really need the new higher end cards like 8800gt for trading, but I can't seem to find any info regarding 30" monitors. Will the resolution of these monitors require using these cards even know I'm not gaming. Does using a 3d card when you are only using 2d applications slow things down or jam traffic up so to say?Thanks
Giving the respect he deserves. You might want to PM, gnome. As a server level guy, and having monitored much of his advice on this site, I'll tell you that you won't find many (if any) better.
Most of the newer mid level Nvidia/ATI cards will support at least 1 dual link monitor...some cards have 2 dual link connectors on a single card. The 8800 series card is overkill for a trading computer...and will require a higher wattage power supply (Nvidia recommends 450 watt)...plus it will generate a lot more heat. Just go the Nvidia or ATI web site and check out the specs on the newer video cards...spells it out pretty clearly.
If you can afford 2x 30", you can afford 8800GT. It is going for only $250, it is not a big expense anymore. A good Matrox might set you back more. Since you have the 30", you are not going use them just for trading... how about chilling out after the market with some movies, or action games. The 8800GT will come in handy. ps. get the GT, not the GTX or GTS.
1. You'll want to run the 30" at native resolution (2560x1600), so any dualhead video card which supports that resolution will be fine. 2. To avoid potential driver conflict, you'll want THREE of the same video card. 3. You won't be able to use the "dual link" feature. 4. Nothing from your video setup will cause slow down. You'll have overkill power for trading.
get a 8600GT, getting 8800 series is a complete waste, and the higher end gaming cards run much hotter and less reliable.
Agreed. And an Nvidia tech will tell you that you can use a GeForce 6200 PCI-slot card to support a 3rd ( or even 4th monitor ). In fact, I am installing an eVGA Ge Force 6200 PCI card with 256 mb of the higher rated DDR2 memory ( rarely seen in a PCI graphics card ) this weekend. This has a DVI and a VGA outlet with a heatsink and consumes 30-35 watts max. I was told by Nvidia that it is compatible with my existing GeForce 8600 GTS ( PCI Express ) card. You can get the GeForce 6200 PCI via NewEgg for ONLY $49.99 right now and even receive a $10.00 rebate between now and the end of the month!
Please post to the board when you get that 6200 installed and if all is OK with your 8600. (We all know that just because tech support "says something", it's not necessarily gospel.) OP's mobo has 3, PCIEx16 slots and he'll want to be using those instead of PCI.
Thanks all for the info. It's very much appreciated. I'll look at the 8600 and 8800 gt's. I'll probably get the 8600 but then again chillin and watchin movies and "overkill power" sounds kind of good, so, maybe it's the 8800. It's good to know that nothing will slow down running 3d card in 2d apps. I read that somewhere.