To make it easy for you... Get a Precision T3400 with the dual Nvidia Quadro NVS 290 video cards option. That will run 4 monitors up to 1900x1200, DVI.
I checked out www.tradingcomputers.com and they seem like a pretty cool company with good prices and they seem like they don't rip people off on upgrades either, but something I don't understand is on their shipping rates, it says "Standard Schedule: 6-9 business days to build your computer." Does this mean they ship you boxes of parts like Newegg and you have to build the pc? It certainly is confusing. Anyone have any experience with this company?
I've had a good experience with them. Of course, they ship a complete computer. It's the fastest computer I've ever had. It's expensive and my only complaint is that the vid cards aren't the greatest. The tech support is helpful. I think the best feature on their systems is that if you get the 2nd bootable drive, they can show you how to run the acronis software that will mirror your primary drive every night. If you ever had a hardware failure on the primary drive, you can just unplug the 1st drive and swap it out with the 2nd drive. Takes 5 secs. I'm no tech but I think this is better than a RAID 1.
Couldn't I just get any Dell system with an integrated video card and install a dual card in the PCI e slot available? I understand you can get dual monitor support by adding a single card to a system with an integrated card so why not add a dual monitor card for 3 monitors ? That would be the cheaper solution.
Seems like that would be the solution, but it doesn't necessarily work. The BIOS must ALLOW the onboard to work with the additional card for a 3-monitor setup. That "permission" is not automatic and varies per model.
I can't get any help from Dell to configure a system, twice they said they would get back to me with a config, I am still waiting. I called 5 times already. So I found a local shop and they sent me a customized offer, they said to go with an SLI motherboard which comes with 2 specific PCI e slots that will allow two vid cards. I am a bit clueless as far as components go so I am just wondering if this system is going to be stable which is of utmost importance obviously. I assume Dell or HP can spend more resources testing configs and components for reliability and stability. Here is the config: -Midi Tower Luzio 400W ATX - it looks like it's a local (CH)manufacturer, not sure if it's any good especially with the mobo, otherwise I can get an ASUS TA-863 350W PFC -Motherboard :Asus P5N-E SLI (s.775) ATX -Intel Dual Core E4600 (2.4GHZ) but I am going to go with a cheaper Intel Dual Core E2180 at 2GHZ, I figure this won't make a difference, right ? - Graphic cards: two Asus nVidia 7300GT Silent 256MB PCIe not sure what those are "Asus Nvidia" and if I need 256 MB -2 Gig RAM XP Home (I am told the only difference with XP Pro is networking capabilities) and the usual stuff... I can save $160 by installing the drivers and softwares myself, but I don't like the idea of a PC that doesn't come loaded and plug and play. What do you think ?
And here are the mobo specs: http://www.vr-zone.com/?i=4450 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131142 I read the negative reviews on Newegg and it looks like this mobo can get hot and lots of negative reviewers had it DOA , had to RMA often twice, or had RAM or OS issues, especially with Vista. Of course these are often people building their own rigs so many other factors can be involved I suppose. Isn't it better generally to go with an Intel motherboard ?
What are you using the system for? Trading? Office applications? Gaming? How many monitors of what size? If you're looking for a dedicated trading system, see what your broker or software vendor says is minimum system specs.
Friggin' computer prices are incredible these days. It's cheaper to buy than to build. I just bought a quad-core, 2 GB ram, 250 GB hd, 20X DVDRW, 400w power supply on Ebay, new, for under $500, delivered. I'll get a good video card to stick in there for about $50. Sweetness. Harold