Probably. Depends on the motherboard. For example: most laptops, not all have on board video. Could you disable the video processing of a laptop with on board video? Probably not.
Listen , here the deal. Someone who trades in a serious way should always have a back up computer( no exceptions). If he only has one computer to trade from then he should build a new one from scratch with 2-3 PCIe x16 slots, better motherboard(ASUS or EVGA), 8-12GB of memory, 120GB-160GB SSD HD, and 800-1000watt pwr supply. This way he will have the new computer with the capabilities for whatever trading programs, monitors, and number of charts he wants to run. He then can use the present PC he has for general use( web surfing, email, and as a short term, back up trading computer in case the new one develops issues and needs fixing. Its all about REDUNDANCY ** The new trading computer (as someone else mentioned earlier) should NOT be used in any way for surfing around on the web, downloading porn, messing with p2p file sharing sites, etc. Those are a recipe for disaster.
I love this forum. So many people to thank & answer questions you guys want to know about my setup. Let me try to do that. silver914 I am attaching the pic of Dell XPS 8300. The only difference is that mine doesn't have that Huge Radeon video card. rmorse I do have second old Dell Optiplex GX 620 as a back up that also have dual monitor capability but only one x 16 slot. I can use that PC for other programs & current PC only for trading platform. silver914 Current XPS 8300 has only one x 16 slot which is occupied by GeForce GT 530 Video Card that I can throw away. Besides that I have 3 PCIe x 1 slots where I want to experiment the x1 To x16 converter & put two FirePro 2460 on them. silver914 I tried running on board video thru it's VGA port along with GT 530 but it wouldn't work. So Dell must have disabled it. I did not try running on board video all by itself. I read a review on 1 to 16 converter & it has worked for some people. Here is the link. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...-Froogle-_-Add-On+Cards-_-STARTECH-_-15158223 Just now while searching for something else I also came across similar extension card by the same company & now I am little confused about the difference between them & which one I should buy. Here is the link. This one has mixed reviews but it was successful on Dell XPS 9100 ( Very similar to my XPS 8300 ) as mentioned in one review below. http://www.amazon.com/PCIE1-PCIE16-Motherboard-Extension-Adapter/dp/B0039XPS5W rmorse I am going to watch 8 different time frame charts of the same symbol using one application. That is my primary goal. If it is successful, I want to add 4 more monitors making a total of 12 monitors. In that case I might use extra 4 monitors to run one more application. Scataphagos : You mentioned about X58 Mobo can run multiple monitors. My chipset is H67, how do I know what model my Mobo is ? Also your idea of trying out 2 PCIe x 16 cards with adapter in PCIe x 1 slot is exactly the thinking I had in mind. Not a huge risk & if it works, it might open up many possibilities for many ET members. silver914 Someone is already running 2 video cards using $22.00 expansion coverter on a Dell system. It is in the review of the link I posted above. I still would love to hear your interpretation of it though. southbeach4me You are absolutely right. I do have an extra PC so I am not depending on one PC. Guys, please post any all comments you have especially now there are two PCIe x1 To PCIe x 16 conveters, one in my original post & the other as posted above with reviews. Here are links to both for easy access. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...-Froogle-_-Add-On+Cards-_-STARTECH-_-15158223 http://www.amazon.com/PCIE1-PCIE16-Motherboard-Extension-Adapter/dp/B0039XPS5W Thank You All Again.
If you are going to consider ATI card, why not consider ATI FirePro 2450 Multi-View (each card supports 4 monitors) on PCI x1? http://www.google.com/products/cata...=X&ei=AXWGTs2MKcrViAK9_PyzDA&ved=0CD0Q8wIwAg# Why go through an adapter? Run 3 of them? (If that works.)
Please take my advice if you've gotta have 8-12. I have eight 24"s on two Ergotron quad stands at my office. I have to literally roll my chair at times to each end. It's rare, but there are times during the day I'm rolling my chair down to the left or right end monitors trying to see something. If I did it over again, and had to have eight monitors, I'd go with eight 19"s or eight 22"s at the max. If you're the type who walks around all day basically in a circle rarely sitting down, sure, twelve 24"s would have the real estate you'd appreciate. To add to that lol, you could probably buy one of the wireless, handleld mice that is similar to what my dentist uses. He can hold this yellow-looking gun in his hand (lol), walk through the room, and click on numerous things, change screens, etc., as he moves around. Depends on what you want, and more importantly, how much $$$$$ you have in your wallet for your project. Best wishes.
Normally the power supplies available at tiger direct and new egg are way overkill (1kw+) for even the most intense single systems, but 465 watts is very weak, especially since what you really need (and are purchasing) are high end cards that are hugely power hungry. Note: ATI also builds a 6 port that I use: http://www.tomshardware.com/news/ATI-Radeon-PCI-e-AMD-5870,9031.html Also the six monitor arms on ebay are only $139. Buy an Ultra Power supply at at least 700 watts. They're less than $100 now. I also recommend that card, and stay away from the converters.
Good to see you Bolimomo. You always seem to come up with a refreshing idea. I tried to read up on that FirePro 2450 & can't find any drawbacks over 2460 except it is Fan Cooled. Same price & no converters needed. Also uses the same amount of power. I wonder why AMD came up with 2460 when 2450 can do the same thing for the same price. Would be nice to hear from people using these 2 cards on this forum. Bolimomo, I still will have to use x16 Card for that slot correct ? I do have 3 PCIe x 1 slots of which 2 are occupied by Sound Card & TV Tuner Card. I have decided to throw away TV Tuner Card so I will have 2 empty PCIe x1 slots. Besides can you run 3 of 2450 in 3 x1 slots ?
LEAPup Good points. Will surely keep that in Mind. I do like & need more chart bars on each monitor though. If I go to smaller monitors, I need more resolution.
I think the ATI 2450 is probably (never know for sure unless they stated it) compatible with ATI 2460 on PCI x16. But you can use 3 x ATI 2450 (keeping the same model and form factor is easier for testings). And plug the x1 Sound Card into the X16 slot. It should work. Try it first. (Oh... you can't.... you need the x16 slot for your existing video card huh?) Well... maybe... buy 1 ATI 2450 PCI x1 first. Try it out. See if you can relocate the sound card. Then buy a second... then buy a third. I hope that the PCI x1 quad cards work for you in a 12-monitor configuration. I don't have any x1 video card experience, let alone setting up multiple ones. Good luck on this adventure. RE: monitor size. I found that 24-inch (with max resolution 1920x1080) may be a bit big for their use. 22/23-inch are comfortable. 21-in (1920x1080) is okay but the texts are getting harder to read. But you have to excuse this 50+ year old with not so good eyes. If you have lots of monitors that you want to pack together tightly, 21-inch maybe a good choice. Some buy 26+ monitors... those are way too big. I know... I have tried them all.