Right now I do everything with ONE MONITOR.. hehe Some time soon, I will be getting a new computer. I want to have at least one more monitor. I know you can buy video cards with outputs to like 2 or 4 monitors. However, occasionally I play some new games, too, so I want a good video card for games. Is it possible to get a good gaming card and also another card with multiple outputs for trading? Would this all work on one computer? If I played a game, how would the game know not to go out to like 4 monitors? Anyway, I'm not looking for specific video card recommendations yet, I'm just thinking about what I would do for setting up what I want. BTW, when trading, I would like 1 monitor for my executions, 1 or 2 for charts/quotes, and 1 to dink around on to do whatever when I'm bored between trades, etc. ROCK
The very general answer is just about any combo of cards will work. The specific answer depends on the combo of cards you choose. Make sure to stick with XP or win 2000 and try and keep the cards same brand. I"m thinking get a good agp gaming card and a second pci card. The second card could be 2 output card. For under a couple of hundred you can have a geat 3 monitor setup and still play games. I've found the best way to do this is just do you're own experimenting. If you're first attempt doesn't work, just try a different card.
matrox parhelia (3 monitors), or a geforce4 ti4200 (2 monitors) for gaming + multimedia work.. http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?sku=P450-7248 just got one for my 3rd pc, great for 2 monitor support, fast, and for multimedia work.. (kudos to tiger, they got it from florida to hawaii in less than 3 days for under $20)
any respectable video card you get right now will have dual outputs i.e. geforce4 or the new radeon cards. If you are looking to buy a new card i would wait a few weeks as both nvidia and ATI will be releasing new cards this month. even if you do not want the brand new cards (which you will pay a premium price for) they will drop the prices on the current cards. matrox cards do have 3 monitor support but their drivers are suspect and it is not a good card for gaming. visit sites like tomshardware and anandtech for reviews and comparisons.
agree Shaman, that's correct... fwiw, ATI radeon cards, I didn't like the 7500 one I got since it will not work with any other cards on the same m/b..
Had bad experience with appian rushmore (quad output dvi). System kept crashing too much goin on to refresh all data. Now, instead, i added another system , networked them and use 2 moniters on trading system using nvidia tnt2 Model 64. Works great have never crashed since IMO too many moniters just gives you too much to look at. If your a fund manager or working at a large firm perhaps u may need all that. If your trading remotely IMO 3 moniters is enuf -- 2 moniters on trading system, one for all your "other stuff". Im not sure, but any decent new system should be outfitted with a card that can support at least 2 moniters. Nvidias are the cheapest...matrox and appian are expensive. btw.... appian tech support told me that my crashing had to be result of my substandard system...nice respoinse after i spent $500+ on that pos. BEWARE- more expensive doesnt always mean better performance.
You can get dual video cards with a lot of memory on www.tigerdirect.com for a good price. If you get one AGP and one PCI with the same chipset you can use 4 monitors! Just make sure they are the same chipset. Playing games is not a problem the games will appear on your primary screen. I got a dual ATI Radeon card with 128MB ram and the graphics on my games are insane! When I'm trading I utilize both screens
I second the Matrox Parhelia. Very sweet card. Can run 3 monitors, and great for gaming. I just run 2 monitors at super high res. peace axeman