How many Monitors can I connect to This Desktop ?

K

kevinqc

Hi,

Just bought a new Desktop PC from Dell with following specs.

Currently I am looking at 6 time Frames of one symbol in a workspace using only one 24 inch LCD ( 1920X1080 )

I would like to connect as many monitors as possible. Can you guys tell me what is the maximum numver of Monitors I can Connect to it with the current configuration?

Also what changes do I need to make to connect 6 Monitors to it ?


Dell XPS 8300

i7-2600 Processor (3.4GHz, 8MB Cache)

Chipset Intel® H67

8GB (4X2GB) DDR3 SDRAM 1333MHz Memory

NVIDIA(R) GeForce(R) GT530 1GB GDDR3 (VGA/HDMI/DVI)

Windows - 7 Ultimate ( 64 bit )


Thank you all.
 
There is no "firm" maximum except for what Windows enforces. (It is pretty high though. Possibly 48 monitors on Win7.) Assuming you use these for charting and not playing high-definistion video or computer games, you can add a few USB graphics cards without even opening the case. If you are not happy with that, you are looking at a serious (and expensive) upgrade.
 
Quote from Bolimomo:

TThis is a very big card... you need to make sure there is room inside the Dell case to accommodate it.
More...
and it costs a small fortune. Over 500 bucks for a graphics card!
 
Quote from LeeD:

and it costs a small fortune. Over 500 bucks for a graphics card!
More...

I didn't say it's cheap. The OP wants 6 monitors on a computer that has 1 PCIe X16 slot.
 
Quote from LeeD:

There is no "firm" maximum except for what Windows enforces. (It is pretty high though. Possibly 48 monitors on Win7.) Assuming you use these for charting and not playing high-definistion video or computer games, you can add a few USB graphics cards without even opening the case. If you are not happy with that, you are looking at a serious (and expensive) upgrade.
More...

Using it for mostly for charting during market hours except playing some videos ( No Gaming at all ) during free time which would takeup only one monitor, right ? I can give that up too. Don't know much about hardware.

If I free up 4 USB ports, does it mean I can hook up 4 more monitors using USB video cards & 2 more monitors to VGA & DVI ports I have on my video card ?

Would I be able to drag 5 charts out of my workspace to 5 monitors ?

Most importantly, is my PC good enough for that ?

Thanks
 
Quote from kevinqc:


If I free up 4 USB ports, does it mean I can hook up 4 more monitors using USB video cards & 2 more monitors to VGA & DVI ports I have on my video card ?

Would I be able to drag 5 charts out of my workspace to 5 monitors ?

Most importantly, is my PC good enough for that ?
More...

Yes. That "should" work. (Never know for sure until you try.) Depending on the manufacturers, some support up to 6 external monitors via their USB-to-DVI adapters.

Note that my experience had it: not all of these USB-to-DVI/VGA adapters are good for the 1920x1080 resolution EVEN THOUGH on the boxes they said they support it. Some of them lie. The only one I had found working for the 1920x1080 resolution is:

Tritton SEE2 Xtreme VU 200 USB-to-DVI adapter

http://www.trittonusa.com/index.php/products/usb_video_technology/see2-xtreme-uv200/

Your PC should be fine. i7-2600 processor... pretty much the fastest you can have for a home-user budget.
 
Quote from Bolimomo:

There is only 1 PCIe X16 in a Dell XPS 8300.

Ditch the ATI card that comes with Dell.

Get an Eyefinity 6 provided if you have double slot width available. (It uses one PCIe X16 slots but physically will occupy the space of 2 slots' width.) This is a very big card... you need to make sure there is room inside the Dell case to accommodate it.

http://www.google.com/products/cata...=X&ei=qjVsTsTwOcfjiALZ3umtDg&ved=0CGQQ8wIwAA#

6 monitors.
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Excellent suggestion & I don't mind spending $ 500.00 + but how do I know if that video card will fit in my case ? There is no way I can return it if it doesn't fit in the case because I will have to import it & pay shiping + import duty costing me almost $ 1000.00

Also, would my current specs be enogh to support such a video card ?

Thank you for great suggestion.
 
Quote from kevinqc:

but how do I know if that video card will fit in my case ?
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The only practical way is you open up the case of your Dell computer and take measurements and compare them to the specs of the video card. I don't want to rely on pictures on the Internet to give bad advices. Besides, you can't determine the clearance from just looking at the motherboard itself. Some Dell cases are very tight with inside space. I have a gut feeling that the Dell case is not designed to take these kinds of humongous cards.

2 points:

1. There is enough room to accommodate the length of the Eyefinity 6 card.
2. Next to the one and only PCIe X16 slot for the video card, there is another empty slot so that it can accommodate the double-width of the Eyefinity 6.
 
Quote from Bolimomo:

The only practical way is you open up the case of your Dell computer and take measurements and compare them to the specs of the video card. I don't want to rely on pictures on the Internet to give bad advices. Besides, you can't determine the clearance from just looking at the motherboard itself. Some Dell cases are very tight with inside space. I have a gut feeling that the Dell case is not designed to take these kinds of humongous cards.

2 points:

1. There is enough room to accommodate the length of the Eyefinity 6 card.
2. Next to the one and only PCIe X16 slot for the video card, there is another empty slot so that it can accommodate the double-width of the Eyefinity 6.
More...

Bolimomo,

I can not thank you enough for the practical advice & knowledge you are offering to ET members.

I had same XPS 8300 with 1GB ATI Radeon HD5770 Graphics card that looked like what is described here & returned that PC because of Intel Motherboard problem. They gave me a new PC with this video card & both have the same Case.

So it might fit the ATI card described here but then I will have to take out the TV tuner card which I don't mind but even then I am taking a $ 1000.00 Risk if I go with above described Video Card.

So where do I go from here ?

Thank You so much.
 
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