Motherboard and Graphics card for 6 monitor setup

[luckybastard]

Quote from gnome:

1. Forget the concept of "SLI" for trading.... overkill and completely unnecessary. That's high powered graphics for gaming and CAD/CAM. Nvidia's "Quadro FX" line is this type of card.

Exactly. SLI is when you have 2 or more cards in your system and where these cards join their forces and all supply computing power for 1 screen. If you're a gamer, you can add additional 3D computing power this way, but for trading it's completely useless, since you don't want to run 1 screen.

On the other hand, most new, fast, mainboards will come with SLI anyway, but it's not something you HAVE to get and if your system has it, you HAVE to turn it off anyway

A good mainboard for trading, with 3 pci-e slots, is the "Intel bad axe 2" for example. Add an e6850 cpu, 3 * club3d pci-e cards, 2 gb A-brand ram (like Kingston or GEIL) and you have about the best trading setup you can currently buy AND it will cost you less than $1000.

 

[daveb351]

The best combo I've found to be:
1) AMD 64 X2 6000+ cpu
2) Asus Crosshair mobo
3) 2-Evga e-Gforce 7900GS KO cards
Suggest using only video cards with supplementary power supply to drive multiple monitors...I'm using displays: 1-30", 3-24" & 5-19" with 3 computers, no problems.

 

[kiwi_trader]

Quote from qll:

Is the G450 slowness only on your screensaver, or on actual trading activies? Will it display charts slow, display quotes slow?

G450 has a 16M and a 32M version cards. which one I should go?

Agreed re the comments on the matrox cards. The only one I bought sits in a cupboard now.

Go mainline (nvidia) for better compatibility, better processor utilization, and better value for money.

 

[gnome]

Quote from luckybastard:

".. A good mainboard for trading, with 3 pci-e slots, is the "Intel bad axe 2" for example. Add an e6850 cpu, 3 * club3d pci-e cards, 2 gb A-brand ram (like Kingston or GEIL) and you have about the best trading setup you can currently buy AND it will cost you less than $1000.

If economy is necessary, you could get a thoroughly competent trading computer (used... and not including the 6 monitors) for around $300.

 

[dcraig]

In reply to the OP, I have six 19" 1280x1024 screens -

Motherboard:
Asus P5K

Graphics Cards:
2 x Nvidia Quadro 285NVS PCI-E
1 x Nvidia Quado 280NVS PCI

CPU:
Intel C2D 6420 (Overclocked)

Memory:

2GB Corsair XMMS Twinx (4-4-12 timing)

This a good fairly inexpensive setup, that has been 100% reliable. There are somewhat better value CPUs from Intel available now, but the performance improvement over the E6420 will not be a lot (unless you go quad core eg Q6600).

The Nvidia NVS cards are faster than Matrox G450 or G550 and use less CPU. The NVS285 cards (OEM'ed by HP) were bought new, unopened off eBay for about $40 each.

 

[gnome]

Quote from kiwi_trader:

Agreed re the comments on the matrox cards. The only one I bought sits in a cupboard now.

Go mainline (nvidia) for better compatibility, better processor utilization, and better value for money.

I don't know about that... hard to beat $.99 for a video card.

 

[traderpatmi]

My Trading Computer

ASUS P5K3 Motherboard, Deluxe Intel P35 Socket 775
Intel Core Duo E6850 3.O Ghz CPU, 4MB Cache, 1333 FSB
250 GB Internal Sata Hard Drive
250 WD External USB Notebook Hard Drive (For Backups)
2 Gig of DDR3 Memory 1333 Mhz

Vantec EZ Swap Sata Hard Drive Rack to cool the internal hard drive.

Graphics Cards: 2 Nvidia GeoForce 8500GT PCI Express Dual Monitor
Graphic Cards 256 Mb ( you really don’t need anything bigger, 8800 is overpriced and not much faster and is for gaming)

BFG 650 Watt Power Supply SLI Compatible
Note: Had 500 Watt system, it melted after two months, get at least a 600 or 650 Watts

Antec 900 Gaming Case –
Has 200mm Exhaust Fan Top, 2 120 mm Front Fans, and 1 120 mm rear Fan. So no need to worry of system overheating.

4 Monitors, 2 Gateway 22 inch Wide Screen Flat Panel Monitors, 2 Samsung Flat Panel 20” s Stretched out across the desk, with 22” as 1 and 4th Monitor, two 20’s in middle.

Windows XP Operating System.

Note: This motherboard can only use DDR3 Memory and its about $250 for 1 gig.

Also if you use Esignal for charting the AMD 64 Chip is known to crash esignal now and then, usually on high volume news plays, or earnings, so I would stay away from it. Just call esignal ask them they tell you stay away from it.

Patrick

 

[dcraig]

Quote from traderpatmi:


BFG 650 Watt Power Supply SLI Compatible
Note: Had 500 Watt system, it melted after two months, get at least a 600 or 650 Watts

And that is why the Nvidia Quado NVS cards are good for trading type apps - low power. The system I mentioned above has 430W PS and has had no issues.

 

[xenofanes]

Quote from dcraig:

And that is why the Nvidia Quado NVS cards are good for trading type apps - low power. The system I mentioned above has 430W PS and has had no issues.

hello friends, do you have some updated tips for trader with limited budget?

I would like to have 6 monitors, 1920x1080 resolution is fine for me
(of course i would love to have some 8 EIZO 30'' screens 2560 * 1600 or more but as I wrote my budget is limited)

I would like to have also something that is not producing too much noice, so maybe some energy saving video card - since it needs less cooling=noice??

I also would prefer some monitors that could be hanged on wall with their stand or something like this so that I would not have to buy another 6 arms from Ergotron (my favourite, I already have 3 ergotron monitor arms but it cost me an arm and a leg...)

Thanks

and good trading