New Dell 3400 with dual NVS 290 cards - good enough?

C

chuckie

Hi,

Please can you put my mind at rest. I have ordered a new Dell Precision Workstation 3400, which should arrive some time this week. I spent a long time deciding on the specification, which includes dual Quadro NVS 290 cards. I have four new 24" monitors which I want to run with this machine at a resolution of 1920x1200 per screen.

I am worried that I have under-specced this part of the machine, and should have gone for dual FX570 cards. What do you think? What puts me off slightly is the fact that the cards are not true dual DVI cards as they use a splitter from the main DMS-59 (?) socket. It seems a bit of a makeshift arrangement. Am I correct to think this?

I will be using the machine for charts, aswell as internet surfing, and would also like to able to pop in a DVD to watch from time to time. Is the NVS 290 OK for watching movies? Machine is 90% just for trading, but I'd like it to be able to do the other things too. No gaming at all by the way.

Thank you for your time :-)
 
Quote from chuckie:

Hi,

Please can you put my mind at rest. I have ordered a new Dell Precision Workstation 3400, which should arrive some time this week. I spent a long time deciding on the specification, which includes dual Quadro NVS 290 cards. I have four new 24" monitors which I want to run with this machine at a resolution of 1920x1200 per screen.

I am worried that I have under-specced this part of the machine, and should have gone for dual FX570 cards. What do you think? What puts me off slightly is the fact that the cards are not true dual DVI cards as they use a splitter from the main DMS-59 (?) socket. It seems a bit of a makeshift arrangement. Am I correct to think this?

I will be using the machine for charts, aswell as internet surfing, and would also like to able to pop in a DVD to watch from time to time. Is the NVS 290 OK for watching movies? Machine is 90% just for trading, but I'd like it to be able to do the other things too. No gaming at all by the way.

Thank you for your time :-)
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Not to worry. The DMS59 is not a "splitter" at all... just a dual port cable.

You've given up nothing. 290s are excellent for trading and all general computer functions up to 1920x1200 DVI max.... The FX570s, are dual port, dual link, 2560x1600 DVI max. You'd "need" those only if running 30" monitors.
 
2x nvs290 is fine. fx570 is pointless, thats for 3d cad work. your comment about the "not true dvi, split cable" is not a problem. the only difference is the wires are on the outside instead of embeded in the circuit board. the signal is the exact same
 
I find that the 290's work well as long as I run my color at 16 bit, if I go to 32 bit color, I run into less then optimal performance.

I'm running 4 24" @ 1920 x 1200 on my monitors.
 
Quote from mschey:

I find that the 290's work well as long as I run my color at 16 bit, if I go to 32 bit color, I run into less then optimal performance.

I'm running 4 24" @ 1920 x 1200 on my monitors.
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Thanks for the (very quick) replies. I feel slightly more at ease now, apart from this comment. It suggests that the cards aren't really up to the job. I really do want a very crisp display with good colours.
 
Quote from acerbits:

2x nvs290 is fine. fx570 is pointless, thats for 3d cad work. your comment about the "not true dvi, split cable" is not a problem.
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Agreed.
I am running a T3400 Precision with dual NVS-290's and have no issues whatsoever.

In fact, I couldn't be happier!
:)
 
Quote from chuckie:

Thanks for the (very quick) replies. I feel slightly more at ease now, apart from this comment. It suggests that the cards aren't really up to the job. I really do want a very crisp display with good colours.
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I'm running a fairly heavy load on my machine, with excel crunching numbers on 1000 symbols or so, evey tick throughout the day.
 
Quote from chuckie:

Thanks for the (very quick) replies. I feel slightly more at ease now, apart from this comment. It suggests that the cards aren't really up to the job. I really do want a very crisp display with good colours.
More...

I think that you need to understand that charts and stock market software trading platforms are NOT graphics card intensive. It's not like the demands being placed on the graphics card are as intense as "gaming" - - - not anywhere near as intense!

I run 32 bit colors across 3 screens with my dual NVS-290's via a T3400 Precision on Windows XP Pro with 4 Gigs of RAM and have no issues whatsoever.

Again, I think that you are "fretting" over something that isn't even an issue.
:)
 
Just a quick update. My machine arrived today, and I have it hooked up to four 24" HP LP2475w monitors. So far, it is performing brilliantly. One thing I have noticed is how quiet it is. It is almost silent, unless you're up very close to it. My other machine sounds like a factory in comparison.

Very pleased :-)
 
Ditto.

T3400 + dual NVS-290's. Very happy with overall performance. Nothing lacking.

Quote from Landis82:

Agreed.
I am running a T3400 Precision with dual NVS-290's and have no issues whatsoever.

In fact, I couldn't be happier!
:)
More...
 
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