Please help me build 6 monitor system

P

philipjb

Dear friends,

I need your assistance to help me build 6 monitor system.

Could you please advise i should have 1 machine or 2 machine.. and should keep 1 machine as backup or such..
What kind of ram is required, i have seen people using 4-6GB ram or more.
What kind of graphics... is this the main issue, sometimes in my laptop, i have lots of things opened, and i am running youtube, sometimes the video is a little few seconds jammed, though voice is running, and than graphics continues.. so is it the graphic card issue?
So i think requirement of heavy and best graphic would be important

please shed me some guidance.

I need to have my trading home office setup before end of december :)

And i will surely share the photo here of trading room which i will build with all of your keen advises.. :D
 
philipjb:

For 6 monitors, I would recommend staying with just one system. If you have 12 monitors, then I would suggest to go with two. Spreading 6 monitors over 2 computers seem to be a little too much in time and money investment for what it's worth. (Remember you need to double your work on everything when it comes to software upgrade, trading page changes, etc.). I have 3 systems. Each one drives a minimum of 6 monitors.

The following 2 threads (each in themselves are humongous) should help you in building your own system. A lot of time has already been spent in the discussions.

http://www.elitetrader.com/vb/showthread.php?threadid=195662

http://www.elitetrader.com/vb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=223072

To update on the current hardware availability since those threads were started:

- Get a second generation i5 or i7 processor. They would do a decent job.
- Pump the RAM up to 8GB or even 12GB. RAM is cheap. But in order to take advantage of the RAM over 4GB, need to run 64-bit Windows (which works great)
- Consider getting a SSD
- Go with cheap dual video cards - but make sure the motherboard supports adequate PCIeX16 slots (min 3, can have more). If you go with quad cards, buying brand new ones will cost you.

Regarding your observation on the video play back: on your laptop... I am not entirely sure. But I think the video decoding (MPeg - something format) is done by the main CPU while your video is streaming over the Internet to your laptop. Thus... it matters to have a faster CPU. Laptop CPUs, generally, are slower than the ones used in desktop. So having a newer CPU chip for your new desktop will definitely help. I don't think the graphic card's GPU matter that much for video play back. The $$$ that goes to a high end GPU in a high end video card goes to the speed of generating photo-realistic 3D images for games such as chasing somebody's tail or beating the hell out of somebody or flying an imaginary X plane. Playing movies or music videos (youtube, Netflix) is all about decoding the frames that are already shot.
 
I would also recommend a single machine for all 6 monitors. If you're a discretionary trader using charts, I wouldn't worry too much about CPU/RAM requirements.

Also, drawing charts themselves isn't as computational intensive as some people believe. You don't need top of the line 3D cards, since charts only use the 2D capabilities. There's actually a line of business application 2D cards that are quad or more I believe, and they are much cheaper than the new 3D cards. I have it bookmarked somewhere but I don't have it with me right now, I'll update later (either ATI or nVidia or both make them).

Also with 6 monitors, have you considered getting 3 larger monitors instead and placing them vertically? You would eliminate the horizontal bezels. For example instead of 6 19" LCDs, you get 3 27" and mount them vertically, you would have the same number of pixels.
 
Excellent. Thanks.

By the way which branded graphics card is the best.. Any specific model?
Also which monitor size is best, i am thinking to go for 19 inches.. probably Samsung or HP.. or are there any other good ones.

Can someone recommend me a cool stand, so i can order..

I can pump it up with 8 or 12 GB ram, Is Kingston good.. which model?

By the way which motherboard would be good?

Would appreciate if you advise brand and model, so i can make a note

As will be going to make purchases in upcoming days..
 
I sent you a pm.

I used two Nvidia Quadro (440,290) In order to get 1920x1200 on each of the six 24inch monitors. I used an Asus Rampage Motherboard with 8 gig RAM, and a Q6600 processor.

If you don't want high resolution on your screens you probably have many more options for video cards. High resolution is the only way to go in my opinion.

As I mentioned in my pm I no longer need the six monitor stand and am willing to sell to you through ebay.

Let me know.
 

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Flip,
May i ask why you are not needing the six monitor stand? Are you advancing and moving to 8-10 screens or whats your plan...

Very true i am always into high resolution

And you used only one Desktop ?

I am just a bit nervous, if one desktop crashes by chance.. so we keep another desktop in backend, or laptop would suffice you believe also



Quote from flipflopper:

I sent you a pm.

I used two Nvidia Quadro (440,290) In order to get 1920x1200 on each of the six 24inch monitors. I used an Asus Rampage Motherboard with 8 gig RAM, and a Q6600 processor.

If you don't want high resolution on your screens you probably have many more options for video cards. High resolution is the only way to go in my opinion.

As I mentioned in my pm I no longer need the six monitor stand and am willing to sell to you through ebay.

Let me know.
More...
 
Quote from philipjb:

Flip,
May i ask why you are not needing the six monitor stand? Are you advancing and moving to 8-10 screens or whats your plan...

Very true i am always into high resolution

And you used only one Desktop ?

I am just a bit nervous, if one desktop crashes by chance.. so we keep another desktop in backend, or laptop would suffice you believe also
More...

I now swing trade instead of day trade. When you day trade you need a ton of info at a glance at all times. Every second counts. Swing trading is more laid back and so many screens are not necessary.

I always only used one desktop. You can never avoid all disaster situations but I used a UPS and two ISP's with a hotbrick dual wan router with automatic failover.

Laptop is not even necessary. If your machine crashes you can call your broker and them close all positions and cancel all orders. Would you really want to trade on a backup laptop??
 
I think the below link will be of great help to you. Look at my specs; I run 4 monitors (with youtube, streams, music etc.) and it seems like I still have plenty of room to play around.

The guys in the below forum are plenty helpful (and will do almost anything for a few bottles of Corona :D ). My suggestion to you, would be to post in the below thread since it has a good following already, which would give you better responses (IMO).

Right now there are some amazing deals on CPU, GPU and mobo. So when you're ready, let us know and we'll try and get you running sooner than expected at a better price :cool:

Good luck,

SM

http://www.elitetrader.com/vb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=223072
 
CPU:

Both are on sale. However, if you get the i7, you can get $60 off your mobo.

<img src="http://www.elitetrader.com/vb/attachment.php?s=&postid=3390211.png">
 

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Mobo:

This is the same mobo I have. It has 3 x PCIe slots which would allow you to run 6 monitors.

Remember, you can get this for $99, if you bundle it with the CPU (after rebate).

<img src="http://www.elitetrader.com/vb/attachment.php?s=&postid=3390215.png">
 

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