multiple monitors question?

[kthomllc]

i want to extend my desktop over 3 screens so that i can have different applications running on different screens...

one person recommended this to me: http://catalog.belkin.com/IWCatProdu...duct_Id=146894

i was wondering if anyone had other suggestions or possible ideas which would be less costly or is this alone worth it?

thanks

[Midknyte]

That wouldn't extend your desktop. That would put the same image on multiple monitors.

In most cases, you would need at least 2 video cards to set up 3 monitors. There are quad-head video cards out there, but they aren't cheap.

You didn't say what OS you are running, but directions are similar for XP and Vista.
How To Configure and Use Multiple Monitors in Windows XP

[kthomllc]

thanks.. i'm running vista

any suggestions on video cards? i'm running mostly office software which eats up a lot of memory.. so nothing too fancy needed

[Midknyte]

What video card do you have now? Do you need VGA or DVI?

unless your motherboard 2 PCIe 16x slots, chances are you'll need to get a PCI video card. The problem is that you want to use 3 monitors. Many video cards have 2 ports, but few have 3 or 4.

[kthomllc]

i have pcie on my motherboard right now

not really sure the difference between vga and dvi...

so basically would i just need 3 pci video cards if i wanted to run 3 monitors for an extended desktop?

[Midknyte]

No. you would need 2 video cards to run 3 monitors. You just need to get a video card with dual outputs.

Look at your monitor plugs. if they are not DVI, then they're probably VGA
For more DVI info: http://www.datapro.net/techinfo/

Your motherboard probably just has one PCIe 16x slot, so you'd have to get a PCI secondary card. Please post your system hardware specs like motherboard and video card. Also list your monitor make/models. Otherwise, this is all speculation.

[kthomllc]

what about using something like this http://www.ascendtech.us/itemdesc.as...C256ATIX600PFV

can i connect those y cables to any pci card?


are there any cards you would recommend i get?

will try to post all my specs later

[Midknyte]

Most cards don't have a Y cable; they have two separate physical ports. I doubt that splitter would work on any other card.

The link you posted is for a PCIe card. Unless you intend to replace your main PCIe card, that won't help. I said you need a PCI card for your second video card. There is a distinct difference between PCIe and PCI.

[jkozura]

http://www.matrox.com/graphics/en/products/gxm/th2go/

I have about 6 units similar to these deployed at my office, and they work well. The ones I have are the dual head, not triple, but the software is the same. I doubt you would be disappointed if you got one of these. You are not limited to using it on one computer, or one video card slot format either.
They are a little under $300 at newegg:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16815106014