Cheapest GTX option to run 6 or 8 monitors

JasperR · Apr 20, 2015

Hi,

Through a friend I will have 8 or 10 monitors by the end of the next week. I am already running 4 monitors as I write this. It has been a boyhood dream to run a massive set of monitors on a single computer, so I see this as the perfect opportunity to fulfil this wish.

Now I was wondering what my best options are. I've been digging around the GTX website as well as Tweakers (Dutch website for anything IT-related, such as reviews and a pricewatch) and I'm not really sure what to do. As for now I am running 2x GTX 650 without SLI so they don't work together and as you can probably imagine, that is not the best performance one can hope for. On these two GPU's I am running 4 monitors, 2x 27" and 2x 22".

This weekend I will be building a new desk that is able to hold a lot of monitors (more than 10) for my room, so space is not an issue.

Now my question is what you guys would advice me as my best option. I have only 2 working GPU slots in my motherboard so I can not run 3 graphical cards. I am not planning to play games on these monitors as this setup is solely work-related.

I've noticed the GTX 760 Ti claims to have 4 monitor output slots. Does this also mean all 4 can be used, thus resulting in 8 if two are used?

Is it possible to bridge (if I have to) the cards even if there is an empty mothrboard GPU slot inbetween them? I've never used a bridge before.

So, my main question: what would be my cheapest option to run 6 (or 8, if possible) monitors on just graphical cards (no USB graphic adapters, they don't work as good as I was hoping previously).

If it's important to know, I will have the following monitors available:
1x ultrawide 29" in the center or on-top of the rest
2x 27"
4x 24"
2x 22"
1x 20"

Thanks a lot,

Jasper

Sergeant_Sneaky · Apr 20, 2015

If your motherboard is SLI capable it would have come with a bridge that will fit the gap.
What are you planning on doing on the monitors? If gaming you're going to need 2 GTX Titan X's or something.

JasperR · Apr 20, 2015

Sergeant_Sneaky :

It is capable as far as I'm aware. The motherboard I'm using is ASUSTEK Sabertooth Z77.

I plan on running software development applications mainly, such as Visual Studio. I don't plan on gaming all too much and it's by far not my main concern.

Sergeant_Sneaky · Apr 20, 2015

JasperR :

I believe that once you enable SLI, the connectors on the secondary card become unusable so you wouldn't have 8 usable ports.

What you could do is get a graphics card, for example, a GTX 770 and use the 4 connectors on that. Then, buy a DIFFERENT card, to power the other 4 Monitors. I think you could also buy another GTX 770 and NOT SLI them, so you could do the same.

The GTX 770 is just an example, I'm not entirely sure how well cards perform using multiple monitors as I have never done this myself.

JasperR · Apr 20, 2015

Sergeant_Sneaky :

I read something similar somewhere else before. Enabling SLI will make the other output-ports no longer work on the 2nd card, so I assume it only boosts performance by 2.

Sergeant_Sneaky :

So basically what I am doing right now with the GTX 650s, except then with 770s?

Sergeant_Sneaky · Apr 20, 2015

JasperR :

The performance wouldn't necessarily double but yes, it just adds more graphical power.
If the 650's run all of these monitors well then yes, you could keep your setup as it is now, as long as you don't decide to start gaming on that many monitors.

JasperR · Apr 21, 2015

Sergeant_Sneaky :

JasperR :

The performance wouldn't necessarily double but yes, it just adds more graphical power.
If the 650's run all of these monitors well then yes, you could keep your setup as it is now, as long as you don't decide to start gaming on that many monitors.

I see.
I run 4 monitors on 2 GTX 650's indeed. But as far as I am aware, these GPU's only allow 2 monitors per GPU so that would still limit me to 4 monitors. Hence I'm looking for the cheapest GPU that I can have 3 or 4 monitors on EACH and then buy 2 of them. Could you give a few options?

Sergeant_Sneaky · Apr 21, 2015

JasperR :

Ah, the 650's only have 2 display outputs.
If you can find one, I'd recommend the GTX 770s, overclockers have the reference one for £199.99, you'd have to make sure that can fit in your case though.
If you'd rather a 4GB card, just in case 2GB isn't enough, I'd say go for 2 GTX 960's, at overclockers you can get the 2GB model for around £150 and the 4GB model for £199.99.
These both have 4 output ports on them, you'd have to check to see if they are the right ones for the monitors and make sure to check they'll fit in your case before making any purchases.

JasperR · Apr 21, 2015

Sergeant_Sneaky :

JasperR :

Ah, the 650's only have 2 display outputs.
If you can find one, I'd recommend the GTX 770s, overclockers have the reference one for £199.99, you'd have to make sure that can fit in your case though.
If you'd rather a 4GB card, just in case 2GB isn't enough, I'd say go for 2 GTX 960's, at overclockers you can get the 2GB model for around £150 and the 4GB model for £199.99.
These both have 4 output ports on them, you'd have to check to see if they are the right ones for the monitors and make sure to check they'll fit in your case before making any purchases.

GTX 960 looks great and affordable!
http://www.evga.com/Products/Product.aspx?pn=04G-P4-3968-KR
519 dollar for 2.

This will allow me to run 8 monitors from just the GPU's. Correct? I'd like to be a 100% sure before I purchase them.

And how can I check if they fit in my case? I can post my specs and case if required. My CPU cooler is massive (Noctua).

Sergeant_Sneaky · Apr 21, 2015

JasperR :

Sergeant_Sneaky :

GTX 960 looks great and affordable!
http://www.evga.com/Products/Product.aspx?pn=04G-P4-3968-KR
519 dollar for 2.

This will allow me to run 8 monitors from just the GPU's. Correct? I'd like to be a 100% sure before I purchase them.

And how can I check if they fit in my case? I can post my specs and case if required. My CPU cooler is massive (Noctua).

"2 inches x 10.1 inches x 4.38 inches"
The card is 10.1 inches long, which means you need to measure inside the case from the back to the front (or the HDD cage if that is in the way. You could probably find the maximum graphics card size online too if you search your case. The CPU cooler won't be an issue unless it hangs over the top PCI slot, which I doubt it is.
Yes, if not running them in SLI, they will act as 2 separate cards and you can use all of the output ports on them. (I google'd just to check I was right) you can too to see what people say

Just install the nvidia driver yourself and you should be good to go.

JasperR · Apr 21, 2015

Sergeant_Sneaky :

Alright I'm pretty sure it will fit. Will make sure when I get home.

Just to be very, very sure (because the google results don't make me entirely sure, sorry

): one GPU can host up to 4 monitors, correct? If yes, I will purchase one first and then put my current monitors on the one GPU. Then if it works as expected, purchase another one.

jerdle · Apr 21, 2015

Now i admit its been awhile since i looked into this for non gaming purposes, but last I remember Eyefinity was a better mutli monitor solution for power users than anything NVIDIA had

Sergeant_Sneaky · Apr 21, 2015

JasperR :

Sergeant_Sneaky :

Alright I'm pretty sure it will fit. Will make sure when I get home.

Just to be very, very sure (because the google results don't make me entirely sure, sorry

): one GPU can host up to 4 monitors, correct? If yes, I will purchase one first and then put my current monitors on the one GPU. Then if it works as expected, purchase another one.

If it has 4 outputs, it supports 4 monitors

Quote from the NVIDIA specification page "Multi Monitor - 4 Displays"
You can find this here: http://www.geforce.co.uk/hardware/desktop-gpus/geforce-gtx-960/specifications

JasperR · Apr 21, 2015

jerdle :

It looks like the max Eyefinity can reach is 6 monitors per card, correct? Not sure if that's any good performance-wise, though.

Sergeant_Sneaky :

I read on several places they display that information on most of their cards but it's not always entirely true, though. Hence the questioning.

Sergeant_Sneaky · Apr 21, 2015

JasperR :

jerdle :

It looks like the max Eyefinity can reach is 6 monitors per card, correct? Not sure if that's any good performance-wise, though.

Sergeant_Sneaky :

I read on several places they display that information on most of their cards but it's not always entirely true, though. Hence the questioning.

It should be okay with new ones though because they support triple monitor setups, so are designed for multiple monitors, I have 4 screens and I'd test it myself if I had enough of the right connections. It should be fine though

JasperR · Apr 22, 2015

Sergeant_Sneaky :

JasperR :

jerdle :

It looks like the max Eyefinity can reach is 6 monitors per card, correct? Not sure if that's any good performance-wise, though.

Sergeant_Sneaky :

I read on several places they display that information on most of their cards but it's not always entirely true, though. Hence the questioning.

It should be okay with new ones though because they support triple monitor setups, so are designed for multiple monitors, I have 4 screens and I'd test it myself if I had enough of the right connections. It should be fine though

Thank you. I will open a new thread to make sure it supports 4 because the 650 page also says it supports 4 while it doesn't.

Mousemonkey · Apr 22, 2015

JasperR :

Sergeant_Sneaky :

JasperR :

It should be okay with new ones though because they support triple monitor setups, so are designed for multiple monitors, I have 4 screens and I'd test it myself if I had enough of the right connections. It should be fine though

Thank you. I will open a new thread to make sure it supports 4 because the 650 page also says it supports 4 while it doesn't.

How many output ports do your cards have?

giantbucket · Apr 22, 2015

I'm not gonna read the WHOLE thread...

an Asus GT640-2GD3 can drive 4 monitors and doesn't use extra power connectors. it also doesn't use DisplayPort so life is easy. run 2 to get 8 monitors, plus whatever you can run from your motherboard / intel cpu, which is 2 or maybe 3 monitors.

I run dual GT640 plus a GT610 plus onboard, in case you're wondering.

JasperR · Apr 22, 2015

Mousemonkey :

The GTX 650's both have 3 outputs each. DVI-D, DVI-I and Mini HDMI.

giantbucket :

Edit:
Cool! However they have only 2 GB video memory. At the moment I also have 2x GTX 650 with that amount of memory and video's are starting to lag with 2 monitors on each card.

giantbucket :

Interesting. How many monitors do you use per videocard?
I always thought it wasn't possible to run different videocards at the same time. Or did I misunderstand you?

Eggz · Apr 22, 2015

I'm 99% sure this will be very easy to setup for a simple desktop space, and there are some reports of it working. Here's what to do.

(1) Buy two of these from Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/PNY-GeForce-GDDR5-Graphics-VCGGTX9602XPB/dp/B00SK8PK9A/ref=br_lf_m_10779868011_1_5_ttl?ie=UTF8&s=pc&pf_rd_p=2022013182&pf_rd_s=center-3&pf_rd_t=101&pf_rd_i=10779868011&pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_r=1B1NNMA5HBDKF3KKQSMM (free returns if doesn't work).

(2) Buy as many of these DisplayPort to HDMI converters as you need (also from Amazon for same reason): http://www.amazon.com/SIENOC-Displayport-Female-Adapter-Converter/dp/B00ENH915G/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1429729129&sr=8-4&keywords=display+port+male+to+hdmi

[NOTE, GET ADAPTER FOR DisplayPort TO WHATEVER YOUR MONITOR SUPPORTS IF NOT DisplayPort]

(3) Plug in and see if it works (don't enable SLI)

(4) Either enjoy or else return everything for free (Prime eligible orders FTW!)

giantbucket · Apr 22, 2015

clearly, it's possible since I've been running "different cards on same machine" for years.

first, it was a GT610 with a 9400GT. obviously not SLI, and the GT610 ran 4 screens (it was a special Galaxy MDT card) with the 9400GT running 2 more screens for a total of 6. back then I didn't run anything from onboard (AMD CPU)

now in the new machine, it's the two GT640s and a GT610 and i5 onboard. from the GT640, I'm currently running 3 screens each, plus 1 from GT610, plus 1 from onboard. this leaves me with one spare output on each card. currently I'm using the digital outs on the GT640s (DVI and HDMI) and leaving the VGA as spares in case I want/need even more screens. but I HAVE tested it with using ALL outputs on each card.

the GT640 cards are cheap, they work great, blah blah blah. the ONLY limitation they have (specifically my Asus GT640-2GD3) is that they don't support UEFI bios on my mobo (but apparently they do on some Asus boards). that doesn't matter to me - onboard takes care of UEFI bios if I ever need it (which is rare).

mmaatt747 · Apr 22, 2015

"I always thought it wasn't possible to run different videocards at the same time. Or did I misunderstand you?"

That's only true when trying to run in SLI

JasperR · Apr 23, 2015

mmaatt747 :

Aha! That´s a game changer. I am probably going to keep one of my GTX 650s to run 2 monitors, then purchase a Asus Striker Platinum GeForce GTX 760 4GB which would arrive tomorrow. 4 monitors from the GTX 760, 2 from the GTX 650.

Sounds good right?

Eggz · Apr 23, 2015

JasperR :

Yeah, that should work just fine. Be sure to order from Amazon in case you need to send something back.

JasperR · Apr 23, 2015

Eggz :

I ordered it from a Dutch website that uses the same rule. It will be here within ~4 hours from now.

Just to make sure: I can use BOTH cards at the same time as well as use BOTH monitor output connectors to attach monitors to, correct?

Cheapest GTX option to run 6 or 8 monitors

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