NON gaming card (or onboard mobo video) for 3 monitors

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avianrand

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First and foremost I'm a software developer. Mostly database work. I don't game. At least not by today's definition. If I do, it's old stuff like Monkey Island or Myst :) I might watch some online video but not much. Maybe a TV show I missed when it ran, or an odd movie here and there. If I'm not working, I really don't want to be on the computer. I'd rather watch movies on my 55" inch TV in my recliner. :)

I'm rebuilding my main development machine soon. New mobo, CPU and RAM. Not sure what I'm going to get yet, I'm still pondering that, but it's going to have a fast, 8 or 10 core CPU and like 64GB of RAM (to handle SQL, many applications open at once, and multiple OS's in VMWare). I'm replacing my 2 different monitors with 2 or 3 identical ones. Possibly 2 or 3 of these: ASUS PB258Q 25" WQHD 2560x1440. Not sure yet.

Question: Depending on the mobo of course, can I run 3 HDMI or DVI monitors from the board without a card? Or would I end up (if the board supports 3) using 3 different outputs (HDMI, DVI, VGA)? Which sounds like a dumb idea to me but I think that's the only way to do it, right?. I want 3 identical monitors getting 3 identical quality signals. Not some mix and match goofiness.

If not, then I'm fine with having to get a card that has at least 3 HDMI or DVI outputs. Preferably HDMI since some of the monitors I'm considering ONLY have HDMI.

So if I'm going card, what's a good 3 monitor card for doing programming work, watching a bit of video, and playing some old games? Oh, and I do some graphics work but nothing extreme, like Photoshop CS4 old. I want good sharp images with great contrast and brightness and blacks. My current Acer x223w is pretty good but the Acer x203w next to it sucks for most everything, even programming. The colors are off, the contrast is weird (no matter how much I screw with the settings) and when I want to work from my 23" one and stick a video on the smaller one I can't see things that are done at night like horror or whatever. I'm planning on much better monitors than I have now and ones that match.

I'm not spending $800 on a gaming card. LOL :) I really don't want to spend more than $300 on a card (preferably closer to $200) as I am spending around $7,000 this year to update all of my development software) and I think that must be possible for my needs.

Maybe I'm looking for something along the lines of this card: PNY NVIDIA Quadro K1200 - ( VCQK1200DP-PB)

Thanks for any input :)
 
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Jan_26

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I would just use Displayport 1.2 capability and daisy chain those 3 screens with onboard DP. Note in history you needed to disable DP1.2 capabilities with last screen when running it from Intel HD graphics, don't have any screens at hand now that I could try whether it is still required.
Alternatively you can get a displayport 1.2 MST hub and connect directly each screen via the hub (the screen then doesn't need two DP1.2 ports then, is fine with one DP port in any version).

That would allow you to move saved money towards let's say higher level cooling (=more efficient and quieter, worthy when you sit at the machine 8hrs a day) or just save them for st else. For playing those old games integrated graphics both Intel and AMD will do good.

Do not buy Threadripper blindly atm, wait for deep reviews when those chips are stressed with real world scenarios - esp. your database and VM use cases, there are some worries they won't do that well due to their architecture implementation (they are in fact 4 chips glued together and interconnected with infinity fabric) that could be relevant (you can see DB performance of EPYC vs Xeons here for example: http://www.anandtech.com/show/11544/intel-skylake-ep-vs-amd-epyc-7000-cpu-battle-of-the-decade/18 ).
 
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avianrand

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:) Okay, back to my questions please....

So I've never used Display Port. I wasn't even aware of it. I built my current system in 2010 with top hardware back then. I'm running 2 DVI monitors off an adequate nvidia card. Except for the complaint I noted above, it's been fine. But I've wondered how you can do more than one monitor without a card (but as I said, I'm fine with a card). Now I think I get it. I didn't know you could daisy chain the monitors together with DP. Cool.

But another question comes to mind. I did a little research since Jan_26's first reply to me and it looks like monitors that come with DP usually don't have 2 regular size ones and sometimes only one at all. So do you daisy chain regular to mini? and if necessary daisy chain DP to HDMI? Or do I have to be really cautious about what monitors I get if I end up doing this?

If I end up choosing to daisy chain 3 monitors with DP do I still have to be sure the board supports at least 3 monitors or does DP do that by default? I assume it has to support it, but just wondering.

Also, I've not used AMD since maybe 2002 or so. Because of my work I've stuck with Intel for a very long time. It's only recently that I've considered switching back. Using AMD to do development work used to be a concern. Is it no longer like that? And lastly, I never spend money on brand new CPU's. That's crazy unless you're made of money and you just like spending time building machines. I get a machine done, upgrade my tools, and it's good to go for at least 5 years. I make money charging clients for my time doing software development, not spending $1000 on the latest CPU. LOL. Who does that??? 30 year old guys who live in their parents' basements surrounded by computer hardware they can spend all their Taco Bell earnings on because they don't have any real-world expenses I suppose. LOL :p $500 will likely be my limit. Not sure yet. Just trying to figure out one thing at a time. :)
 
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avianrand

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Sure, I know the CPU won't have it (are there any CPU's with a built in GPU?) but motherboards do and some support multiple monitors. But I agree, I'm leaning toward a card. Based on what I do I thought this might work for me: PNY NVIDIA Quadro K1200 - ( VCQK1200DP-PB), but nobody has commented on it or suggested anything specific to handle my needs. I was hoping for that kind of input. Some specific video card suggestions. :)
 
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