How many monitors does a 4870x2 support. And 4870s?

Yo guys im building a trading platform for my friend.
He needs 6 LCDs to run off one computer. from what i read a 3870x2 only has 2 dvi connection so max monitors in a crossfire setup is 4. 3 4870s should support 6 dvi ports which is 6 lcds. Is this the perfect setup?

Will the upcoming 4870x2 only support 2 monitors with DVI or more?
Ur input is appreciated.

Btw running 6 Monitor Array with 20" LG L206WTY-BS-Black Widescreen Monitors

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6814121247

says it has 4 dvi ports?
with 2 i can support 8 monitors?

My friends build is
Motherboard Combo w/ AMD Phenom (Quad Core) 9850 (2.5GHz) (Socket AM2)
6 Monitor Array with 20" LG L206WTY-BS-Black Widescreen Monitors
(2) ATI Radeon HD 3870 X2 1GB 512-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready Video Card
300GB 10,000RPM WD HD SATA 3gb/s
8GB PC2 6400 SDRAM DDR2 (4X2GB)
Creative Sound Blaster Audigy 2 Value SB0400 7.1 Channels PCI Interface Sound Card
Wireless N Network Card (Trendnet)
Asus M3A32-MVP Deluxe Socket AM2+ AMD 790FX CrossFireX A&GbE ATX Motherboard
Whisper-Cool Fan / Heatsink
(Quiet Design - 90mm Fan - Aluminum)
Artic Silver Alumina 1.75g Multi-use Tube
20X Lightscribe DVD+/-RW
(Adds Image Burning On Top Of Disc)
Okia 680 Watt Power Supply (Quad Core Certified)
Vantec SF12025L 12CM Quiet Case Fan
680w Black Gamer Case & Barebones Install & Setup
1 Year Manufacturers Defect Repair / Replacement Warranty

Total Cost with tax and delivered: $4,202

Guys, Crossfire can only run ONE monitor, even three cards in Crossfire X will only allow ONE monitor to be attached and working. I'm not sure about the 4870X2, MAYBE two monitors can be used at the same time in Crossfire mode. I'm not sure. To run multiple monitors under gaming you need to run a single card only, except for the few games that can support multiple cards separately.

The external multiple monitor adaptor is made by Matrox. http://www.matrox.com/graphics/en/ [...] extio1240/

It can support 4 at a time, just don't expect it to do it super quickly (as 3 20'' can be stressing depending on what he'll do with it), I suggest waiting for the 4870X2 to come out as there will probly be a 4 DVI model out within a month. Also I don't think you can crossfire a multi screen array, but since he won't be gaming they don't need to be CF-ed

^^ *edit* to run several monitor all you need to do is not CF them

It seems like this might be an appropriate choice, your friend could just use 2 of them... http://www.matrox.com/graphics/en/products/gxm/th2go/

Without crossfire you can use all the buffered ports on each card, that's usually two per card, three cards gives six monitors. On each card you can't use the Y/C out and DVI or VGA at the same time, that is, you can have one DVI OR VGA and one TV out, the second DVI port would be disabled since it's shared with the TV output.

With 2 of the Triple head boxes a single HD4870x2 or HD4870 would connect just fine, use the two DVI outputs on the card.

But pushing 6 20inch monitors I would think you would at least want a X2 card of some type. Even though the triple head input for Matrox takes care of most of the hassle, its still going to take a really nasty card to run at the high resolution you probably want if stretching it across 6 monitors. (8160 x 768) = (6 x 1360 x 768) = OMG Video Card Purgatory.

Yes, the scaling is taken from ONE card, so it has to run the final resolution of the four monitors. That's why the best idea is to use crossfire, then take that one output through the Matrox solution.

If the 4870X2 has four DVI (or HDMI) outputs then indeed all can be used at once - but not in Crossfire I'm guessing.

BustedSony this is my main question. 2 3870x2 cards in crossfire have 8 dvi outputs. Will they all be useable or do i need another external solution?

Ok thanks jonyb!! thats what i was thinking originally. Just have the two cards in there without the crossfire bridge and plug 3 monitors into each

There should be no problems, other than the occasional performance hiccup (it is after all running 6 monitors)

k thanks for all ur helps. seems so weird to have 2 3870x2 cards and not use that crossfire bridge but what gotta be done gotta be done hehe

That's gonna be one HUGE desktop.

So how is this all oriented? A single column? A single row? 3 x 2?

Did you think about buying four 24" monitors instead?
If my math is right 6x 20" gives you 10,584,000 pixels, and 4x24" gives you 9,216,000 pixels. So you lose 10% usable space but you can use 2 cards with 2 ports each.

Just a thought