Inexpensive card(s) for trading computer

[andrewjoseph]

I am hoping for a reccommendation on a card or combo to power 4 to six monitors. No gaming at all, mabye a bit of home movie editing, just multiple windows of the same application online. Is there a lower cost solution to accomodate this?

I have a MB ASUS M4A79XTD EVO 790X AM3 mobo and an amd phenom 2 x4 955.

I dont know much about graphics cards at all as this is my first build. I made a mistake and ordered the wrong one already and am looking for a solution to pop in and get running on the new setup. Thanks for any help!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[COLGeek]

You will need a EyeFinity cabaple GPU like this one (rather expensive):

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814150496

Or a couple of cards like this (in Crossfire):

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102858

You need to make sure your PSU is up to whatever solution you choose. You also need to consider the actual number of displays and the type of connections you plan to use (DVI, HDMI, DisplayPort, VGA). Whatever solution you decide on has to support the given number/type connections you want to use.

You can go with less expensive CrossFire solutions in both the HD5XXX and HD4XXX families of GPUs, but your monitor connections will help you decide on the best possible solution. BTW, how much is your budget for this endeavor?

 

[plznote]

Isn't there the 5770 alone sufficient or the 5850?

http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814161332&cm_re=eyefinity-_-14-161-332-_-Product

http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102898&cm_re=eyefinity-_-14-102-898-_-Product

 

[COLGeek]

The 5770 should suffice for 4 monitors, but not for 6. There is also the issue of types/numbers of physical connections.

 

[jryan388]

There is now a radeon 5770 eyefinity 5 edition card that supports five monitors on a single card, it's about half the price of the 5870 eyefinity edition cards
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814131358&cm_re=eyefinity_edition-_-14-131-358-_-Product
Of course, it only supports 5 monitors... If you want 6, get a 5870 eyefinity edition... If you want more than 6, crossfire.

Just so you know, for these "eyefinity edition" cards, they use mini displayport, so you will need adapters for each monitor, which can be rather expensive...

If you only want 3 or less monitors, any standard 5xxx eyefinity card will work, such as the following:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814131345&cm_re=5450-_-14-131-345-_-Product
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102875&cm_re=5570-_-14-102-875-_-Product
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102870&cm_re=5670-_-14-102-870-_-Product
note: for the lower end cards such as the 5450, 5570, maybe 5670, make sure it says it has eyefinity, some do not... All higher end (5750+) cards have it by default.

 

[nforce4max]

I would go with the 5770 eyefinity due to cost. You aren't running games and only doing day trading if I read correctly so it should be more than enough. If there is need for more you can always dump in another supported card. The 5870 is just to expensive for such a system that is being used for those purposes. There is no need to go to for an expensive Quadro solution. Also Matrox is good for such uses but is very expensive. Fantastic image quality but over all its expensive.

 

[hang-the-9]

My recomendation for non-gaming multi-monitor support is Matrox. They have many different configurations, including external boxes, available. I use them professionaly in medical applications as well as years ago in Biotech, always worked well.

 

[andrewjoseph]

You will need a EyeFinity cabaple GPU like this one (rather expensive):

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814150496

Or a couple of cards like this (in Crossfire):

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102858

You need to make sure your PSU is up to whatever solution you choose. You also need to consider the actual number of displays and the type of connections you plan to use (DVI, HDMI, DisplayPort, VGA). Whatever solution you decide on has to support the given number/type connections you want to use.

You can go with less expensive CrossFire solutions in both the HD5XXX and HD4XXX families of GPUs, but your monitor connections will help you decide on the best possible solution. BTW, how much is your budget for this endeavor?

Thanks for the reply - I currently have four monitors. Two older dell 20 in and two new gateway 23 in refurbished fron tigerdirect. They are nothing special but look more than fine when I am working. Much better than my lap top which I currently spend most of my time on.


I like the eyefinity suggestion. The Raedon 5770 looks like a good option as far as price is concerned. It has five outputs, comes with two adapters and I have one extra. It looks like they can be bought for under $25 dollars on newegg I think for the other one or two.

My power supply is now my question and I am rethinking my build. Any suggestions? Can I get any that I see that are crossfire ready that have a lot of wattage or are there other factors to look for? This is my first build and am realizing that I made a few mistakes and am willing to take the time to change them.

 

[nforce4max]

The 5770 doesn't draw that much power. A high quality 400-500w psu will be more than enough. I got a simple Antec HE550 neo power and I have 6 hard drives along with my 8800gtx. The cpu has a 39% overclock and still I don't dip below 11.8v on the 12v rails. Remember these cards are not power hungry.