4 Monitors, different quality cards

[OsbourneCox]

I'm looking to spec a new computer with 4 monitors which I currently have now. I'll be using it for trading and software development. I don't game but would like a decent graphics card in case I choose to pick something up. I've settled on an Intel setup.

I have my Logitech buttons tied into Ultramon to easily control window movement across monitors from my mouse and right now I know when I have 2 trading platforms open and enough browsers / applications open, the lag when moving windows from monitor to monitor can be annoying. I'm not sure how much of that is graphic card vs old/underpowered CPU vs insufficient RAM but I'd like to get rid of it.

So I'll need two graphics cards (skip single card suggestions like GTX 660 for now) and I have no intention of using crossfire or SLi. I figure I should be able to pair a decent quality card with a lower quality one. Does anyone have a suggestion of a set that would work well together? Is pairing any similar chipset/GPU series going to be fine?

I also want to put together a quiet machine. My current computer is really loud and I'm only just realizing how much it affects my ability to concentrate. I'm not aiming for zero dba but I'm willing to pay a bit more for components that are known for being quiet.

 

[vmem]

how did you arrive at the conclusion that you absolutely need two graphics cards? the upper echelons of both Nvidia's 600 series and AMD's 7000 series are plenty powerful enough to handle 4 monitors. I'm currently running 3 monitors on a single 7970 for trading, 3D content development, and gaming with absolutely no lag what so ever. I believe the lag you experience when you move windows is CPU generated, and can be solved by upgrading to the newest generation of chips (which I see you intend to do anyway)

 

[OsbourneCox]

how did you arrive at the conclusion that you absolutely need two graphics cards? the upper echelons of both Nvidia's 600 series and AMD's 7000 series are plenty powerful enough to handle 4 monitors. I'm currently running 3 monitors on a single 7970 for trading, 3D content development, and gaming with absolutely no lag what so ever. I believe the lag you experience when you move windows is CPU generated, and can be solved by upgrading to the newest generation of chips (which I see you intend to do anyway)

Hi vmem,

I just assumed I would be looking at 2 cards, because of cost, point of failure standpoint and upgrade ease.

But that's why I post here, to have my assumptions corrected. I'll take a look at more single card possibilities. Thanks for the reply.

 

[OsbourneCox]

how did you arrive at the conclusion that you absolutely need two graphics cards? the upper echelons of both Nvidia's 600 series and AMD's 7000 series are plenty powerful enough to handle 4 monitors. I'm currently running 3 monitors on a single 7970 for trading, 3D content development, and gaming with absolutely no lag what so ever. I believe the lag you experience when you move windows is CPU generated, and can be solved by upgrading to the newest generation of chips (which I see you intend to do anyway)

Something just occurred to me based on what you said: Since I don't really know the source of the lag issue, I wonder if I should just start off using my current video cards in the new rig: Radeon 4670 and 4300. They are both PCIe (no AGP) so should work in the near term.

Depending on how they perform (and how loud they seem with a quieter machine), I may find I don't need to buy new cards. Or at least defer the initial cost.

btw - I see you've got 16GB RAM. Would you want/like that much if you weren't doing 3D content development?