Advice on multiple monitor setup

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JollyGreen
Posts: 2046
Joined: Sat Mar 21, 2009 10:06 am

There was a recent post on here by a user looking for a multiple monitor setup. I will try to locate that post and link to it here.

This week I decided to update a PC. I had a voucher from a supplier offering the new i7-4770K CPU at a discounted price and whilst I would not normally bother with an i7 as it's almost overkill for most use the price was too good to refuse.

The new 4th Generation i7 CPUs have built in graphics in the shape of the HD4600 GPU. I setup the new PC and then connected up the monitors. I use 2 x 24" LCD monitors so I wanted to connect both. I was pleasantly surprised to find I could actually connect three monitors if I wanted to.

I fired up Bet Angel and the system ran well. To be honest I was very pleased because it meant no additional graphics card, less power consumption etc.

So if any of you are looking at buying a new PC and/or possibly buying a dedicated graphics card for a multiple monitor setup then maybe consider the new i5 or i7 4th generation CPUs. Yes, it is a bit more to spend but you'll get a new setup with good graphics and a system than uses far less power. i5 is more than good enough and the only difference between the i5 and i7 is Hyper threading. Unless you do a lot of video work it is highly unlikely you will need hyper threading. I will need to check which of the i5 CPUs is true quad core as some of the cheaper are a dual core setup.

Well worth looking into if you're thinking of an upgrade.
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Euler
Posts: 24701
Joined: Wed Nov 10, 2010 1:39 pm
Location: Bet Angel HQ

I'm contemplating upgrading my PC in the study. It's a real dog at the moment and a three monitor set up would be fine as the fourth I now use for multiple feeds.

How do you connect up three then, does it have multiple outputs or is it threaded through like a display link type device?
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JollyGreen
Posts: 2046
Joined: Sat Mar 21, 2009 10:06 am

You get three outputs on the motherboard so you can use DVI, HDMI and VGA. You can connect them in that sequence. I am not 100% certain but if you have a separate graphics card you may be able to have four monitors. The new BIOS on a Z87 chipset allows use of the onboard and discreet graphics card simultaneously. However it may still restrict you to 3 monitors; I will have a check and get back to you.
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gutuami
Posts: 1858
Joined: Wed Apr 15, 2009 4:06 pm

I've got a i72600k 3.9gz on a asus mainboard and an additional graphics card for games (asusGTX560ti). The main monitor comes from on board video and the other 2 from video card. I've never connected 4th monitor simply because I don't have it yet. There are 2video connectors left one on mainboard and one on graphics card. But I think it's possible to have only 4 monitors and not 5. The k at the end means that CPU can be overclocked and with a good cooler you can get 5gzh out of.
No matter how many ba windows I open the cpu load never goes above 15%. Besides 16gb of ram and 120gb SSD makes it a rocket. I've open more than 20 tabs on chrome with youtube video and it works like a charm. Awesome.
runningbear333
Posts: 1
Joined: Sat Aug 06, 2016 9:53 am

Hi,

Running 3 screens - a simple answer...

a very simple but effective way of running multiple monitors is to purchase a Plugable USB 3 Docking station. I have a laptop with a USB3 port, and i simply plug in the docking station & run 2 screens from that, with a third screen from the HDMI port in the laptop. It's pure plug n play, & if you need to take the laptop elsewhere, simply unplug the docking station & go. When you reconnect it, all the settings are remembered.

cheers, Noodles22
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