Need advice for 8 to 12 monitor setup if possible

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Hades16x

2[H]4U
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Sep 24, 2003
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Hey guys, I had a friend come to me yesterday and ask me if I could put together a computer that could display spreadsheets to up to 12 monitors at once.

I have absolutely no clue if it is possible.

To start: My friend owns a company that warehouses many different items and he would like to display stock spreadsheets to keep a more realtime. I realize that using barcodes and scanning, he could track his stock better, but I'm not a consultant, I'm just a builder.

I would assume since programs like Excel arn't huge resource hogs, nor high end graphical hogs, I could get away with a system such as this:

q6600
8gb ram
and Ill probably choose a 750gb F1 Drive

After that, I have no clue. What kind of GPU's for 4 or more monitor out? 9800gx2? Should I get a 9800gx2 and 4 of those matrox triple head, or do a whole bunch of those EVGA (usb?) monitor out?

What kind of motherboard?

Sorry that my post is kind of a cluster, I just don't know what to ask.

Thanks,
Michael
 
How big will the monitors be? Because the max resolution fro the Matrox Tripleheads, if using all three monitors, is 1680x1050. So roughly 20 to 22" territory.
 
Well that was the next step:

Looking at 17-19 standard screen probably 1280x1024. Where can I buy them cheap?
 
Cloud15x said:
Well that was the next step:

Looking at 17-19 standard screen probably 1280x1024. Where can I buy them cheap?
Click to expand...

The monitors or the Matrox?

If monitors, right now, newegg has a one-day sale on a 19" WS monitor for $130 for newegg newsletter subscribers:
http://promotions.newegg.com/NEemai...c=EMC-IGNEFL091608-_-email-_-E0A-_-LCDMonitor

If you're not newsletter subscriber, sign up now and hope that the subscription gets through before the sale is over.

As for the Matrox boxes. Forget about them. Found another option:

Foxconn ELA LGA 775 Intel P45 ATX Intel Motherboard - $230
3 x Asus EAH3870X2/G/3DHTI/1G Radeon HD 3870 X2 1GB PCI-E Video Card - $690 ($230 each)
Corsair 1000HX Modular PSU - $225
----
Total: $1145 plus tax and shipping

Each video card has 4 DVI outputs. That motherboard supports three of those video cards. That's 12 monitors right there!
 
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Awesome, thats what I was thinking about after browsing newegg.

Thanks so much!
 
Cloud15x said:
Awesome, thats what I was thinking about after browsing newegg.

Thanks so much!
Click to expand...

No prob. Though if you really want to prove how thankful you are, post some pics of that monster setup if you do build it :D
 
Mccaula718 said:
Only downside is 2 monitors will have to be vga because the pci 2400s have one dvi and one vga.
Click to expand...

Other downside is that he has to use an AMD CPU :D

But yes your setup is half the price of my setup sans PSU. If the OP has no problem with AMD, I recommend getting your setup.
 
Look at the matrox M9120 Plus LP and M9140 LP cards. They are single slot solutions that support 4 monitors. The M9140 supports 4 dvi outputs but is pretty expensive. The 9120 needs an upgrade cable to work and is analog for 4 screens.
 
you can also get the quadro nvs440. Each card supports 4 monitors. I have seen them on Ebay from reputable resellers for less than $200 consistently. Also are all these monitors going to be close to the main machine? If not how are you planning on getting video to them?
 
Has hard forum been gay for anyone else today?

Were gonna do the 3870 idea.

Need 3x cheap 17s now.
 
Danny Bui said:
The monitors or the Matrox?

If monitors, right now, newegg has a one-day sale on a 19" WS monitor for $130 for newegg newsletter subscribers:
http://promotions.newegg.com/NEemai...c=EMC-IGNEFL091608-_-email-_-E0A-_-LCDMonitor

If you're not newsletter subscriber, sign up now and hope that the subscription gets through before the sale is over.
Click to expand...

Promo Code only works for one monitor and only works for one order.

From the bottom of the Newsletter Email
Promo codes are limited to a single use per order and product(promo codes may not be applied to multiple products within the same order, or to more than one (1) item of the same product).
Click to expand...

I was trying to buy 2 of the SMC USB WiFi adapters for $14.99 shipped each.
 
I'll repeat quique55's question:

Are all these monitors going to be close to the main machine? If not how do you plan on getting the video to them?

Unless I am totally misunderstanding what you are doing it would seem WAY easier (and much cheaper) to me to build a simple Mysql database with a php front end serving up real time snapshots of the inventory database. Then you could use ANY computer with a web browser from ANYWHERE to view the inventory. Roll out those old clunker P2 machines from the storage room and you're set.

The way you are doing it seems to limit you to an immediate and small area, the diameter of which is no bigger than twice the length of your monitor cable. What type of business is it that you need 12 monitors showing the same thing all within a short cable run of a single machine?

edit: I haven't been on these forums forever, it looks like they wiped out post counts at the beg of January 07, cuz this was my FIRST post!?!??!
 
I, too, would like more info on what the plan is for these monitors.

n3rdcore said:
...
edit: I haven't been on these forums forever, it looks like they wiped out post counts at the beg of January 07, cuz this was my FIRST post!?!??!
Click to expand...

No, they just had db problems and you were just unlucky.
 
sskk said:
IMO Raid 5 or 10 would be very nice for him.
Click to expand...
wtf? was storage ever a concern?


Anyways, I think this is going to take up WAY too much space, and just moving the mouse around 12 screens is going to waste time. Why not just do a MySql database & a web based front end for it?

12 monitors seems like a huge waste of money, just have one excel file with 12 tabs and click the tab for the type on inventory you need if you are dead set on using excel.
 
compslckr said:
wtf? was storage ever a concern?


Anyways, I think this is going to take up WAY too much space, and just moving the mouse around 12 screens is going to waste time. Why not just do a MySql database & a web based front end for it?

12 monitors seems like a huge waste of money, just have one excel file with 12 tabs and click the tab for the type on inventory you need if you are dead set on using excel.
Click to expand...

Well, he sounds like there will be lots and lots of records, Raid 5 and esp 10 is great for speed and data security.
 
This appears to be a stock tracking system that uses 12 Excel spreadsheets. It's hardly a reliable, high-performance database platform to start off with.
 
Like I said guys, Im not gonna argue about the most efficient way check stock. I think hes doing something completely archaic. Why do you need 12 monitors when you can have 12 tabs inside of excel? No clue.

My job was never to consult, it was to produce.
 
sskk said:
Well, he sounds like there will be lots and lots of records, Raid 5 and esp 10 is great for speed and data security.
Click to expand...

First, this is completely irrelevant to this conversation. Second, raid does not provide data security. It serves to increase availability. It is not a backup solution.

Cloud, you've got the right idea. Suggest what might be a better method but in the end, give the guy what he wants unless it is infeasible. Four 30" monitors would probably be a better solution for him, however. There are a few applications which allow you to partition a monitor into several smaller "virtual" monitors. Divide these into 4 screens each and connect them all to a decent system with two dual head mid range cards of your choice. This really isn't all that out there. Many stock brokers use equally overkill setups for a variety of purposes.
 
I did, But you need to also realize the cost for 4x 30 inch's.

Split in two, itll only be 8 monitors.

Not to mention ~1.2K/monitor vs hopefully I can pick up some used 17inch LCD's for ~100/per. AT that price I can get 12 17's for the price of 1x30.

I think he is doing it all wrong, but its not my problem. I dont know the guy. Im gonna deliver what he asked for.

Raid isnt gonna be used. They're freaking excel sheets, burn em to CD's.
 
Guess not, Ill have to find a copy of XP home which sucks because we were gonna do 8gb of ram.
 
Cloud15x said:
Guess not, Ill have to find a copy of XP home which sucks because we were gonna do 8gb of ram.
Click to expand...

You could always go with XP Pro x64bit. It's almost as well supported and stable as Vista 64bit.
 
Danny Bui said:
You could always go with XP Pro x64bit. It's almost as well supported and stable as Vista 64bit.
Click to expand...

I concur, and I ALWAYS think more ram is a good thing, but at 32MBs apiece x 3 = 96MBs worth of video processing power (over 12 monitors no less O_O!!!), what exactly is 8GBs of RAM going to do for you when you're just running Excel sheets?

I haven't decided yet if those cards make me drool, giggle or cringe, (well, the lead warning was definitely good for a laugh) but anyway, it's my understanding that these monitors will all be in relatively close proximity to one another each displaying unique information. If that's incorrect, then please disregard the following.

Working out of a warehouse, I'm assuming that aesthetics aren't a huge concern, so the only reason that I see for going with LCDs is the image clarity. Even just dealing with Excel, I would be worried about poor image quality with those cards. Particularly considering that I think it would be difficult to read a spreadsheet from any distance already, and if these monitors are all displaying different information, then it's inevitable that someone is going to be relatively far away from some of them no matter which monitor they're close to.

Anyway, I made quite a few assumptions when saying that, so I'm curious as to how all of these monitors are actually going to be utilized even if I'm incorrect.
 
You cant get the driver for XP x64. Only Driver is under XP Pro/Home, under Legacy(Discontinued).

I too wonder about the image quality. Going for LCD's because hes basically going to find a way to mount them all next to each other on a wall.
 
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