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Quad monitor build for e-mail and basic browsing
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31-07-2016 9:50pm#11. What is your budget? [€1000 or thereabouts]
2. What will be the main purpose of the computer? [Photoshoppery/Internet] No games
3. Do you need a copy of Windows? [Probably]
4. Can you use any parts from an old computer? I have an extensive collection of odds and ends spanning probably 20 years, some of which could be carried over. More on this below.
5. Do you need a monitor? [No]
6. Do you need any of these peripherals? [Keyboard/Mouse/Wireless Card/Card Reader/Speakers/etc.] No
7. Are you willing to try overclocking? [Of no interest]
8. How can you pay? [Bank Transfer/Credit Card/Debit Card/PayPal]
Nah, I do a little more than e-mail and surfing the web!
The most serious 'work' I do is scanning and tidying up old family photos, mostly using Photoshop.
This IS a home/hobby scenario though, so I don't need the bleeding edge of the latest technology.
My current setup is an Intel Core 2 Quad Q9450 with 8GB RAM on an Asus Maximus Formula board, running Windows 10 Pro 64-bit.
I have a couple of GeForce cards (8400GS & 9500GT, both 0.5GB RAM) connected to 4 monitors.
The core hardware (motherboard/CPU/RAM) are all getting on for 8 years old at this stage, and I'm getting a hankering for replacing them with something a bit more current and shiney.
The 4-monitors thing just evolved over the years, and I now despair at the thought of not having loads of real estate to spread out my very important 'work'.
A bit of reading on this forum leads me to think that some sort of workstation oriented setup would suit my purposes pretty well, given that I have no interest in playing the latest games at 8K at a billion FPS.
So, something like a Xeon E3-1230 V5 on an Asus E3 board of some sort with 16GB (32GB) RAM perhaps?
I've always gotten on well with Asus and Corsair hardware, so I'm inclined to be biased towards them for new bits.
I've also been running GeForce video cards for years, so inertia steers me towards sticking with them too.
I'd be looking for the way of running these 4 monitors, so short of going to a stupidly expensive quad port card, a 2 card solution is likely the best way to go.
As already stated, I have no interest in gaming so something relatively modest will suit just fine, so long as I have the correct connectors!
Only the newest one has HDMI, but they'll all talk to DVI. D-Sub is also an option
I have a 250GB SSD for the OS, but another one would be no harm, and a fresh power supply would probably be no harm either.
My current OS (Windows 10 Pro 64-bit) is an upgrade from Win 8.1, so to the best of my knowledge, I can't transfer that to a new build.
I'd like to be wrong on that though!
Thanks for reading!0
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Of course!4 monitors for email and web browsing!:eek:
Doesn't everyone do that???
The 4 monitors setup evolved over the years.Digital Solitude wrote: »What resolution are each of the monitors? Might be able to trade them for one or two higher res ones?
I added a second monitor years ago (back in the CRT days!) when graphics cards started appearing with 2 ports, and it has grown and expanded since then.
My main workspace is 4880 x 1080, spread across 3 monitors.
The 4th monitor is mounted above the main 3 and mostly serves as a TV set, but I can switch inputs to use it for desktop overflow too.
It's very handy to have the main Photoshop window in the middle monitor, the Photoshop tools in the right hand one, and a file browser and scanning utility in the left.
I wouldn't be without a multi-monitor setup now if I could help it at all.
I'm happy enough with the monitors I have for the moment, to be honest.0 -
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Cuddlesworth wrote: »Modern nvidia cards can do 4 outputs, AMD up to 6 with displayport. 1 card will do.
What case and power supply do you have right now?
Just looking at NVS (and Quadro) cards, and while they're mad cool and all, they appear to be carved from the finest Unobtanium, leading to either ludicrous pricing or outright unavailability.
To be honest, 2 modestly specced/priced 'conventional' video cards would be fine for my purposes, I think. Something in the ballpark of €50 each, I'm thinking.
I currently have an old Chieftec Dragon full tower case with a Corsair TX750W power supply.
Either/both could be reused, but I'm half considering a fresh case (full tower) and a new power supply anyway. I'd stick the exist PSU into the spares stash.0 -
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Just looking at NVS (and Quadro) cards, and while they're mad cool and all, they appear to be carved from the finest Unobtanium, leading to either ludicrous pricing or outright unavailability.
To be honest, 2 modestly specced/priced 'conventional' video cards would be fine for my purposes, I think. Something in the ballpark of €50 each, I'm thinking.
I currently have an old Chieftec Dragon full tower case with a Corsair TX750W power supply.
Either/both could be reused, but I'm half considering a fresh case (full tower) and a new power supply anyway. I'd stick the exist PSU into the spares stash.
750W power supply is overkill for a system that's drawing ~200W at full load, and I mean in the "it will draw extra power because it's not in its efficient range" way.
Dropping down to 350-400W would be preferable.
Puget Systems article
Multiple Monitors blog
I also forgot how old the HD 5450 is; going back over the info above, I'd switch recommendation to dual AMD R7 240 cards.0
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