OT: Triple Monitor Set-up

[Shademaster]

Hey cool setup man. I am an avid multitasker myself and I found OSX spaces to be a huge improvement. I configured the back/forward buttons on my MXrevolution mouse to function as up/down space switchers. One click and I am in a different workspace. Feels as if you have 8 monitors.

I use the small buttons near your thumb. I use the horizontal scroll wheel to use expose so I can quickly show my desktop or pull my windows apart.
http://www.designreverb.com/wp-content/uploads/2007/02/mx_revolution.jpg

http://www.c4real.eu/daan/workspace.jpg

My brother told me there is something similar available for Vista. I have no idea about XP though. Especially having the spaces switching buttons on my mouse is a huge timesaver. I think I switch a couple of hundred times a day and to be honest 3 monitors would require my head to move too much.

Especially having these functionalities on your mouse is gold because it saves arm movement.

[soccerrprp]

Goodness! I had now idea something like that existed!

If the three monitors were side by side, not much head movement involved. :)

[Shademaster]

Goodness! I had now idea something like that existed!

If the three monitors were side by side, not much head movement involved. :)

Another maybe helpfull tip:

I found out that having a 19 inch LCD tilted on its side you get an awesome internet/forum/text setup. You have your main 16:9 window in front of you and a 19 inch on it's side next to it. Perfect for reading!

[vlad]

Got a 24" monitor and a 46" tv connected to a gf8800gtx and 2 other 20" monitors connected to a 9800gt. Everything A-OK. Dont know anything about splitters, but your mobo should have 2 pci-e slots. I'd get at least 512mb of video ram (not knowing what you're actually doing). Been working on dual monitors forever but I must say that the triple setup is just perfect (for me).

[olson]

Okay, so anyone have a triple system now? What video card are you using? Also, can I get a vc that has two inputs and just get a splitter for one of them, so having three? Does the amount of memory of the card make a difference? Is 64 or 128MB okay?

No such thing as a splitter, each monitor requires a dedicated output. Amount of video memory is irrelevant unless you want to game or use 3D applications on the monitor connected. Pretty much any video card(s) can be used for multiple monitors. If you want to use a single card, the new AMD Radeon 5800 series cards can output more than two monitors, some models can output six if I remember correctly. Cheers!

[theglenster]

hi soccerprp,
if i understand you right, then this might help: synergy2 (http://synergy2.sourceforge.net/)

ive got a notebook, a PC with a 20", and a PC with a 24" and 20", all sat on my desk controlled with one keyboard and mouse, is pretty cool :)

cheers
glen

[evanfotis]

My specs:
Windows XP Pro
Duo Core
4GB Ram (32-bit)

What video card recommendations do you have?

Thanks all!
depends on how much of an investment you are planing to make.
If you are keeping your current system, which has a video card already, you can add a second one.
Again depending on what chipset the installed one is go with an equivalent for the new card.

For starting from scratch, I'd go for two ATI cards, a 57xx one that will support 3 monitors through Eyefinty (have in mind EyeFinity at the moment supports only same resolution monitors viewed horizontally- so no mix & match or pivoting there) and a 4670 as a nice low profile vary capable second display with nice outputs. Or you can go with a 4890...
As I said, it depends on your needs and budget; so you could elaborate on this to get more specific answers.

As for virtual KVMs and multimonitor control, as mentioned, Synergy, Input Director, and if planning to use another networked machines monitor to expand your desktop: Maxivista.

You'd also find some good info on this thread, where Stefan has his multimonitor setup:
http://forums.cgsociety.org/showpost.php?p=5456071&postcount=955

[jazzmik]

there are DVI splitters available, however you can only mirror the source, which would be fine if you wanted to show the same screen on a projector and a monitor for example.

http://www.google.com/search?q=dvi+splitter&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8&aq=t&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&client=firefox-a (http://forums.cgsociety.org/DVI%20Splitters)

No such thing as a splitter, each monitor requires a dedicated output...

[olson]

there are DVI splitters available, however you can only mirror the source, which would be fine if you wanted to show the same screen on a projector and a monitor for example.

http://www.google.com/search?q=dvi+splitter&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8&aq=t&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&client=firefox-a (http://forums.cgsociety.org/DVI%20Splitters)

Good point, but DVI splitter is a misnomer. Its really a DVI duplicator which doesn't help in this case. Cheers!

[lollygag]

I use 3 30's side by.. 2 on a Quadro FX5600 and one on a 8800 GTX.. can pan across all the screens.. plus a gefen DL DVI switch to switch the displays between my 8 core workstation and my new i7 box.. but I cant wait for the nVidiots to come out with a triple head card for gaming


http://www.lollys.org/office4.jpg

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