What's required for a triple monitor setup?

Gonna buy a new desktop from HP soon (love this company, I have bought 2 from them before with little to no problems).  I have some LCDs that I want to hook up along with the new one that I will get along with this computer.

Its gonna be two square 19" LCDs (1280x1024 max res) and a large Widescreen LCD (with either a 1680x1050 or 1920x1200 max res).  I won't need SLI or anything like that, right? I'll have three outputs, 2 (DVI) from the video card and likely a VGA port on the motherboard, just not sure if I'll be able to use them all without conflict.

I don't know... Somebody help me out:cry:

you probably need one of those special matrox thingies.X360PS3AMD05

The third monitor wont be any good for gaming but you can use it for windows and internet.

you could probably stretch a movie across all 3 

If they started making games that used a 3 monitor setup, It would probably be pretty cool.Random__Guy

I read a bit more and it says "over 150 popular game titles" support 3 monitor setup.

I didnt know there was that many 

I'd prefer 1 24 or 26'' monitor, but it depends on the person, this is what i was talking about. http://www.matrox.com/graphics/en/gxm/news/pr/2007/th2go_digital.phpX360PS3AMD05

I tried a 3 crt setup years ago, having all those monitors going at the same time gave me a bad sense of too much power consumption or something like that, I cant really explain.Random__Guy

Gonna buy a new desktop from HP soon (love this company, I have bought 2 from them before with little to no problems). I have some LCDs that I want to hook up along with the new one that I will get along with this computer.

Its gonna be two square 19" LCDs (1280x1024 max res) and a large Widescreen LCD (with either a 1680x1050 or 1920x1200 max res). I won't need SLI or anything like that, right? I'll have three outputs, 2 (DVI) from the video card and likely a VGA port on the motherboard, just not sure if I'll be able to use them all without conflict.

I don't know... Somebody help me out:cry:

Ultimas_Blade

Normally theres 3 out puts.(2 DVIs & a S-Video/HDTV out)

So connect 2 DVIs to monitors & S-Video out to Wide screen 

Gonna buy a new desktop from HP soon (love this company, I have bought 2 from them before with little to no problems). I have some LCDs that I want to hook up along with the new one that I will get along with this computer.

Its gonna be two square 19" LCDs (1280x1024 max res) and a large Widescreen LCD (with either a 1680x1050 or 1920x1200 max res). I won't need SLI or anything like that, right? I'll have three outputs, 2 (DVI) from the video card and likely a VGA port on the motherboard, just not sure if I'll be able to use them all without conflict.

I don't know... Somebody help me out:cry:

Ultimas_Blade

Normally theres 3 out puts.(2 DVIs & a S-Video/HDTV out)

So connect 2 DVIs to monitors & S-Video out to Wide screen

After that you have to change some settings 

[QUOTE="Ultimas_Blade"]

Gonna buy a new desktop from HP soon (love this company, I have bought 2 from them before with little to no problems). I have some LCDs that I want to hook up along with the new one that I will get along with this computer.

Its gonna be two square 19" LCDs (1280x1024 max res) and a large Widescreen LCD (with either a 1680x1050 or 1920x1200 max res). I won't need SLI or anything like that, right? I'll have three outputs, 2 (DVI) from the video card and likely a VGA port on the motherboard, just not sure if I'll be able to use them all without conflict.

I don't know... Somebody help me out:cry:

LahiruD

Normally theres 3 out puts.(2 DVIs & a S-Video/HDTV out)

So connect 2 DVIs to monitors & S-Video out to Wide screen

After that you have to change some settings 

[QUOTE="LahiruD"][QUOTE="Ultimas_Blade"]

Gonna buy a new desktop from HP soon (love this company, I have bought 2 from them before with little to no problems). I have some LCDs that I want to hook up along with the new one that I will get along with this computer.

Its gonna be two square 19" LCDs (1280x1024 max res) and a large Widescreen LCD (with either a 1680x1050 or 1920x1200 max res). I won't need SLI or anything like that, right? I'll have three outputs, 2 (DVI) from the video card and likely a VGA port on the motherboard, just not sure if I'll be able to use them all without conflict.

I don't know... Somebody help me out:cry:

Ultimas_Blade

Normally theres 3 out puts.(2 DVIs & a S-Video/HDTV out)

So connect 2 DVIs to monitors & S-Video out to Wide screen

After that you have to change some settings

I don't know much about it.Tell me oyur VGA card name?

[QUOTE="Ultimas_Blade"][QUOTE="LahiruD"][QUOTE="Ultimas_Blade"]

Gonna buy a new desktop from HP soon (love this company, I have bought 2 from them before with little to no problems). I have some LCDs that I want to hook up along with the new one that I will get along with this computer.

Its gonna be two square 19" LCDs (1280x1024 max res) and a large Widescreen LCD (with either a 1680x1050 or 1920x1200 max res). I won't need SLI or anything like that, right? I'll have three outputs, 2 (DVI) from the video card and likely a VGA port on the motherboard, just not sure if I'll be able to use them all without conflict.

I don't know... Somebody help me out:cry:

LahiruD

Normally theres 3 out puts.(2 DVIs & a S-Video/HDTV out)

So connect 2 DVIs to monitors & S-Video out to Wide screen

After that you have to change some settings

I don't know much about it.Tell me oyur VGA card name?

What's required for a triple monitor setup? Ultimas_Blade

What requires a triple monitor setup?!

[QUOTE="Ultimas_Blade"] What's required for a triple monitor setup? blazethe1

What requires a triple monitor setup?!

I think the s-video only gives you something like 320×256 resolution.Random__Guy

Wouldn't it give you standard definition rez, i.e. 640x480?

A typical video card that has 1 VGA/1DVI/1 S-Video or 2 DVI+1-SVideo only supports 2 of those outputs at the same time. You can't use it for triple outputs. You need a Matrix Parhelia or Nvidia Quadro workstation card that supports triple or even 4 monitors.

Another possibility is the Matrox triple2Go that fools windows into thinking you have 1 large screen with the resolution of the 3 monitors combined. So it's not like there are "150 popular games supporting triple monitors" but rather 150 games where the resolution can be tweaked trough a config file to match the resolution required. In any of those cases you need (identical) 3 monitors working at the same resolution.

You can also get a 2nd video card and have a third monitor attached that way but then your multi-display options are limited. The 2 videocards won't be working toghether so a game will never display on the 3 screens on such a config. You can also run into driver conflicts when you need to install another driver to have the 2nd card work.  

A typical video card that has 1 VGA/1DVI/1 S-Video or 2 DVI+1-SVideo only supports 2 of those outputs at the same time. You can't use it for triple outputs.

Gog

I know for sure that a radeon 9000 can output to 2 monitors and use the TV out all at the same time. Thats the only card I ever tried with so I cant say about any others.

A typical video card that has 1 VGA/1DVI/1 S-Video or 2 DVI+1-SVideo only supports 2 of those outputs at the same time. You can't use it for triple outputs. You need a Matrix Parhelia or Nvidia Quadro workstation card that supports triple or even 4 monitors.

Another possibility is the Matrox triple2Go that fools windows into thinking you have 1 large screen with the resolution of the 3 monitors combined. So it's not like there are "150 popular games supporting triple monitors" but rather 150 games where the resolution can be tweaked trough a config file to match the resolution required. In any of those cases you need (identical) 3 monitors working at the same resolution.

You can also get a 2nd video card and have a third monitor attached that way but then your multi-display options are limited. The 2 videocards won't be working toghether so a game will never display on the 3 screens on such a config. You can also run into driver conflicts when you need to install another driver to have the 2nd card work.  

Gog

Trusty Bell was renamed Eternal Sonata, blade... ;)Staryoshi87

But to sort of wrap this up, I plan on using an old PCI card (got a 6200OC to use instead of the MX 4000; 1 VGA, 1DVI) and the X1700SE (2 DVI).  With that setup, I could do the triple monitor setup.

Also, I didn't realize S-Video had such a *****y output...

S-video > Composite... (Both display at 640x480)Staryoshi87

If they started making games that used a 3 monitor setup, It would probably be pretty cool.Random__Guy

It'd be a bit outdated by now, but it did support SurroundGaming, in where you could have three monitors together for games, and it would have a profile to be able to effectively spread the whole image across the three monitors. 

I just spent 20 minutes looking for a vga to s-video connector, i know i have one but i think it's at my mom's house.

If i find it il see what it can do.

I am trying to hook up my ps3 to a nec monitor. I have purchase 2 different hdmi to dvi cables(RCA and Phillips) neither will work. Do you have any suggestions??

[QUOTE="Ultimas_Blade"]

Gonna buy a new desktop from HP soon (love this company, I have bought 2 from them before with little to no problems). I have some LCDs that I want to hook up along with the new one that I will get along with this computer.

Its gonna be two square 19" LCDs (1280x1024 max res) and a large Widescreen LCD (with either a 1680x1050 or 1920x1200 max res). I won't need SLI or anything like that, right? I'll have three outputs, 2 (DVI) from the video card and likely a VGA port on the motherboard, just not sure if I'll be able to use them all without conflict.

I don't know... Somebody help me out:cry:

LahiruD

Normally theres 3 out puts.(2 DVIs & a S-Video/HDTV out)

So connect 2 DVIs to monitors & S-Video out to Wide screen

I am trying to hook up my ps3 to a nec monitor. I have purchase 2 different hdmi to dvi cables(RCA and Phillips) neither will work. Do you have any suggestions??

HARDCOREKINGPRO