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ASK HN: Quad monitors - advice? tips? tricks?
Anyone out there using quad monitors? I'm getting ready to buy a new desktop system, and wanted to set it up with quad monitors and have had a hard time finding unbiased (read: non-sales) advice.
Is it better to have two dual-monitor graphics cards or one card that supports four displays? Do both cards have to be the exact same? Are there any cards that work especially well? Any that I should avoid?
I am going to be using Windows XP Professional if that makes a difference. The system is for work, so I'm not especially concerned about graphic performance.
Any four-headed hackers out there have any insight? Thanks in advance for your help!
- icey 18y agoI tried it once, and decided I would rather have two larger monitors. I use dual 24" on my mac and I love it. (It seemed like I was forced to move my head a lot more with a quad monitor setup - either vertically (cube setup) or horizontally (4 in a row setup), and it wasn't very enjoyable to me.) [Edit: I was using all 20" monitors for my test, and I actually liked 3 monitors more than 4 - there was a logical "main" monitor that way.]
- boesel 18y agoI'm probably going to use 19" monitors to start with since I have a couple of them laying around. That might make the display a little more "compact". I guess if I don't like the cube setup, I could always drop back to three in a row like you suggest.
- alex_c 18y agoI've never used more than two monitors, but I know most people who run three monitors use two (usually mismatched) cards. I don't know of any four-display video cards - I've never needed one - but if they're a lot more expensive than two off-the-shelf video cards, I don't see any reason not to go for the cheaper option.
- quellhorst 18y agoI have 3 monitors hooked up to my mac pro(2x20" 1x30"). Could have up to 2x30" + 2x24" with my 2 video card setup. My new setup will be a macbook pro (replacing a macbook) and a single 30" monitor when I'm at my desk. I found its better to cut down on how much you run so you can focus. Look at changing the way you work... No email notifications, don't leave chat or IM running, use your pc when you are working and get away when you are not.
- boesel 18y agoYes, I could see that focus might be an issue. But as it is, we use remote desktop quite a bit, so I've always got a couple of other desktops up that I'm working on. And most of the time, I'm doing comparisons between databases or configurations, etc, so I think that the 4 monitors will help with that process.