Three monitors...

Question

What is the easiest way I can have a practical setup of three monitors?

Answer 1

You could get a PC capable of SLI, have two graphics cards. Therefore maximum of 4 monitors.

Answer 2

Karma whore.

http://www.codinghorror.com/blog/archives/000012.html

http://www.codinghorror.com/blog/archives/000959.html

http://www.codinghorror.com/blog/archives/000217.html

http://www.codinghorror.com/blog/archives/001076.html

Answer 3

I would use one 30inch and two 21 inch (rotating 90 degrees) the 30inch would go in the middle and the 2 21 inch goes to right and left.

Check for more information http://www.codinghorror.com/blog/archives/000740.html

Answer 4

If you get/have a motherboard with onboard video (pretty common now), many mid-high end video cards have two outputs: either digital/vga or just two digital. That's probably the most straightforward. That is, add a video card with the onboard for a total of three outputs.

Answer 5

the "easiest" way would be to just buy a video card with three ports like this.

Answer 6

If your machine is a laptop, see also answers to this question:

http://stackoverflow.com/questions/76267/hardware-solutions-for-adding-a-third-monitor-to-a-laptop

Answer 7

First off, I cannot strongly enough recommend using Monitor "arms" - the amount of space you'll save on and around your work area is far more than you might think at first. Jeff blogged about it a while back, and if anything, he understates how convenient and efficient they can be.

As for the hardware side of the endeavor, you could go with the dual video card setup (generally offering the most flexibility in setup and control) or go for an expansion module for your video card, such as the Matrox DualHead and TripleHead modules - they essentially fool your computer into thinking two of your monitors are a single screen, which can be great for simplicity's sake and for gaming, but can be a bit less desirable when it comes to trying to customize how you want your operating system to handle different monitors, or if you want to use your monitors in anything other than a "three right next to each other" formation.

Selecting the monitors is an entirely subjective task, as is their arrangement - I have found, however, that a widescreen monitor in the middle with a 4:3 monitor on each flank is most aesthetically pleasing to me. I also prefer monitors with smaller bevels, as they tend to provide less of a distraction between working areas - a smaller "seam," if you will.

Answer 8

Hm... I don't have enough rep yet to comment on my own post... @Dested, in response to your comment, it may not work for three monitors using the mobo video out and the Vga as I described. I must admit I've only done two monitors. I have used a video card and an onboard, and I've used two on the video card, and I've used two video cards. But you're right, it may not work. Two is certainly easier.

(Edit: I just realized I could have edited my previous post. Sorry)

Answer 9

I'll assume you're doing this on a PC with Vista:

First, your motherboard must have two video slots. Mine doesn't (Vostro 400 desktop), so I'm out of luck.

Next, you need a pair of video cards. You probably already have one. Find out what it is, and Newegg another one just like it, preferrably made by the same manufacturer (MSI, EVGA, etc., as opposed to the chipset maker, either Nvidia or ATI. That's important too, of course).

(side note: SLI is not necessary! SLI is to max out your video on a single screen by having two video cards share the workload by having one card render the even frames and the other card render the odd ones. Nifty for video games, counterproductive for your three-monitor setup.)

You'll need three monitors, of course. Get three of the same kind preferrably.

Finally, buy Ultramon. Oh yeah.

There shouldn't be anything to do in the bios as far as I know, your mileage may vary.

Answer 10

As someone who recently upgraded from 2x22" to 1x25.5 (and loves it), here are few details which might help you. First off, UltraMon, total must when you have more then one monitor. Secondly, since those arms that hold them can be really expensive, I would suggest you check HP Monitors as they have really convenient stand which is made so you can stove your keyboard there (kb doesn't have to be HP ;) ). Plus they have integrated usb ports which in my case helps with cables. Switching from 2x22 to single 25.5 was great for me because it gave me a ton of space in front of me (I like to write quite a bit while developing). So, ultramon, hp. :) Oh and last thing, no matter how cheap 22 or 19 be, see to buy ones with good color display, it is worth to spend a little more to get good quality there. I would look Samsung, HP.