Help running 6 screens

Hello all, hoping someone can give me some help here as I do not know a whole heap about computers.

I have a dell precision workstation 690, here is the ad

"Dell Inc., Precision WorkStation 690, Workstation, Black, 1 X Intel(R) Xeon(R) CPU 5160 @ 3.00GHz, 2048MB RAM, 320GB SATA HDD, 48 Speed HL-DT-ST DVD+/-RW GSA-H53N, 0 KB NV18GL [Quadro FX 550], No Operating System, NetXtreme BCM5752 Gigabit Ethernet PCI Express, 631xESB/632xESB High Definition Audio Controller, FDD, 7 USB Ports, 1 Firewire port"

I have installed windows xp pro, but am happy to install windows 7 if neccissary.

It has 1 big pcie slot, 3 small pcie slots, 1 pci slot and 2 pcix slots.

My monitors (5 x 17" & 1 x 22") have dvi & vga inputs, a couple of usb slots and a small (1cmx1cm) tapered sqaure slot.

I am looking at the radeon eyefinity 6 video card http://www.amd.com/us/products/deskt.../overview.aspx but am not sure whether it is compatible with my components. I am happy to use 2 or 3 cards if this is the best way (my computer came with a dual dvi card that fits into the large pcie slot). I am also happy to buy convertor cables if my monitors are not compatible with the video card/s output/s.

Any help would be appriciated.

Cheers all

For the ATI Radeon HD 5870 Eyefinity 6 Edition Graphics you need the following -

The expansion slot required is -

PCI Express based PC is required with one X16 lane graphics slot available on the motherboard which looks like -



You stated 1 big pcie slot... you need to be more specific!

The power supply required in your PC is -

600 Watt or greater power supply is recommended with one 75W 6-pin and one 150W 8-pin PCI Express power connector required (900 Watt and 2 6-pin and 2 8-pin connectors for ATI CrossFireX technology in dual mode)

You mentioned nothing with regards to the power supply. Power supply is very important!

Cheers for the response mate

Ok, looks like "the big one" is the pcie x 16 (9cm long) and "the small ones" are pcie x 8 (5.5cm).

How do I check the power supply, I cannot see it written anywhere near the slots.

Cheers and please forgive my ignorance regarding these matters

ps the video card I have is a quadro fx 550, which seems to be a pretty good one when I google it, so might it be better to get 2 more dual cards that can fit in the other slots or even 1 more quad card

I think I will just get two matrox g450 32M pci cards http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/MATROX-G4...ht_1621wt_1035 combined with the card i already have. Cheap as chips on ebay and says they will fit into any pci or pci-x slot. Will this work or am i missing something

here's another option to consider ... this device doesn't need a video card, it simply plugs into a USB port ... you can add as many as you need, one at a time ... http://www.evga.com/uvplus/

Interesting, although I have heard bad things about the usb style display link (not this specific brand). This was just from a mate who uses them at work though, and was just a passing comment so deffinately requires some more research. I would need to buy 4 of them though which would be a lot more expensive than the 2 cards, but on the plus side I can have multiple monitors from my laptop.

Cheers

check out Fudomyo's thread

hope that helps

lol

The PSU (Power Supply Unit) takes the electricity from the wall and converts it to power the PC components. It looks like -



Now there should be a label on it to tell you how many Watt it is. If not, check the manual that came with the PC.

The video card also requires one 75W 6-pin and one 150W 8-pin PCI Express power connector required. If you don't know what they look like visit http://www.playtool.com/pages/psucon...onnectors.html for pictures and see if they exist on your PSU.

You need 900 Watt and 2 6-pin and 2 8-pin connectors for ATI CrossFireX™ technology in dual mode!

If you don't have the right PSU, you can swap it out and purchase the following 1KW (1000W) beast which costs £97 for a refurbished unit -

http://www.google.co.uk/products/cat...ed=0CEkQ8wIwBA#

Good luck!

Nice link and thread

A sideways suggestion just in case..

Instead of 6 smaller monitors, fewer larger ones may do you well.

I'm running dual 30 inch monitors and am more than happy with it. To be honest though, i end up focusing on just one of the screens while trading live anyway.. i find it a bit of a stretch to -focus- on that many charts at once

I use the other monitor for research, trading diary, bloomberg etc (and when my brokers go to mt5, probably ad hoc charting as well.. )

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To confirm your real question. Your powersupply definitely is interesting if you're going to get an eyefinity capable card. There is a sticker on the side that shows wattage.

If its a zeon workstation though, hopefully they wouldn't have skimped on the power supply.

Yea, also check the power wires that come out of the power supply, in particular for some plugs that aren't plugged into anything. You're going to need a few where the connector looks like a little rectangular grid of 6 (or 8) squares. If it has 6 and a separate little piece for 2 from the same cable section, that will work with a graphics card that requires a connection with 8.

Actually.. its a pretty old xeon. definitely check your pci slot and power supply. To find out the power draw from your proposed graphics card, once you have the exact model, google for a review of it. Most sites include a page on power draw.

And a 1kw powersupply is massive overkill Trust me, i have one. Better to get a high quality one that may be lower, though id suggest 600 watts as a minimum to keep you somewhat future proof.