What PCIe card to drive 2 x 20" DVI Monitors @ 1680x1050 each?

Hi All,

Having been burned repeatedly (oh yeah, that card will drive 2 24" monitors and 2 17" monitors all DVI at native resolution) what PCIe card would you suggest for driving 2 x 20" DVI monitors running at 1680 x 1050?  No need for 3D--just coding and business apps.

On the same note, looking at specs for cards, how can you determine with confidence that each DVI "port" can support a given resolution?

Thanks,
Rhett

Rhett wrote:

Hi All,

Having been burned repeatedly (oh yeah, that card will drive 2 24" monitors and 2 17" monitors all DVI at native resolution) what PCIe card would you suggest for driving 2 x 20" DVI monitors running at 1680 x 1050?  No need for 3D--just coding and business apps.

On the same note, looking at specs for cards, how can you determine with confidence that each DVI "port" can support a given resolution?

Thanks,
Rhett

My Dell Latitude D820 laptop runs a version of the GeForce 7300 processor (Quadro NVS 110M), and has no problem simultaneously running two 1680 x 1050 digital displays (1 internal + 1 external).

As you've probably noticed, most low-end cards have 1 DVI, 1VGA output. But for $84, you should be able to get what you need...like this GeForce 7300GT, for example:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814122008

Stepping up, if you want great video H.264 GPU acceleration for HD videos, the "low-end" GeForce 8000 cards have a great hardware decode offload engine:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814125061

Any dual DVI card will do that resolution hands down...

2x 1680x1050 is actually still a quite low resolution, so you have nothing to worry about.
I ran 2x 1600x1200 some years ago already with a $100 GeForce card...

With no need for 3d the Quadro NVS 285 from NVidia is likely to do what you need.  It only has a single out with a special splitter to support dual monitors.  It is PCI-e, passive heatsink so no added noise and fairly inexpensive.

Excellent.  Now to go one step further, I have two 24" monitors at 1920x1200 and would love to drive those along with the two 20" all DVI, one PCIe.  What do you think?

Other config: 1 x 30" Cinema display with 2 x (1280 x 1024).  Once again, ideally one PCIe.

Thanks again in advance,
Rhett

Rhett wrote:

Excellent.  Now to go one step further, I have two 24" monitors at 1920x1200 and would love to drive those along with the two 20" all DVI, one PCIe.  What do you think?

Get a Matrox DualHead2Go Digital Edition for each pair:
http://www.matrox.com/graphics/en/gxm/products/dh2go/digital/home.php

Rhett wrote:


Other config: 1 x 30" Cinema display with 2 x (1280 x 1024).  Once again, ideally one PCIe.
Rhett

8600GT with the 30" on one side (need dual-link DVI) and a DualHead2Go Digital (or Analog) for the other two.

Those Matrox splitters aren't cheap, though (>$200). If I had to spend that much money and was currently limited to one PCI-e slot, I'd buy a new motherboard and a second video card instead (if that's feasible on your PC).

JPeless makes a good point, though, re: the Quadro NVS boards.

Looks like the Quadro NVS 440 (~$400) can output four monitors at 1920x1200 (won't work for the Cinema Display config, though):

Product	Quadro NVS 280	Quadro NVS 285	Quadro NVS 440
Memory Size	64MB DDR	64MB DDR/ 128MB DDR2	256MB2 DDR
Memory Interface	64-bit	64-bit	128-bit
Bus Interface	PCI-32	PCI Express x16 PCI Express x1	PCI Express x16 PCI Express x1
Form Factor	SFF1	SFF1	ATX Full Height, 1/2 length
Display Connectors	DMS-59 (1)	DMS-59 (1)	DMS-59 (2)
Max. Displays per Board	2	2	4
Max Digital Display Support	1600x1200	1920x1200	1920x1200
Max Analog Display Support	2048x1536	2048x1536	2048x1536
Power & Cooling	12W - Passive	18 W--Passive x16 13 W--Passive x1	31W - Passive
nView Enabled	Yes	Yes	Yes
Availability	NOW	NOW	NOW

dcuccia wrote:



JPeless makes a good point, though, re: the Quadro NVS boards.

Looks like the Quadro NVS 440 (~$400) can output four monitors at 1920x1200 (won't work for the Cinema Display config, though):

Product	Quadro NVS 280	Quadro NVS 285	Quadro NVS 440
Memory Size	64MB DDR	64MB DDR/ 128MB DDR2	256MB2 DDR
Memory Interface	64-bit	64-bit	128-bit
Bus Interface	PCI-32	PCI Express x16 PCI Express x1	PCI Express x16 PCI Express x1
Form Factor	SFF1	SFF1	ATX Full Height, 1/2 length
Display Connectors	DMS-59 (1)	DMS-59 (1)	DMS-59 (2)
Max. Displays per Board	2	2	4
Max Digital Display Support	1600x1200	1920x1200	1920x1200
Max Analog Display Support	2048x1536	2048x1536	2048x1536
Power & Cooling	12W - Passive	18 W--Passive x16 13 W--Passive x1	31W - Passive
nView Enabled	Yes	Yes	Yes
Availability	NOW	NOW	NOW

Here's a dumb question and I only have to ask after past experiences, but how do you know with confidence that the listed spec of Max Digital Display Support is per DVI display?

Next question, is the full 16x bandwidth required for desktop APPs/IDEs (and for that matter, Aero)?

Lastly, what would it take for these to support a nice Aero expereience for the three configs discussed to date (2 x 1680x1050, 1 x 30" Cinema + 2 x 1280x1024 and 2 x 1920x1200 + 2 x 1680x1050 all DVI)?

Rhett wrote:


Next question, is the full 16x bandwidth required for desktop APPs/IDEs (and for that matter, Aero)?

Not for desktop apps, and probably not for Aero.

Rhett wrote:

Lastly, what would it take for these to support a nice Aero expereience for the three configs discussed to date (2 x 1680x1050, 1 x 30" Cinema + 2 x 1280x1024 and 2 x 1920x1200 + 2 x 1680x1050 all DVI)?

From the graphics card it wouldn't take much to support Aero, pretty much any dedicated card can handle it. Although if you find yourself needing two cards then - if I remember correctly - the only way to get Aero to work is to have both cards using the same drivers.

I don't think the Desktop manager can cope with having two different drivers, so it won't support Aero.

You're best off with two identical cards, or identical chipsets if you find you need two cards to support your 3 or 4 monitor configs.

Rhett wrote:

 Here's a dumb question and I only have to ask after past experiences, but how do you know with confidence that the listed spec of Max Digital Display Support is per DVI display?

Next question, is the full 16x bandwidth required for desktop APPs/IDEs (and for that matter, Aero)?

Lastly, what would it take for these to support a nice Aero expereience for the three configs discussed to date (2 x 1680x1050, 1 x 30" Cinema + 2 x 1280x1024 and 2 x 1920x1200 + 2 x 1680x1050 all DVI)?

I don't KNOW but I do have two monitors connected to via analog and both are running at 1280x1024 which is more than the "max analog" in total, so yes, I believe it is per monitor.

I don't have 30" cinema, etc. to know about all of the configs.

Of course, nVidia could answer all of these questions without guessing I would suppose.

From Amazon.com product description it explicitly mentions each display (this is for 440, so 4 displays):
Product Description
Business professionals who spend their days in front of a workstation understand the importance and value of a solution that helps them work more efficiently. Whether it's tracking securities across multiple displays or managing several desktop applications, corporate users are looking for the right solution to fit their business requirements. The NVIDIA Quadro NVS by PNY graphics board product line delivers the compatibility, quality, and performance that corporate users demand. From small businesses to enterprise-level corporations, the NVIDIA Quadro NVS series features solutions to fit every user's needs.Utilizing the advanced nView software, the NVIDIA Quadro NVS 440 by PNY graphics board for PCI Express (x16 lane PCIE) delivers next-generation quad-monitor capabilities through its dual integrated 400MHz RAMDACs that deliver up to 2048 x 1536 at 75Hz, 32-bits per pixel on each display, and a maximum digital resolution of 1900 x 1200 at 60 Hz.