Triple Monitor Support

[RikRak]

Hi,

I'm looking to spec a machine that will largely be used for software development (business software, not 3d\games). I can work out what processor and memory I might want but I'm at a loss when it comes to graphics cards.


Ideally I'd like to have 3 x Full HD monitors. They will mostly be used for 2d graphics when I'm developing. Can this be achieved on a single card, or is it cheaper to get two cards? Also it'd be a real bonus if I could get a card/cards that would support a casual FPS game. Any suggestions/pointers on what to look for or avoid?



If it makes any difference I'm thinking of getting an Intel i5 with 8 or 16 Gb RAM

Any thoughts appreciated.

RikRak

 

[TremF]

It depends on what your budget is but if you are thinking of gaming across the 3 then an Nvidia GTX 780 or GTX 780Ti would be ideal but a GTX 770 may be ok if not playing anything too graphical. Not sure about the AMD equivalents as I'm not really a fan but they will be cheaper.

 

[RikRak]

That might be stretching the budget a bit. I've just noticed that the NVidia GeForce 660 supports up to 4 monitors (spec). Any experience with this one?

 

[TremF]

Depending on the games you plan to play it may be able to cope with lower detail unless you were to run it on a single monitor but the 760 or 770 would be more ideal. The 760 comes in around 190.

 

[steaky360]

If you're not gaming, most modern graphics cards will drive 3 full HD monitors without much problem. Depending on what the software you're using requires you may not need a powerful graphics card at all. AMD cards will be cheaper on average than their equivalent NVidia counterparts and will do just as good a job for your needs (or better in some cases).