Very confused on what it takes to run 4 monitors? Will two 6450's or 210's work?

[Happy73]

Hi, I'm trying to figure out if I can run 4 monitors off of two cheap cards like Radeon 6450's or GeForce 210's?

I'm day trading, not gaming.

I've read conflicting information everywhere regarding it...

In regards to my other PC, I'm guessing if the above is possible, I'd be able to add a 210 in with a GTX 660 and run six monitors?

I'm currently running 4 off of my GTX 660 and would like to run 6 now, and eventually like to run 8 so I was hoping I could get 2 more monitors per 210 card?

Another thing that confuses me is the max resolutions on these low end cards... are those in reference to all screens combined or just per screen. For instance; the max resolution according to Newegg for a 6450 is "D-Sub Max Resolution: 2048 x 1536
DVI Max Resolution: 2560 x 1600
Digital Max Resolution: 2560 x 1600"

Any help is appreciated!

Thanks

 

[SViscusi]

To the best of my knowledge you can run dual monitors off both those cards. A quick google search confirms that.

 

[Happy73]

Agreed but what about if I put two of them together, can I run four monitors?

I just tried combining a 210 with like an ol 8800 that I had from another PC and that didn't allow for more than 2 monitors...

 

[SViscusi]

There is one person on the geforce forums who had a 240 working with a 210. Nvidia customer support would be able to give you a better answer than anyone else so you might want to drop them a message and ask.

Ultimately your usage is pretty unique with you ultimately wanting 3 different video cards. Unless someone has the same setup the only real answer you'll get is 'it probably will work'. So drop an email to nvidia and buy the 210's from a place with a decent return policy.

 

[DrBombcrater]

Hi, I'm trying to figure out if I can run 4 monitors off of two cheap cards like Radeon 6450's or GeForce 210's?

Not sure about the 210s, but the Radeon 6450s will run dual monitors no problem. And four monitors from two 6450s will work just fine. The thing is to always try and make sure all cards in the system are of the same family, to minimise driver issues. Two or three 6450s will work together, but a 660 and 210 may not as they are different architectures and NV's drivers may throw a wobbly.

Another thing that confuses me is the max resolutions on these low end cards... are those in reference to all screens combined or just per screen. For instance; the max resolution according to Newegg for a 6450 is "D-Sub Max Resolution: 2048 x 1536
DVI Max Resolution: 2560 x 1600
Digital Max Resolution: 2560 x 1600"

Those limits are per port, not for the whole card. So on that card you could connect a 1920x1200 monitor on the VGA/DSub port and a 2560x1600 one on the DVI port and they'd both work.

 

[Fizzy Coca-Cola]

don't mix and match cards, its a nightmare, its just easier to get a card with 4 outputs, a quaddro card usually has 4+ outputs. make sure the card has the outputs you use with your monitors. Most monitors can use DVI or VGA, many use HDMI, some use display port. Almost all will accept any of two of the above. I use three monitors on a gtx 970, one accepts HDMI/DVI/DP, another only takes DP/HDMI, a third accepts VGA/DVI only. Check your monitors, get a single worthwhile card that handles your configs

 

[DigDog]

I've read conflicting information

the science of 4 monitors is this;

1) you need 2 cards because only 2 cards have enough outputs for 4 screens. (or 3 for 6)

2) 2 crap cards will drive your monitors while browsing, desktop use.

3) 2 crap cards will NOT drive your monitors while rendering 3d objects (gaming)

3: is why you get bad answers; you probably asked random people who were 15yo kids who want to play CoD and get their tech info from LinusTechTips.

for work, 2 basic cards such as the 210 are enough; they might have a resolution cap but it should be well above what you need. (also, these are recommended caps, not hard caps); 6 monitors is the same thing, just get a 3rd card.

since you are a daytrader ergo you swim in der money, buy 3 semi decent cards such as the 750(which run very cool, use little power and only from the PCIE strip, and dont cost much), and you will be set.


*turn down the brightness on your monitors and increase ambient light; it makes a world of difference when you have to stare at a screen for hours.

 

[Zodiark1593]

Max resolution is on a per-monitor basis. I'd probably stick to the 210s myself as you wouldn't/shouldn't need to install another set of drivers for them, though as they're legacy status, I'm not 100% certain.

That said, if you're willing to fiddle with drivers, there are eyefinity versions of the Radeon 5450 and probably the 6450 floating around. You would be able to get 3 monitors apiece if you're willing to sacrifice one.

Another consideration may be digital signage cards such as the Nvidia NVS series. These are meant for running many monitors from one card and are usually cheaper than Quadros in addition to being supported in the latest drivers. The high end NVS models support 8 displays from a single card though for your use case, the NVS 510 would be just the ticket.