Multi-monitors?

[Megalomaniac 5,000+ posts]

i remember that... //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/biggrin.gif.d71a5d36fcbab170f2364c9f2e3946cb.gif

 

[yacob.naif 10+ year member]

youll need a DVI-I to DVI-D converter, i think thats what its called, thats what i use to hook up to plasma

ya, they have dvi to hdmi cables, as well

and shrinky, that's a nice setup

i don't have the cash to go widescreen, tho, but that's a good idea

 

[Scoobydoo 5,000+ posts]

just get a single larger monitor like the dell 3007

 

[yacob.naif 10+ year member]

No way, that's a $1300 monitor at LEAST, besides 4 19" monitors would cost $500 less, and have MORE desktop space, pixel for pixel, and square inches by FAR.

plus seperate monitors have the distinct advantage of actually working as SEPERATE desktops, you could for instance drap a window to your second monitor, blow it up to full screen, and it will be full screen on ONLY that monitor.

conveniences as small as that save a LOT of time

 

[Megalomaniac 5,000+ posts]

what kinda tv do you have? interphase(dvi or hdmi)?

 

[yacob.naif 10+ year member]

i don't have an hdtv yet.....

i'm thinking about getting a 32" lcd down the line, but haven't even begun to look into any specific brands/models/features

the monitors are going to be 1st, cause i'm going back to school next semester, and if i get a new tv, i wont get much work done //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/smile.gif.1ebc41e1811405b213edfc4622c41e27.gif

plus, i just kicked my roomate out, so i turned off my cable since i have to pay my bills solo now

 

[Pl8er 5,000+ posts]

What video card do you have that can run 4 monitors?

Also, have you considered some newer technology besides monitors?

Emagin makes a nice 3dvisor that has oled displays that ends up being 105" at 12 feet. Oh yeah, head tracking as well. Has TONS of great reviews.

http://www.3dvisor.com/products.php

Edit: You need an Nvidia card to run it though.

 

[yacob.naif 10+ year member]

There's plenty of video cards that can run 4 monitors.

the specific one i'm looking at is the ATI FireMV 2400 PCI Express

And a 800x600 headset for $900?....... you go ahead and buy one. I'm gonna have to pass.

 

[Megalomaniac 5,000+ posts]

3Dlabs video cards are cool if u go the cash.... //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/yumyum.gif.0556df42231b304b9c995aefd13928a8.gif

 

[Pl8er 5,000+ posts]

There's plenty of video cards that can run 4 monitors.
the specific one i'm looking at is the ATI FireMV 2400 PCI Express

And a 800x600 headset for $900?....... you go ahead and buy one. I'm gonna have to pass.

Its actually 549 now. I've used it a couple of times and you would be surprised how good it looks (despite its low resolution) due to its enormous size screen. OLED is really amazing technology!

I'll check out the ATI card you spoke of. I run more mainstream cards (7900GT currently) so I'm always interested in reading up on different cards.

 

[yacob.naif 10+ year member]

well, the thing is you choose desktop area vs. 3d ability

the firemv can do 4 monitors all at sxga resolution, but i don't know if it's capable of any 3d acceleration to speak of.

and i understand comparing the resolution of a monitor to the resolution of that headset is apples to oranges. i'm sure when you're basically INSIDE your monitor, you're a lot less worried about workspace, unfortunately, i don't think it would suit my needs.

i'm less of a gamer, and more of a busy-body, i've always got 2 or 30 things going on at one time, and the more workspace i can get, the less i have to toggle around. let's put it this way, i may be the first person in history to actually go BACK to a wired mouse, because my batteries weren't holding up, and back to a wired keyboard, because i hate the sometimes fishy responsiveness and now-and-again quirks of the cordless ones.

i'm defintely concerned with functionality and productivity over looks, and wow factor. very utilitarian, even barbaric some may say.

 

[yacob.naif 10+ year member]

the 4 monitors you get for 500 less than a 30 arent going to have great specs...
and watching videos/downloaded tv shows would ****, especially widescreen ones...

the ones i was going to get were 4ms response, 400 candlepower, sxga NEC's for $199 a piece on tigerdirect...... that's about as good as it gets, regardless of price

and watching tv/movies on ANY monitor isn't really ideal, i usually watch my tv/movies in the living room, i usually just pop something on to doze off to at night, so it doesn't have to look great, and again not to say that watching television on a monitor designed for 2560x1600 is going to look any better, since that's still a terrible translation for the 1920x1080 resolution of hd, or any lesser standard for that matter.

 

[Pl8er 5,000+ posts]

well, the thing is you choose desktop area vs. 3d ability
the firemv can do 4 monitors all at sxga resolution, but i don't know if it's capable of any 3d acceleration to speak of.

and i understand comparing the resolution of a monitor to the resolution of that headset is apples to oranges. i'm sure when you're basically INSIDE your monitor, you're a lot less worried about workspace, unfortunately, i don't think it would suit my needs.

i'm less of a gamer, and more of a busy-body, i've always got 2 or 30 things going on at one time, and the more workspace i can get, the less i have to toggle around. let's put it this way, i may be the first person in history to actually go BACK to a wired mouse, because my batteries weren't holding up, and back to a wired keyboard, because i hate the sometimes fishy responsiveness and now-and-again quirks of the cordless ones.

i'm defintely concerned with functionality and productivity over looks, and wow factor. very utilitarian, even barbaric some may say.

I can see your point. For games and "some" photo editing it is awesome, but on some of the more detailed work, I can see where it would start to lack.

If they come out with a 1600X1200 or even a 1280X1024 I'd be all over it. I've used the 3dvisor, but do not own one, basically for the reasons you have mentioned. It still is very cool.

 

[yacob.naif 10+ year member]

??

it's not a $199 monitor, they're selling them refurbished

they were originally shipped with bad power supplies, which i can deal with

they're gauranteed not to have dead pixels, and are warranteed against any defects for an entire year from the manufacturer, and are elligeable for extended replacement plans through tiger direct on top of that

and price vs. size has huge diminishing returns above 19"

just because the 30" dell costs $1600 doesn't mean it's a better monitor, doesn't even mean it's AS good, it just means it's big, and big monitors cost a lot of money

 

[yacob.naif 10+ year member]

in fact, i just took a peek at the specs of the dell and apple 30" displays.

both are made by LG, both have 400 candlepower, which is the same as the NEC

the dell has 700:1 contrast ratio, which is the same as the NEC, but the apple has only 400:1 contrast ratio

And to top it off, the $199 NEC has 4ms response, while the dell has 11 second response, and the apple has 16 second response which is VERY bad

anyone who's tried to play a game on an oldschool laptop monitor knows what poor response time looks like, and anything above 8ms is typically considered unacceptable for gaming/movies

for reference, HT geared lcd displays are typically 6ms and lower, with the newest models down to 3ms.

and as far as desktop space, either the 30" apple or dell is roughly equivelant to 3 19" xga displays

so absolutely, i'll stand by my prior statement that not only will 3 19" NEC monitors cost $700 less, but they WILL look better