3 monitor setup

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15 Nov 2010
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Hi,

I have a decent spec computer (i5 760 @4ghz) with an ati 5850 graphics card that does eyefinity.

I want to get 3 new monitors to do a three monitor setup and believe you have to normally have a displayport on one but you can get around this somehow? If so how?

Also do you know where i can get a decent but cheap stand for the three?

Matt
 
You are right, to set up 3 monitors one of them will need to use the Displayport output of the card. It is possible to use Active Displayport to DVI adapters to do this and OcUK sell one that I am using without issues. My three monitors are set up as
DVI to DVI
DVI to DVI
Displayport to Sapphire Single Link Adapter to DVI

The adapter must be active, passive one won't do. If your screen is above 1920x1200 resolution you'll need a dual link adapter. At or under this resolution the cheaper single link adapter works perfectly.
 
Forgot to answer the stand bit. Had a quick look at triple monitor stands and all are expensive and most don't go very big (I've got a 26 inch monitor and 2 x 24 inch ones). I am planning on getting 3 separate desk attached arms so I can position the monitors where I want with more flexibility and cheaper than a single tri-monitor stand.
 
on the stands side of things, as Consufes Stu mentioned, you'll be hard pressed to get a low cost solution, unless you go for static mounts, and in most cases in my digging about I found that the 3 in 1 stands max out at around 22" which wasn't useful to me :P

I guess the cost of the stands is mostly due to the loading mechanisms .. I ended up forking out for the Ergotron LX series arms, one single and one dual to hold up my 3x 24" monitors. a bit of a ball breaker, but worth it, they're top quality arms and work damn well :) (admittedly I've only had them for a couple of days :P) I needed flexibility especially in vertical terms since I'm a pretty tall bugger I find most stands and mounts to sit the centre of the monitor to low :/

What you'll need to do is first figure out what monitors you want, how heavy they are and how thick they are. Once you know that you can figure out what stands would be able to hold up the displays. Some stands are able to exceed their limits as I've seen reports of people pushing the limits of the basic egrotron arms and just tightening the tension nuts up as much as possible.
 
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