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Forums -> Multiple monitors -> Help building my first system
John47   2004-12-26 09:37
I'm building this system because I trade stocks and futures online. I've never built a comp before, and this is the first list of parts I've pieced together...let me know if anything looks totally out of whack.

CPU

Intel LGA775 Pentium 4 550 3.4 GHz, 800MHz FSB, 1MB L2 Cache, Hyper Threading Technology....$280

MOTHERBOARD

Asrock "P4 Combo" i848P Chipset Motherboard For Intel Socket 478/LGA 775 CPU (1 AGP 8X slot, 4 PCI), 2GB max RAM (2x DIMM support DDR 400/333)....$59

RAM

OCZ Performance Series Dual Channel 184-Pin 2GB (1GBx2) DDR PC-3200

Advice on a good multi monitor video card?

Thats the nuts and bolts. I was thinking of going w/ a hardrive w/ 10,000rpm w/ about 100GB....hows that sound?

I have 2 good LCD displays now, I'll get two more w/ the system, haven't looked into what type as much yet....or other things such as fans/heatsinks.

Possible stupid question....if you have a 4 monitor video card can you run only 3 monitors on it, or do you need four?

thanks in advance.
Tantalus   2004-12-28 00:56
>Intel LGA775 Pentium 4 550 3.4 GHz, 800MHz FSB, 1MB L2 Cache, Hyper Threading Technology....$280

L775 cpus run very hot...you might want to look at an amd64 processor (something like the amd64 3200+) instead.


>Asrock "P4 Combo" i848P Chipset Motherboard For Intel Socket 478/LGA 775 CPU (1 AGP 8X slot, 4 PCI), 2GB max RAM (2x DIMM support DDR 400/333)....$59

asrock makes decent, 'budget' boards for the thrifty consumer. i don't recommend them for power-hungry processors like the p4 L775 chips...better to get an msi, a-open, or abit board instead. and you want something with 4gb ram support if you're going to start out with 2gb already.


>Advice on a good multi monitor video card?

in order of preference:

2D only, 2 displays: matrox, ati
2D & 3D, 2 displays: ati radeon 9600 (or better, if budget permits), nvidia (distant second)

3-4 displays, single card: either matrox (avoid parhelia...doesn't support 4 anyway) or nvidia
3-4 displays, multiple cards: matrox, ati


>Thats the nuts and bolts. I was thinking of going w/ a hardrive w/ 10,000rpm w/ about 100GB....hows that sound?

10K rpm is overkill and unecessarily expensive for your system specs outlined. a good 7200 rpm sata or pata drive is fine and you could use the money saved and upgrade to a better board (high recommend) or a larger drive instead.


>if you have a 4 monitor video card can you run only 3 monitors on it, or do you need four?

3 displays works fine on a 4 output card.
Forums -> Multiple monitors -> Help building my first system

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