Monitor Upgrade...

[FifthFreedom]

Lo,

I currently have a Dell 24FP08 and am very happy with it.

Now I'm looking to expand my setup to include 2 other monitors(one either side) in portrait mode like this:



Does anyone have any recommendations for black monitors the right size going for around £100?

Cheers,

FifthFreedom

[matty-hodgson]

well those monitors either side are Dell's..
maybe try and find out the size of those?
a bit of maths would work out that..

they're 16:9 ratio usually.
or wait for someone like Webby to tell you

[FifthFreedom]

Thats what I was hoping for.

Past experience has taught me that some people really know there monitors on here

[lnz]

If silver were an option, I'm quite happy with an HP LP2065 (a 4:3 1600x1200).

BTW, what graphic cards would you be using?

[FifthFreedom]

I already have one HD4780 with 2 monitors connected.

So, I guess I'm looking for the cheapest dual output ATI card I card find.

[Webby]

Okay, first up I have no use this monitor and everything will look perfect answer, sorry.

But, I will throw you some numbers and some suggestions to look into.

So a 24" 16:10 monitor has a resolution of 1920*1200, this means that the screen has dimensions of 20.35" x 12.72". The closest match to that in standard monitor sizes is a 17" 5:4 monitor (resolution 1280*1024) screen size 13.28" x 10.62". Obviously you will need to rotate the 17" screens so they are in 4:5.

My first inclination would be to look at Dell 17" monitors which are of the same series as your current one as they are likely to have a similar sized bezel, however having a quick glance at Dell's site the cheapest 17" they do is £175

Something like the LG L1742PP http://www.ebuyer.com/product/146565 could be suitable £120 and has all the features in terms of height adjustment and pivot you need.

The hardest thing is finding cheap monitors which include the pivot function so they can be spun into portrait mode.

[FifthFreedom]

Thanks for that man.

How about 2 of each of these?

http://accessories.euro.dell.com/sna...68077#Overview

http://www.ebuyer.com/product/116676

My desk space is limited so sticking them on the wall seems a better plan no?

EDIT: Then one of these http://www.ebuyer.com/product/148221

And I'm set right? Feel free to make any suggestions...

[Webby]

Yeah, will do the job fine. As long as the refresh rate on that monitor (8ms) is not going to be an issue for you?

You can get cheaper wall mounts as well no need for pivot if you plan to have it fixed in one orentation although the Ergotron one may make getting the setup look perfect easier you could save £30 with some careful measuring!

[DDY]

Personally I prefer to have multiple monitors perpendicular to where I sit, it's easier on the eyes since they don't have to constantly focus when looking between monitors. I originally had a 20" WS and two 17" monitors lined up along the wall but I found it uncomfortable to switch between them. Avoid 'flat' wall mounts if you think you're going to have the same problem.

[Pob255]

Note sure on multi monitor setup but you should be able to rotate the display at the driver level.
Nothing special is needed in the monitor, unless you mean a monitor that has a stand which can rotate.
If that is the case then you can buy fairly cheap stands or monitor arms that screw onto the back
for a wall mount something like this
http://www.scan.co.uk/Product.aspx?WebProductId=560987 or http://www.scan.co.uk/Product.aspx?WebProductId=532623
for a desk free standing these are ok (although not so cheap)
http://www.scan.co.uk/Product.aspx?WebProductId=583276

The "proper" multi monitor stands are stupidly expensive esp for what they are.

Another option is the arm's that screw onto the desk
http://www.misco.co.uk/applications/...5315&CatId=964
I'm sure there used to be some cheaper ones about in the £16 range :/
Found one thanks to google
http://www.techstore.co.uk/detail.ph...lPage=over#det
Pritty sure this is what it is http://www.newlinkproducts.co.uk/pro...D=6&prodID=264

[lnz]

The hardest thing is finding cheap monitors which include the pivot function so they can be spun into portrait mode.

I bought a couple of Ergotron Neo-flex stands, probably from Scan or Amazon...
this is the page on scan
http://www.scan.co.uk/Product.aspx?WebProductId=583276
so I could recycle two older 17"

As far as the colour scheme is concerned, let's say it's eclectic :-) and reflects the prevalent colour in vogue when I bought each monitor, from beige, to silver, to black...

FWIW, since I deal mostly with text, I find the 4:3 factor better.

I can put 2 A4 pages side by side on a 20" monitor and another one each on the two vertical 17". I would not be able to do the same, at the same enlargement, on a wide-screen monitor because their vertical resolution is smaller (at the same diagonal size).

I have a PCIE GeForce NX8600GT and a PCI GeForce 6200, (both passively cooled) both running from the same driver. But again, I think both cards are overkill since I deal mostly with textual material.

Cheers

L.

[Webby]

Just for reference modern 17" monitors are 5:4 not 4:3 (assuming they are 1280*1024, you get 1440*900 16:10 widescreen as well) you may still find 1024*768 (4:3) monitors I guess but the 1280*1024 are the way to go if matching up to 24" widescreen panel.

My personal setup is currently a 22" (1680*1050) and a 17" (1280*1024) both is landscape lets me have 2 pages of text in Word and Excel open all at the same time

Oh and if buying a new monitor spending an extra £25 on a stand will make it a bit more expensive if you could spend less getting one which already supports the features I agree though when recycling a monitor it makes a lot of sense.

[FifthFreedom]

OK, one final question.

Are there any PCI-e x4 or PCI graphics cards which support dual monitor outputs?

Just thought, the mobo I have right now only has one PCI-e X16.

[Webby]

Is your PCIe x4 open at the back or not? See Image below for what I mean by open (orange slot obviously),



If you do have one of these then you can put a PCIe x16 card in no problems

[FifthFreedom]

Oh yes...

Just noticed that my one has a removeable back cover.

You can slide it out and whack a pci-e card in there.

Thanks for all your help man,

Fifthfreedom

[Pob255]

I bought a couple of Ergotron Neo-flex stands, probably from Scan or Amazon...
this is the page on scan
http://www.scan.co.uk/Product.aspx?WebProductId=583276
so I could recycle two older 17"

We have a few of these at work, they are not bad at all.
We also have a load of ctx stands that are nicer and where cheaper but they stoped making them