4 Monitors from Single GPU, Non-Gaming

[Stylis10]

Hello,

I currently have the following setup:

CPU: i3-2120
Mobo: GByte GA-H67M-UD2H-B3 Ver B3
Ram: 4 x 2GB
Storage: 128gb SSD

Now I really only have space for one GPU as the second PCIe x4 Slot is too close to the case and I am not entirely sure if I can fit another gpu there.

I have 2 screens currently working fine from his set up, however it would greatly help my productivity if I could have 4 screens on my desk.

What is the cheapest way to get 4 monitors from this?

I had though a single GPU such as this would be the solution: 2gb Asus Radeon R7-250x

any help is greatly appreciated

Edit: Budget is around £80

[peterb]

Although that card has 4 outputs, I'm not sure if they can give independent outputs.

The safest and probably most reliable solution would be to use something like this

http://www.scan.co.uk/products/2gb-p...layport-retail

However I'm not particularly up to date with GPU technology, so your proposal may be possible. Others may be better placed to help.

[Stylis10]

Thanks Peterb, however its a bit pricey. I edited the original post to show £80

[peterb]

I think you are being a bit optimistic . However it may be possible. You need someone with experience with that card. Are you expecting to use it in conjunction with an onboard GPU and crossfire?

[kompukare]

Why not just use your existing mobo for two monitors and add a graphic card for two more?

[peterb]

Why not just use your existing mobo for two monitors and add a graphic card for two more?

That was what I said in my post, but some Mobos disable the onboard graphics card when an external one is used!

[scaryjim]

Reading up, it looks like that 250X might work: it certainly claims four outputs. However, for about the same money I'd go for an R7 360, which uses newer silicon. Either way one of your monitors will need to be native displayport, or you'll need to use an active displayport adapter.

Basically, HDMI/DVI need a clock generator, and most cards only have two (or, on more recent cards, three) so you can only drive two (or, more recently three) DVI/HDMI monitors off each card. Displayport doesn't require a clock generator. If you've only got two monitors anyway then getting a couple of new native DP monitors, and finding a card with at least one, if not two, DP outputs, is probably your best bet.

If you can stretch to £120 then a Radeon R7 250 Eyefinity 4 would guarantee you the four monitors, with the option of using them as a single large surface if you so desired. But again you'd need to look at native DP monitors or active adapters (you'll see this is a common theme).

[Stylis10]

Thank You all for the advice.

I have been searching online a little also and would like to know thoughts on this solution.

If I was to get 2 cheaper Single Slot GPUS, could they be used to give me the 4 monitors using the PCIe x16 and PCIe x4 slots?

[malfunction]

Yes - if you're only using them for 2D work I don't think it will matter at all though there's obviously the potential for more heat and power usage (so two low speed / power cards) and ideally you'd want a case with enough room under the lower card. Do you have your mATX motherboard in a full ATX case? ... I just checked your system spec and I can see that you only have a mATX case and that there's no vent or intake fan on the floor of the case - which means you're going to want something pretty small and low power, though for 2D work I imagine pretty much any card that physically fits will be fine - the card will largely be idling unless you're doing GPGPU / compute stuff?

Only problem you'll probably have is price vs output types - the cheaper cards tend to only have one of each type of input (e.g. 1 x VGA, 1 x HDMI and 1 x DVI - cheaper cards often don't have display port at all). I didn't look for long but I can't find a better option than the Eyefinity 4 R7 250.

[kompukare]

That was what I said in my post, but some Mobos disable the onboard graphics card when an external one is used!

Ok, but I have tried this previously on my Z77 (IB) mobo and it worked fine. Only have two monitors but am driving one from the mobo and the other from my graphic card (currently a R7-260X which is nice and quiet).

It should work and a quick google didn't find anything which specifically contractions this (but lots of unhelpful comments from 3D elitists about it not being able to game).

Some of the replies on this thread imply it should work but they aren't definite:
http://superuser.com/questions/82865...e-graphic-card

But this Intel posts seems to imply while Sandy Bridge+ supports outputting to the monitors when also using a dGPU, not all mobos support it as it's a BIOS feature.
https://communities.intel.com/message/227580#227580

Maybe borrow a video card from someone and give it a try it?