I have just been tossing around the idea of multiplexing lcds - having 4 17 or 19 inch LCDs, and "multiplexing" them so I have one big screen.
How much does this cost to do, and what is invloved??
It's just an idea ive been kicking around in my head, but I would really like to know how this is done
Any info greatly appreciated

See if the information at the link below is helpful.

Using Multiple Monitors with Windows XP

Hi!
Thanks for the uber quick repsonse
I know i can use 2, as I have 2 outputs on my card, but I meant 4, so each monitor is diplaying a quarter of the screen if that makes sense.
So 4 together are like 1 screen, without having 4 outputs on card, and using extended desktop.
Thanks anyway,
Paul

ooooh! i remember - on a larger scale its called a video wall

Would 2x Dual Head cards work?

First off you need a port for each monitor which means multiple graphics cards or other devices such as this:

USB 2.0 Hi-Speed USB Video Card Adapter SVGA for XP and Vista USBG-SVGA1 LOW PRICE $49.98

Or for a lot more money this:

http://www.naplestech.com/shopcart/f..._100505115.asp

Also see this thread:

http://www.d-a-l.com/help/how-build-...-monitors.html

As mentioned there are 4 port cards out there as well but they are similar in price to the above @$600.



This company appears to specialize in the field:

Multi-Screen,Monitor,Display,Multiple,Monitors,Computer, Stand,Setup

Video Wall:LCD-DLP-Video-Walls,Multi-Screen,Hardware,Software,Systems,Installation

I am just assuming you are talking about a lot of money here.

This looks like very professional/commercial stuff.


$
$
$

Hmm.. i kinda guessed I would need a load of outputs...
My plan is to have 4x 19inch LCDs driven by an old Dell Optiplex GX110 (P3 700MHZ, 256mb) running XP PRO SP2.
So would I need 3 or 4 of those USB things? If i had 3, could I use the dells onboard card to drive one or not?

the prob is, the optiplex ony has 2 pci slots as its sff, and since it has a sound card in one, and a usb 2.0 card in the other, it makes this whole thing hard..

Is there a USB caddy or something that has PCI slots?

SFF? If that is the case, then I would assume you have a SFF (µATX) power supply too - typically meaning, very limited from day 1. This forces exterior, self-powered, and expensive solutions.

I'm inclined to try and talk you out of this venture! What is going to be displayed on this setup? If hi-rez 3D animated graphics, you need some serious horsepower in terms of graphics, and power supplies. If mostly 2D graphs, charts, and images, etc. then there are more options to choose from but, IMO, you still don't have enough computer! Both in terms of physical size, and in horsepower. Knowing your budget would help us too.

• RAM - XP loves RAM (1Gb or more), and needs a big chunk just for itself. You only have 256Mb, barely enough for XP alone. Load up the mandatory firewall, and anti-malware defenses (which you MUST do if this machine connects to a network that has Internet access), and already the hard drive is taking a thrashing as Page File use is at frenzied levels. And you haven't even started using the computer yet!
  
  On top of that, on-board graphics always steals a significant chunk of system RAM for graphics processing. That is typically 64Mb, but it can be from 32 to 128Mb of RAM taken away from the already limiting 256Mb.
  
  
• CPU - While the graphics processor unit (GPU) crunches the graphics data, it is the CPU that manages what is sent to which GPU. Your 700MHz P3 is a bit short on horsepower to start - adding 3 more GPUs to manage is an added burden.
  
  
• Motherboard - The fact you have 700MHz CPU tells me your motherboard does not have a very quick bus speed - probably 133MHz. Sending large chunks of data (and graphics data is very large) down a slow bus to all four graphics cards is sure to results in some serious latency issues.
  
  
• SFF - most SFF cases I have seen require you use low profile graphics cards which may not have room for 2 ports. SFF cases generally have taxed cooling solutions to start, with limited (usually no) support for additional cooling. Running 3 extra monitors will place extra demand on the already limited cooling. There is also the aforementioned limited PSU options (the largest µATX PSU I have seen is 350 Watts, but it does not fit all cases).

I personally recommend you backup and regroup. It may be better in the long run to wait until your budget allows for a new standard or full size ATX case and motherboard that supports standard ATX sized components - then you have many (less expensive) options to choose from - and much better performance too.

At the very least, you should try to upgrade your RAM before anything else - assuming your current PSU can handle that!

well, i probably wont be displaying a lot of stuff :/
its just one of those things that a bedroom has to have on one wall
if i got those usb things, i could plug it into my vista machine I suppose (AMD Athlon 64 X2, Foxconn Mobo, 3GB RAM).
The little Dell GX110 has 2x Full size PCI Slots. It is a little low on everything :/
Could I do this with my old powermac?? that has 4 pci slots and about 600mb ram..
Ultimately it would be nice to be able to do this with a box that accepts one vga in, or even better, composite or something...