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Pastimes : Dream Machine ( Build your own PC ) -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: jw who wrote (4038)	12/9/1998 11:33:00 PM
From: Clarence Dodge	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 14778

JW I contacted MINOTAUR today about ecc mem chips. He does not carry them at this time. I promise to never say I'm sure about anything ever again..... unless I'm certain<g> Clarence

To: jw who wrote (4038)	12/9/1998 11:34:00 PM
From: Zeuspaul	Read Replies (3) \| Respond to of 14778

With 19" and 21" monitors pretty spendy, has anyone given thought to running about 4 of these EL-CHEAPOS's?. Wondering if the 300a, BH6, win/98 has enought HORSE POWER,to run 4?. Or are the I/O controller cards spendy also? The BH6 has the horsepower but NOT a good idea IMO. You could use the AGP and three PCI slots or a multimonitor card. I only use 14 in monitors when I am forced to due to space limitations. I would not consider anything less than a 17 in monitor for standard applications at todays price points unless you are really strapped for cash. The monitor is too important. A 17 in monitor with a virtual resolution setup would be a first step IMO. Then add your second and third monitors and cards as $ permit. You can build a multimonitor system over time with a single video cards. Multimonitor cards are expensive. (Win95 supports quality virtual resolution, I have not seen decent virtual resolution in Win98) Zeuspaul

To: jw who wrote (4038)	12/10/1998 1:39:00 PM
From: pae	Read Replies (3) \| Respond to of 14778

JW, 4 monitors on a BH6/300a/Win98. 1) It can be done. I did it. If I was doing it again, I would consider the dual or quad monitor cards more seriously than I did - but they are pricey. Which is why I went the 1:1 monitor:vid-adapter route. Now, however, I have all slots filled. My AGP card (ATI All-in-wonder) heats up to 120degrees F with the top PCI filled. Cooling options are limited with all PCI slots full - but that is another over-heated topic. 2) If you are considering NT near-term but not the dual/quad cards, go with exact match Matrox cards so as to keep your options open for NT4 multi-monitor which is supported by the Matrox NT video driver. 3) Some time ago on this thread, I asked a question similar to yours and I think it was ZP who suggested that 2 larger monitors yield more square inches of total desktop than 4 smaller cheaper monitors. Perhaps he factored in $/sq.in. of desktop. It was, as are all ZP's answers, a well-considered concept. You might want to search the thread for it as I doubt I have done the concept justice. 4) Physically managing 4 monitors can be difficult. All 4 in a row? A high shelf and a low shelf? On a desk you need to move to get at the back of your computer? Heat WILL DEFINATELY be an issue. I am actually considering ignoring cost totally to go for LCD screens in the future largely due to heat/weight/bulk/power issues. 5) You will end up installing one monitor/vidcard at a time anyway, so you might want to start with just 1 or 2 decent (19" or larger) monitors and see if you REALLY need more. (Easier to make another purchase than to return an over-purchase.) I may build another BH6/300a combo and split my already purchased video/memory assets across the two boxes. Four monitors IS a tad unwieldy. Of course, once you surf the web with 4 21" monitors, your veins get larger.<g> Good luck! Paul