Cheap desktop. Lots of monitors. Where to start?

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CapitalSigma

New Member
Hey all,

I've got a macbook which I use for most of my computing needs, and it's fine. I work as a "freelance academic writer," which means I spend lots of time writing in one window with tons of tabs of research open. My little monitor is starting to feel a little bit cramped.

So I'm thinking about trying to get a cheap desktop computer for writing and research. I'd like to have 3 decent-sized monitors attached and I'd like to be able to run a web browser and perhaps some music + open office completely smoothly. Linux would obviously be best to save on money and blah blah.

Would having all of this screen space to refresh be an intensive demand on a CPU? Would it require a particular video card? I don't know much about hardware and I don't know anything about setting up multiple monitors.

I'd like to spend >$200. Ideally >$100. It really doesn't need to do much other than go on the internet and type. Would sitting around on Craigslist for deals be my best option?
 
if all you are doing is working with multiple monitors, then you should be fine with a dual core AM3 AMD processor. It does not take much to run 3 monitors. It will be more expensive than you think though. You will need a quality PSU and either dual 4 series or higher from Nvidia or a HD5000 series or higher AMD card. You MAY have issues with AMD graphics on Linux.

Basically, I doubt you can do it for $200. if you could double it you could get a brand new one that could do it well.
 
wolfeking said:
if all you are doing is working with multiple monitors, then you should be fine with a dual core AM3 AMD processor. It does not take much to run 3 monitors. It will be more expensive than you think though. You will need a quality PSU and either dual 4 series or higher from Nvidia or a HD5000 series or higher AMD card. You MAY have issues with AMD graphics on Linux.

Basically, I doubt you can do it for $200. if you could double it you could get a brand new one that could do it well.
Click to expand...

This.
 
Okay. So a mid-to-low level processor is fine. Then what are the main concerns? Two video cards with two slots each? A motherboard with two PCI slots for the video cards? And a power supply that can keep both of the video cards running?
 
You're at a catch 22. An AMD card would be the best, because you can use 3 monitors with only 1 card. But Linux works poorly with AMD cards. For Nvidia cards, you'd have to get 2 cards, unless you get the 6xx series. But right now the cheapest one is $400.

Best bet would be to wait it out and when the cheaper Nvidia 6xx series are released, and they for sure can use 3 monitors, go for that one. Two video cards run into issues, like heat and having a big enough power supply for them.
 
I'm in Chicago.

Would some other open source OS handle it? A unix perhaps? Or would they have the same issues?

Also, would a motherboard with an integrated video card + a low-end video card with two slots be an option?

EDIT: For example, I see on craigslist being sold near me for $200, including a monitor and peripherals:

Core 2 Duo 2.4GHz processor
4GB RAM PC2-5300 Crucial RAM
250GB Hard drive

Which, after emailing the author, I was told "It has onboard Intel graphics, no separate video card. The motherboard is a Dell motherboard which I believe uses the Q965 chipset." Would this be an option, with the plan of adding in one of the nvidia cards down the line?
 
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CapitalSigma said:
I'm in Chicago.

Would some other open source OS handle it? A unix perhaps? Or would they have the same issues?

Also, would a motherboard with an integrated video card + a low-end video card with two slots be an option?

EDIT: For example, I see on craigslist being sold near me for $200, including a monitor and peripherals:

Core 2 Duo 2.4GHz processor
4GB RAM PC2-5300 Crucial RAM
250GB Hard drive

Which, after emailing the author, I was told "It has onboard Intel graphics, no separate video card. The motherboard is a Dell motherboard which I believe uses the Q965 chipset." Would this be an option, with the plan of adding in one of the nvidia cards down the line?
Click to expand...

You would need to add a graphics card now, if you got that, and a dell will not support 2 nvidia cards. Edit: Thats a good buy, and a GT 640 is only $100, and supports 3 monitors (I think), so get a GT 640 with it.
 
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