Hi I am running excel spreadsheets from one computer using dual
monitors, it works fine, but I am wondering how i could add a third or
even a fouth monitor to extend my spreadsheet even futher............i
would then be in spreadsheet heaven!!

I am running a fast computer  3.0ghz pentium, 1000mb ram and a raedon
9800pro video card.

I got this expenseive card for gaming.

I was thinking can I just buy another cheaper video card or cards and
then hook up more monitors ??


thanks in advance

Hi Bluekat, 

You certainly can add more than two monitors to your system, though
without specialized multihead video cards you may find the performance
somewhat disappointing.  The Matrox Parhelia card, for example, is
specifically designed to run three monitors but it is quite expensive.
 Assuming you don't want to replace the card you already have your
best option is to simply add in one or more PCI video cards.  In
Windows 2000 and XP it's just a matter of installing the card, setting
up the drivers, and configuring the display setup through the desktop
settings.

To add a third monitor any PCI video card will do.  To move to four
you can either add two PCI cards or install a single dual head PCI
card.  These are somewhat more difficult to find, but lots of Matrox
G450 and G550 dual-head PCI cards are available on Ebay for reasonable
prices.

The drawback to going to a 3+ monitor setup via a PCI card is that you
will find a serious performance drop when graphics are moving from the
AGP to the PCI bus. For instance, if you have a window open in your
first monitor (on the 9800pro) and drag it to the second monitor (also
9800pro) the transition should be perfectly smooth.  If, however, you
then drag that same window across to monitor 3 (on the PCI card) there
will be some lag as the graphics move across the PCI bus.  If you had
a dual-head PCI video card the movement of the window from monitor 3
to monitor 4 (both on the same video card) should be as smooth as the
movement between monitor 1 and 2.  The delay will occur only when
movement happens between the cards.

It's a minor issue, but one that I've found somewhat annoying.  I ran
a 4-monitor setup (dual head AGP, dual-head PCI) and was frustrated by
the lag.  Eventually I opted for two larger monitors on the AGP card
and removed the PCI card entirely.  In your case, if you're working
with spreadsheets I wouldn't think that you're likely to find the
delay to be much of a problem.

So, in answer to your question: yes, you can just purchase a cheap PCI
card (or multiple cheap PCI cards) and attach them to additional
monitors.  Under Windows 2000 and XP it works quite well.

Hibiscus

Thankyou both for your coments.

The short answer is yes. If you can add a card, you can add a monitor.
I've seen 3 used for powerpoint xp: Edit/preview/show. Some high
performance cards may wish to be the main card. However, you may wish
to consider (as well) a larger single or double screen at high res
(1600 x 1200)

Just a caveat: I want to make sure you're using Windows 2000 or XP.
Although Linux will handle multi-heads, too.