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Cheapest way to run more than two monitors on a mac

R

ryanrul

macrumors member
Original poster
Jun 22, 2008
91
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I am trying to make a video wall of 4 - 6 lcd panels, all displaying different lo-fi videos. Ideally i would like to have one computer driving all of the panels. But I don't know what hardware / software i need to connect more than 2 monitors.

Any insights / advice appreciated.
 
Running more than two monitors requires more than one graphics card. I suggest using a PC for the purpose instead, since the only Mac that can handle multiple graphics cards costs $2500.
 
There are USB displays now, but I don't know how well they work on Macs (if at all).

Alternatively, you can try something like the Matrox DualHead2Go or TripleHead2Go. They come in VGA or DVI editions. A bit pricey, though.
 
ryanrul said:
I am trying to make a video wall of 4 - 6 lcd panels, all displaying different lo-fi videos. Ideally i would like to have one computer driving all of the panels. But I don't know what hardware / software i need to connect more than 2 monitors.

Any insights / advice appreciated.
Click to expand...

If you run a PC, it'll be a lot cheaper. With a Mac, you'll be a paying a lot for a bunch of crappy video cards.
 
Thanks for the replies.

So there's no video equivalent of an external firewire audio interface like the motu 828mk3? The internal sound cards on macs don't deliver multiple ins and outs, but there are lots of external boxes that can add the functionality.
 
ryanrul said:
Thanks for the replies.

So there's no video equivalent of an external firewire audio interface like the motu 828mk3? The internal sound cards on macs don't deliver multiple ins and outs, but there are lots of external boxes that can add the functionality.
Click to expand...

Sadly that sort of thing wouldn't be possible, video output needs way more bandwidth than audio.

But I seem to remember reading that Displayport allows you to daisy-chain monitors like you can with firewire devices, only thing is I don't think there is a mini display port to full size display port adaptor available yet
 
chill. said:
No.

did you read the article? it talks about total cost of ownership and the lower cost of maintenance as the sources of the cost savings

no way in hell is the hardware going to be cheaper, which is what the OP is looking at
Click to expand...

Besides, the OP is only running one computer. The point of the airport's adoption is scaleability and remote administration.

Apple is not the answer to everything.
 
Mac Pro graphics cards cost of fortune. Basic PCI Express cards for the PC are in the £50 or so range, Mac Pro cards are generally nearly £120 upwards + the cost of adapters needed to connect standard DVI or VGA displays to them too.

Maybe there's flashed PC cards available with standard connections for a lot less?
 
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