Ideal Processor for Multi-Monitor Computer

[rahuljainalw]

Hello,

I am planning to build a new desktop computer. I am a programmer and will use the desktop for programming in Visual Basic, alongwith running SQL Server Developer Edition. I would also have 1 or 2 virtual machines running in VMWare.

I am looking at having 3 monitors. What would be the ideal CPU and Motherboard combination. Also, since I have found that multi-headed display cards are not available in India, which motherboards and graphic cards would be suitable for my purpose.

Almost all the posts related to this - seems to be targeted towards game playing desktop. I won't be using any games, though I would like to watch movies occassionally.

Thanks,
Rahul

 

[MU_Engineer]

Hello,

I am planning to build a new desktop computer. I am a programmer and will use the desktop for programming in Visual Basic, alongwith running SQL Server Developer Edition. I would also have 1 or 2 virtual machines running in VMWare.

I am looking at having 3 monitors. What would be the ideal CPU and Motherboard combination. Also, since I have found that multi-headed display cards are not available in India, which motherboards and graphic cards would be suitable for my purpose.

Almost all the posts related to this - seems to be targeted towards game playing desktop. I won't be using any games, though I would like to watch movies occassionally.

Thanks,
Rahul

First, I would suggest a single graphics card that has three or four display outputs. The ATi Radeon HD 5000 series units would work well, but if you can't get those, get an older quad-output workstation card (FireGL, NVIDIA Quadro.) Those can work in any motherboard with a PCI Express x16 slot, which is almost any motherboard made in the past four or five years.

Pick the CPU based on the work you intend to do. You are doing some relatively heavy work, so I would aim for a workstation with two CPUs. A pair of Xeon E5520s or better or some nice quad or six-core Opterons would work well for that task.

 

[shravankale]

First, I would suggest a single graphics card that has three or four display outputs. The ATi Radeon HD 5000 series units would work well, but if you can't get those, get an older quad-output workstation card (FireGL, NVIDIA Quadro.) Those can work in any motherboard with a PCI Express x16 slot, which is almost any motherboard made in the past four or five years.

Pick the CPU based on the work you intend to do. You are doing some relatively heavy work, so I would aim for a workstation with two CPUs. A pair of Xeon E5520s or better or some nice quad or six-core Opterons would work well for that task.

A 6 core processor for PROGRAMMING in visual Basic, SQL and virtual machines, i can do all that on my quad core and could do that on my old INTEL pentium 4 without sweating (except for virualization)

 

[Devastator_uk]

I use VirtualBox, SQL Server, Visual Studio, etc. with Quad-Monitor on a PhenomII 955BE and it works pretty damn well.

 

[shravankale]

Hello,

I am planning to build a new desktop computer. I am a programmer and will use the desktop for programming in Visual Basic, alongwith running SQL Server Developer Edition. I would also have 1 or 2 virtual machines running in VMWare.

I am looking at having 3 monitors. What would be the ideal CPU and Motherboard combination. Also, since I have found that multi-headed display cards are not available in India, which motherboards and graphic cards would be suitable for my purpose.

Almost all the posts related to this - seems to be targeted towards game playing desktop. I won't be using any games, though I would like to watch movies occassionally.

Thanks,
Rahul

Hello fellow indian !!

Do you have a budget !! We could help you better if you could give us one....you can also give one in INDIAN National Rupee

If your budget is not high Go for an AMD build
Processor: AMD Phenom II X4 955
Motherboard: Gigabyte or ASUS with a 790GX chipset so that you can use to graphic cards simultaneously (Crossfire)

Graphic Cards: ATI Raedon HD 5750
RAM: Cosrair (2X2)Gb at 1333 Mhz
OR go for 6 Gb RAM since it will give you more memory resources for virtualization
Go for G.Skill Or Corsair 6GB if possible the Dominator GT series
PSU: Corsair HX1000W/TX900/TX850
Case: Antec 1200 or Cooler Master HAF xxx


The 6 GB DDR3 RAM is only if you will use vmware player too much, otherwise a CORSAIR 4 GB will suit you perfectly. The 1000/900/850 power supply since you will be using 3 monitors.

THIS SYSTEM WILL LAST YOU FOR ATLEAST 3 years...maybe a graphic change later(can't predict technology)

HUNT these websites:

www.primeabgb.com
www.itwares.com
www.theitdepot.com

ALL PRICES WILL BE IS RUPEES

 

[shravankale]

I use VirtualBox, SQL Server, Visual Studio, etc. with Quad-Monitor on a PhenomII 955BE and it works pretty damn well.

ME TOO 😀 😀

 

[soundawg]

Hi Rahul,
The ASUS M3a78-EM with the add on ATI 4450 card will feed 4 displays easily, and had every type of display/TV output you might need. It uses ddr-2 and AMD phenom II x2 and x-4 processors work great, and overclock nicely. I'm running at just 3.3 ghz on a phenom II x2 545 and it just rocks my gnarly multitasking, realtime, 64bit pure-integer audio apps.
soundawg

 

[MU_Engineer]

A 6 core processor for PROGRAMMING in visual Basic, SQL and virtual machines, i can do all that on my quad core and could do that on my old INTEL pentium 4 without sweating (except for virualization)

The OP says he programs in VB and runs test databases on SQL Server, if I interpreted his post correctly. If he intends to run VMs and a database of any size on one machine, going for a more powerful machine would be better than a less-powerful one. How much CPU you need for running VMs depends on what you are doing with the VMs and how many cores you expose to each VM. Also, I have no clue as to how large his programming projects are. Sure, an old CPU is enough to compile "Hello World" and bubble sort. But if he is working on a big code base, having more cores to speed compilation would be quite helpful.

 

[shravankale]

The OP says he programs in VB and runs test databases on SQL Server, if I interpreted his post correctly. If he intends to run VMs and a database of any size on one machine, going for a more powerful machine would be better than a less-powerful one. How much CPU you need for running VMs depends on what you are doing with the VMs and how many cores you expose to each VM. Also, I have no clue as to how large his programming projects are. Sure, an old CPU is enough to compile "Hello World" and bubble sort. But if he is working on a big code base, having more cores to speed compilation would be quite helpful.

"1-2 Virtual OS's" won't need a 6 core processor. I bet he could do all of his work simultaneously....


"At present AMD does not position its six-core Opteron processors even for single-socket workstations and recommends its customers among makers of dual-socket workstations to stick to quad-core chips due to their higher clock-speeds compared to existing six-core central processing units. At present AMD’s highest-performance six-core chips operate at 2.80GHz, meanwhile, the fastest quad-core CPUs function at 3.40GHz." - from xbitlabs.com

Instead of Opteron.....wait for AMD's new Thuban/ Phenom II x6 which are 6 core processors or the i9 again 6 core processor

But for now....i quad-core will do you really good

 

[rahuljainalw]

Hello Everyone,

Thanks for the advice. I have a budget of around INR 50,000 for the system (excluding monitors). There is a scope of +/- INR 10,000. Also guide me where could I lay my hands on these components in Pune / Mumbai.

Thanks,
Rahul

 

[shravankale]

In mumbai you'll get all this stuff at lamington road, and if u are lazy like me to go down there, you can order from their websites

www.primeabgb.com
www.theitwares.com

They deliver to Pune too