Question Need help choosing a Quad Monitor Graphics Card for HP z420 Desktop

amodoko

Honorable
Jul 4, 2014
4
0
10,510
Hi guys, for work purposes I want to have 4 monitors attached to my PC so I can multitask. I am a farily new day trader and would like to have 4 monitors so that I can watch multiple stock market charts live. The desktop I have is an HP z420 workstation with an Intel Xeon E5-1650 @3.2GHz with 32GB of RAM and a 500GB mechanical Hard drive (hard drive will be changed to a 128GB SSD soon). It currently has an NVIDIA Quadro K600 graphics card, but that only allows me to have two monitors attached. I need a budget graphics card that can simply work so that I can watch a total of four 1080p monitors and have my mouse be able to transition between all four monitors without lag or much lag.

Is the full height NVIDIA Quadro NVS 420 512MB graphics card sufficient for this purpose and also compatible with my HP z420 workstation? I will also purchase a 4 way Amphenol DVI splitter to attach to the card. I originally thought about just getting a second graphics card with 2 additional video ports to add to my K600 graphics card, but I had heard that doing that may cause lag between the monitors when transitioning from one monitor on one graphics card to another monitor on the second graphics card with my mouse. So I thought getting one card that allowed 4 monitors to attach to it would be best.

Here is a link to an NVS 420 card that I am considering buying: https://i.ebayimg.com/images/g/4UkAAOSwiOdfcR8z/s-l1600.jpg . They are roughly $20 on eBay plus $15 for the 4 way DVI splitter for a total of $35. Thanks for any help or suggestions
 
Last edited:

Ralston18

Titan
Moderator
128 GB SSD is too small - you need 256 GB or higher.

What PSU is currently installed? GPUs can and often do demand a great deal of power. Especially when dealing with lots of graphics via gaming or live charts.

I would not expect any concerning levels of "mouse lag" while moving the cursor between monitors. If there is significant lag then, in my mind, something is simply not right.

There are always trade-offs.

One consideration is the inherent "safety" of two GPUs. If one GPU fails you would at least have two remaining monitors working.

With all four monitors on one GPU a failure with respect to that GPU would/could leave you with with no monitors at all.

What is your overall total budget: GPU card(s), splitters, cables, etc.?

Just my thoughts on the matter.
 

amodoko

Honorable
Jul 4, 2014
4
0
10,510
Okay, thanks for the reply. The current power supply installed is a 600W power supply, I believe. The HP part number for the power supply is 623193-001 and the model number is DPS-600UB. I will get a 256GB SSD then, based on your suggestion. The idea of having two GPUs in case one fails is a great suggestion, I didn't think of that before. I have already bought everything needed except the graphics card, the DVI splitter, the SSD, and the monitor cables. So my remaining budget is basically to spend as little as possible on those few things while still having it work perfectly well to run four 1080p monitors. This setup is not going to be super nice, just trying to get by for a few years on it until I develop a personal taste of what I want to buy for my next trading station. I actually already bought the NVS 420 but it hasn't come in the mail yet. But I haven't ordered the rest of the supplies.