New toys...

~55k points are now spent, and $750 worth of futureshop giftcards are on their way to my house, probably in the same box as Sklansky/Miller's TAP.

I'm probably blowing the lot on a monitor or two, but I've yet to decide exactly which models and what sizes. The bigger the better obv, but nowadays you can only get so much with $750.

As it stands right now I'm using a 32" Acer tv/monitor which is actually kind of 'standard' aside from it's great size. It's got bad (1280x760) resolution which means fewer tables.

I'd like to add two more widescreens on the side, 20" plus, but a) I'm not sure what I can afford and b) I'm not sure if/how I can hook up 3 monitors to my PC. The displays will be used strictly for poker - video games/tv will be used on my acer, so high-quality specs don't really matter to me much - resolution does.

I'm using a geforce 8800GTS 320mb video card which has two ports in the back. Two adapters came with them so I can fit vga and/or dvi. I'm not sure if I'll need either a whole new video card (**** that) or an additional one (**** that too), but I've heard of external adapters that allow you to use 3 monitors...

Anyways if anyone's got any advice on what monitors to buy and how to get 3 to work at one time it'd be incredibly helpful.

If you know of a better way for me to get my hands on some monitors via the points, I can always cancel the order, but it has to be done like within the next day or else it'll be too late...

You missed out, Futureshop had all of their monitors on sale up until this week. I just bought myself a 22 inch widescreen from them,

Future Shop: Computers: Monitors: LG 22" Widescreen LCD Monitor (W2252TQ) - Black

I got it for 279 though and it came out to $327 after taxes and a stupid $12 environmental handling fee, I don't know if they have there where you live. It is really nice though, except for some reason today my resolution is all messed up and I can't get it to go passed 1280x1024 but I think I have just messed something up with the drivers and hopefully my buddy that is coming over will figure it out. You could easily afford 2 pretty nice monitors with $750 though, but I have no idea how you could get 3 monitors to work..2 would be easy but 3 is a whole different ball game I think.

If you decide to go larger than 22" widescreen, make sure they will do 1920 x 1200 resolution with DVI input - that would be the equivalent of HD video. I've got a 24" running at that resolution. You can fit a LOT of tables on that!

I think most are dvi nowadays anyways aren't they? Either way I'll keep that in mind. And yes, big resolution is the MO right now

I've now realized I either need a second video card or the mythical splitter thingy to run 3 monitors. Maybe I'll just pick up one 24" and play dual monitors? Who knows...

I am also considering upgrading my trusty 22" into 32" HD LCD TV next year. I heard that the Sharp one is really good for monitor use, might be able to pick one up from Hong Kong for a decent price...

what happened to the camera?

When you get the monitors hooked up, be sure to take a picture of your set-up and post it here so we can all be jealous .

I think I just may get a camera along with the monitors, so pics are definitely on their way even if I have to use my busted up piece of junk here to take em

Decided that's something I can't afford to get atm. It would have been great, but it's basically a liability instead of an asset for me, ie monitors will actually make me money.

There really is nothing mythical about it. The splitters are about $12-$13 U.S. from what I've seen.
Whether or not your card can handle 3 monitors is the question you'd want to answer before buying. Which, from what I believe, most can do it.

I resolved that issue. Basically I would need to either install that splitter, or install another card as mine only has two ports. The splitter is very expensive (here) and I think the <$20 versions you're talking about just split the feed so that you see the same image on >1 monitor. I posted the issue on pcmech.com and they helped out - I can buy a cheap $50 evga card that will both be compatible with my current one and obviously will add more ports in the back.

I think I'm overestimating what I can buy with my $750 in gift cards, but I'll probably stick to two ~22"s and the card (no camera) OR a 24" and possibly a camera.

arahel was exactly right..

And FYI you'd be surprised how many 20"+ do NOT have DVI (only analog) in. Do not buy one that doesn't have DVI.

Thanks for all the help guys.

I think I've decided I'm getting a 24" monitor, probably this one: Future Shop: Computers: Monitors: Samsung SyncMaster 1080p 24" Widescreen LCD Monitor (245BW) - Future Shop Exclusive

Three monitors (total) would be crazy nice, but I seriously don't even think I could handle that many tables. The 24" alone will probably be enough for me, but I'll be going for some serious volume soon and 12+ tabling will have to be done on both. I can always pick up another 24" later on if I really need it alongside the $60 video card I'll need to run it.

Anyways, I think I'm getting that one in the link, then possibly a 'cheap' digital camera with the remainder of the funds.

How about something like these instead?

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brain overload imo

psh weak.

I can understand 4, but 7? Why not even it out at 8 and tile them on the wall or soemthing?! lol My guess would that has to be a day-trader's.

Exactly that. A lot of power day-traders use up to 6 monitors, but they only interact on one with the cursor. The others are usually showing real-time data or charts that don't need attention.

It would be a nightmare trying to navigate a cursor around 4 monitors, let alone keeping track of active tables.

Chuck - I think you made the right choice - a 24" with DVI 1960 x 1200 res looks awesome... Its just too bad I can't take the one I have at work home with me...

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Actually, when you set em up correctly, you soon forget that they are 4 separate monitors.... the cursor moves between them just by moving the mouse in the same physical direction.

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I suppose it wouldn't be that bad if they were all identical size and arranged like the one picture. Most of the time I've tried multi-monitoring, they were different sizes and two feet away from each other (old CRT's or CRT and laptop).