How many Monitors and sound cards can one machine handle?

[HotRod]

I know it's possible to run at least two monitors on a single machine but
how many monitors in total can you use? Is it possible to have XP run three
different mpegs on three different monitors with different sound for each?

How many monitors and how many different sound cards can be installed on a
single machine?

 

[Yves Leclerc]

I believe that XP can handle only one sound card and upto 8 monitors. You
can normally run 2 monitors per AGP video card and have extra PCI video card
handle the reset.

However, I have yet to see a MPEG system run more than ONE video. You can
run multiple programs on each monitor.

 

[Carey Frisch [MVP]]

If your computer has more than one video adapter, or one adapter
with multiple output ports, you can use the multiple monitors feature
in Windows XP. You can connect up to 10 monitors to your Windows XP-based
computer and display numerous programs or windows at one time.

Expand Your Workspace with Multiple Monitors and Dualview
http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/using/setup/learnmore/multimonitor.mspx

--
Carey Frisch
Microsoft MVP
Windows XP - Shell/User
Microsoft Newsgroups

Be Smart! Protect Your PC!
http://www.microsoft.com/athome/security/protect/default.mspx

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:

| I know it's possible to run at least two monitors on a single machine but
| how many monitors in total can you use? Is it possible to have XP run three
| different mpegs on three different monitors with different sound for each?
|
| How many monitors and how many different sound cards can be installed on a
| single machine?

 

[Bob I]

10 monitors and 1 default sound card.

I believe that XP can handle only one sound card and upto 8 monitors. You
can normally run 2 monitors per AGP video card and have extra PCI video card
handle the reset.

However, I have yet to see a MPEG system run more than ONE video. You can
run multiple programs on each monitor.

 

[Ken Blake]

I know it's possible to run at least two monitors on a single
machine but how many monitors in total can you use?

Ten. The harder part is getting enough video cards/connections to
support that many.

 

[Yves Leclerc]

I stand corrected! I do not know why someone would "want" to run 10
monitors. Three seem to be the most anyone have ever used in normal work
environment. I did see 7 monitors used on a gaming system once.

 

[R. C. White]

Hi, Bob.

I don't know about how many monitors.

I've often heard that the limit on sound cards is ONE. My computer has AC97
sound built into the motherboard, and I also have an old Creative Sound
Blaster Live PCI card installed. I use both the built-in sound and the SB
card. When I double-click the Speaker icon near the clock, the Play Control
window pops up. I click Options | Properties, and then in the Mixer device
box, I can choose between them.

Maybe it depends on how we define "sound card". Does the built-in sound
count?

RC

 

[Ken Blake]

I stand corrected! I do not know why someone would "want" to
run 10 monitors.

One use for lots of monitors that I've run into is to run Flight
Simulator. Multiple monitors can be used to create a very
realistic simulation of aa airplane cockpit, with a monitor in
front of you showing the view from the front, one on the left
showing the view from the left window, one on the right showing
the view from the right window, etc.

I'm not sure that it necessarily adds up to ten, but you could
probably use five or six monitors profitably in a situation like
this.

Personally I run two monitors, just to give me extra desktop real
estate and have several applications running at once without
being minimized. If I had the physical desktp space for more
monitors and could afford them (and the associated video cards) I
wouldn't mind having as many as five or so. Ten would probably
be overkill for me, but I could easily visualize someone else
wanting that many.

 

[Admiral Q]

10 monitors, and I've seen it done with 8 in a datacenter, mind you it
wasn't 8 physical monitors, it was a single large monitor with 8 video
connections - it was used to monitor 2 mainframes, network status', and a
few unix and win2k server boxes, and some "Tivoli Workload Management
Systems". The screen was divided into 8 equal sections, each monitoring
something different, it had 1 quad display AGP to 2 dual PCI video cards.

--
Star Fleet Admiral Q @ your service!
"Google is your Friend!"
www.google.com

***********************************************

 

[wayne]

they do make quad output cards
http://www.colorgraphic.net/newsite/products/predator_pm_features.asp

http://matrox.com/mga/products/qid/home.cfm

Wayne

 

[pjp]

People will tell you 10 (least I know that is MS docs under 98, so assume
same for XP) but there's one "extra monitor" I seldom see people using.

I know this works under 98/SE but haven't tried it under XP.

Put in a old monochrome video card or an old Hercules running in "half mode"
(so it doesn't use any VGA memory space, np as it can only be used in text
mode anyway). If you then go to a DOS Window and type MODE MONO, the
monochrome display becomes active as a full screen text display. You can
then still use your mouse in the GUI to click away from the DOS window
(leaving it very small on-screen somewhere) and switch back and forth
between GUI apps and the full screen mono display.

 

[Bob I]

1. See Windows H&S "multiple monitors"
2. Default = 1 , can't have 2 default sound cards. You can "install"
more, but only one can be the default.