Dual Screens + One for Photoshop

Greetings......

Looking for a new setup, mainly for PS editing.

I need TWO (24 inch) screens as an expanded desktop for the PS editing (image on one screen, menus / pallets etc on the other screen) and I want a second screen (so, technically, it would actually be a third monitor) that'll sit on the side of my desk so I can have my email client running on it.

I explained this to the guy at the local 'puter shop and he recommended a Gigabyte GA-Z68XP-D3 motherboard and a (generic) HD6450 1Gb graphics card.

His thinking is that the on-board graphics would do a brilliant job of driving the two screens for Photoshop and the HD6450 would have the e-mail monitor connected to it.

He was going on about Lucid Virtu.....Google hasn't really been my friend explaining how this would help in my situation

I don't see the point of getting Lucid Virtu. Just plug your working monitors into the GPU you want to use them with, and your email into the other one.

PS doesn't require much of any GPU power, but I'd be wary of working with large images on two monitors on an integrated GPU. I'd plug the email monitor into the integrated and the work monitors into the discrete video card.

edit: actually, since you'll be editing only on one monitor, I guess it doesn't matter that much. I wouldn't buy a 1GB video card just to display email though, so one way or another the email belongs on the integrated chip. If you want to cut costs, you could also go with a 512 or 768 MB video card instead. I'm assuming you don't do anything in 3D.

Also, yeah, that mobo only has one HDMI out, so you can't drive two monitors on the integrated chip.

Thanks toxic ......

So, A "decent" video card (with TWO) outputs for PS, and the intergrated graphics for the "other" monitor.......

Any particular recommendations for a decent video card ?

I seem to recall that PS could use the GPU processing power of some of the newer graphic cards to help it crunch the pixels ??

Or am I grossly mistaken again (still ) ??

I think the 'puter shop dude sold me that particular video card as the add-on card for my email window as it was probably the cheapest he had ($40) or so .......

So, If I go a high-powered video card for PS, is this a decent MB .........But thinking to himself, maybe not for me if it only has HDMI video.....Did I just answer my own question ??

Thanks,

Austen.

Sounds like the guy at the computer shop doesn't know what he's selling.


ALL of the AMD 6000 series graphics cards support ATI Eyefinity which is built in multi-monitor support.
The 6450 will easily drive 3 screens, with independent resolutions, and even allow you to combine two or all 3 into a group so they act like a single screen.

http://www.amd.com …n-hd-6450-overview.aspx#2

Then you don't need to bother with on board graphics, and you don't need to worry about running driver conflicts or running an extra program to support multiple displays over multiple cards.

Thanks Moppie,

Slight change of plan, I'm going for a MB with integrated graphics, D-Sub // DVI // HDMI and delaying the purchase of the multiple monitors.

As we're moving house (see my Please help me plan my "Home Studio" thread, I've defered the purchase of two monitors until we move into the new house.

So what I have done is ordered a new 'puter (with the MB above) to be the "Worlds best PS machine", and will get an ATI Dual DisplayLink card when I get the second (technically, third) monitor.

And yes, you're right, despite sounding very knowledgable, the dude at the 'puter shop didn't know much more then he was learning as he was reading the boxes to me !!!!

I love the Interwebs !!!

Thanks for the heads-up !!

Cheers,

Austen.