[thegrail]

I would like to know if it would be better to get a PC or if the Mac Pro could run Windows XP Pro with eight 24" widescreen monitors (1920 x 1600 resolution). I would first start with 4 monitors, and later upgrade to a total of eight.

On the PC side, I would be running Financial software to analyze stocks and currencies. On the Mac side I would just be using Photoshop, Dreamweaver, etc. for general graphics work - digital photo files, etc. - nothing intensive. I believe a 2.66 GHz Dual Core and 2GB Ram would be sufficient for both the PC and Mac applications (unless someone has another recommendation).

But can anyone tell me what video cards would be good to use for such an application? On the PC, a good solution would be an ATI FireMV 2400 Quad card, which would handle 4 monitors, then later when I want to upgrade, get another card to handle the other 4.

Would it be a good idea to wait for the official release of Leopard? Or would it be better to just avoid going with the Mac in this situation and get a PC, as system stability is critical here?

Any recommendations on the system would be greatly appreciated. Thank you.

[mduell]

Assuming you mean 1920x1200 for each display, the answer is yes. Just put 4 7300GTs in; no need to buy an expensive ATi Fire* card (which OS X doesn't support anyway).

No reason in particular to wait for Leopard unless saving $130 is a big deal for you. Frankly I'd be shocked if it was for someone who's looking at 4-8 24" displays just to monitor financial information.

The Mac Pro is no different than any other similar PC in terms of stability. I'd buy RAM from a third party (like Crucial) and I'd think about going for ~4GB instead of 2.

[OreoCookie]

The Mac Pro can be turned into a normal x86 workstation, you can also use regular PC components if you plan to run only Windows. If you want to run OS X, you need to get OS X-compatible hardware.

[thegrail]

@mduell - Thank you for your recommendations. You said to put in 4 7300GTs in, so I would have no need to buy an expensive ATi Quad card. But one FireMV2400 Quad card costs about $500 and 4 7300GTs would cost about $600. Also, 4 7300GTs would only handle 4 monitors, and I don't think there would be any slots left for the other 4 cards to handle the other 4 monitors. Unless I'm mistaken. However, 4 7300GT cards would give more video ram to the monitors than one Quad card, so if that would work for 8 monitors, that would be a nice solution, even if it would be slightlly more expensive. If you could clarify, I'd appreciate it.

Good to know about the Leopard upgrade not meaning more than a software upgrade. Yes, I did mean 1920 x 1200 screen resolution. And don't be shocked, when someone makes their living from trading, watching up to 16 currency pairs at a time on many different time frames, where split decisions must be made, more monitors make sense.

@OreoCookie - Yes, I have both Mac and PC software, and plan to run both.

One other question, would it be better (faster, more stable, etc.) to get two hard drives, one for Windows XP and the other for OS X, or does it not make any difference to just put both on one drive?

[Mister Elf]

Don't look too closely at the FireMV - even though it can run four monitors, the max resolution of each of those displays, if connected over DVI, is 1600x1200.

Also, four GeForce 7300s would easily handle two displays each, for a total of eight.

[Xyrrus]

Originally Posted by thegrail 

@mduell - Thank you for your recommendations. You said to put in 4 7300GTs in, so I would have no need to buy an expensive ATi Quad card. But one FireMV2400 Quad card costs about $500 and 4 7300GTs would cost about $600. Also, 4 7300GTs would only handle 4 monitors, and I don't think there would be any slots left for the other 4 cards to handle the other 4 monitors. Unless I'm mistaken. However, 4 7300GT cards would give more video ram to the monitors than one Quad card, so if that would work for 8 monitors, that would be a nice solution, even if it would be slightlly more expensive. If you could clarify, I'd appreciate it.

Each 7300 is capable of running 2 monitors (it has 2 dvi ports - one is dual-link). I doubt the FireMV2400 will run under OS X.

-Xy

[slpdLoad]

Completely out of curiosity, what's your current setup like? Having 8 monitors sounds great on paper but that's a rediculous amount of screen space for photoshop and some financial software.

Maybe save yourself a few thousand and download a virtual desktops program?

[mduell]

Originally Posted by thegrail 

@mduell - Thank you for your recommendations. You said to put in 4 7300GTs in, so I would have no need to buy an expensive ATi Quad card. But one FireMV2400 Quad card costs about $500 and 4 7300GTs would cost about $600. Also, 4 7300GTs would only handle 4 monitors, and I don't think there would be any slots left for the other 4 cards to handle the other 4 monitors. Unless I'm mistaken. However, 4 7300GT cards would give more video ram to the monitors than one Quad card, so if that would work for 8 monitors, that would be a nice solution, even if it would be slightlly more expensive. If you could clarify, I'd appreciate it.

Sorry for the confusion, as the other posters said each 7300GT supports 2 monitors (one at up to 2560x1600 and one at up to 1920x1200).

Originally Posted by thegrail 

Good to know about the Leopard upgrade not meaning more than a software upgrade. Yes, I did mean 1920 x 1200 screen resolution. And don't be shocked, when someone makes their living from trading, watching up to 16 currency pairs at a time on many different time frames, where split decisions must be made, more monitors make sense.

I meant I'd be shocked if a $130 upgrade was a big deal for someone watching that much financial information.

Originally Posted by thegrail 

One other question, would it be better (faster, more stable, etc.) to get two hard drives, one for Windows XP and the other for OS X, or does it not make any difference to just put both on one drive?

It wouldn't be a bad idea. It eliminates some of the potential for data loss should you ever have to reinstall one of your OSs. Also a 250GB drive is less than $70 these days, so it's a cheap upgrade.

[thegrail]

@Mister Elf - Two very helpful comments, thank you. First, that the FireMV 2400 would only give a resolution of 1600 x 1200 on 4 monitors, and secondly, that the 7300s could "easily handle" 2 monitors each, for a total of 8. I was concerned that I should go for 4 1900XTs, which would add considerable expense, because I didn't want crashes due to video card issues, as the market moves quickly and drawing so many lines on so many charts can be a burden on the card, but your comment indicates that this is not necessary.

@Xyrrus - Thank you for the clarification on the 7300 running two monitors. Your comment "I doubt the FireMV2400 will run under OS X". I realize this, but I was comparing getting a PC with the FireMV vs. a Mac with the 7300.

@slpdLoad - I run a Dell Precision M90 with 2 Dell 2407WFP monitors, a G4 Aluminum Powerbook with a 20" Apple monitor and a Dell D610 laptop. I know it may sound ridiculous to someone who hasn't studied it, but then it may seem ridiculous to others that anyone would need a 30" monitor for CAD work, or even a Quad Core for any reason. But thanks for trying to save me money, I appreciate it.

@mduell - You're right, I'm not concerned about the $130 upgrade to Leopard. I heard some speculation, perhaps on this very board, that there may be some sort of hardware upgrade announced along with the Leopard OS. I got my Powerbook Aluminum only about a month or so before the Intel Macs, and did not want to repeat going out and making a purchase that would be outdated within a couple of months. But you're saying that that is not the case, that it will only be a software upgrade, which does not concern me. That is correct, right? Thank you.

[mduell]

There's no big upgrades on the radar for October 2007 yet to accompany Leopard... an ultralight notebook may come out around that time, but that's not your market.

Drawing a bunch of lines really isn't that hard for a graphics card; your financial app probably isn't even GPU accelerated, so going with four X1900s would be pointless (not to mention you can't fit more than 2 of them in the Mac Pro chassis).

[webmonkie]

Apple has nothing exiting coming out this year!

I was hoping a new line of MacBook Pro with LED screen.