Advice needed for building new system

[stickyb]

I am looking for some advice on building a new system. The system is to be used for monitoring train movements using bespoke application. The cpu requirement is low, but the display requirement is high.
I would like to hook up multiple monitors (maybe 4 or 5), each a large lcd screen, and each functioning independantly. However, the graphics load is low, not lots of complex game like grahics so expensive grahics boards not required.
Initially, OS will be XP. going to W7 asap.

ANyone any thoughts or advice on how i can connect the required number of monitors as cheaply as possible?

Thanks in advance

[Bushfiva]

One relatively recent video card should take care of two screens. Since you're talking about trains, which don't exactly rocket around, there are USB to video adapters that cost around $20. So you could have a 6-screen setup for around $120 plus the cost of the screens themselves.

I had a similar setup for a financial display: whatever came with the computer plus $40 gave me 3 screens. We fitted out an entire office like this. The trick is to not tell people you've found such a cheap solution. If you do it right, the mounting brackets for 6 displays cost way more than the USB display adapters.

[Mike-Bracknell]

monitoring train movements using bespoke application

I do hope you mean from a hobbyist, rather than from a control standpoint. I'd hate to find a big train pileup just because you were running it on a PC :}

Anyway, Matrox were always the kings of multi-display. I wonder how well they're doing now - haven't had a Matrox card for a decade.

[Saab Dastard]

Have a look at the Matrox TripleHead2Go (http://www.matrox.com/graphics/en/products/gxm/th2go/), it might do what you want.

It is possible to pick up Matrox dual or even quad-head cards quite cheaply on ebay - I assume that is also true in your part of the world.

SD

[stickyb]

Gents, thanks for the quick replies and the useful help and advice.

Bushfiva: is there a specific brand you can mention? (By pm if necessary)

SD: thanks - very useful info

Mike - yes, gone are the days of Lovelace Rd. If there is to be a pile up it will be restricted to my floorspace - this is strictly 00!

[Bushfiva]

USBG-SVGA-1 & USBG-SVGA2 are two of a million different product names. It's an odd design: there are several case colours available. Each colour has a different address range. The rule is, you can't have two of the same colour on one computer. I've used the -1 version, putting 3 or 4 screens on all the financial computers in an office. It worked as advertised, and the price was right (around $35 in quantity). I've not used the -2, which supports higher resolution.

Don't expect to stream video to these displays. But they seem to fit your needs.

-SVGA2 may be only one per computer, depending on how you squint at the specs.

[The late XV105]

I second TripleHead2Go.

A friend has it on his flight sim (walk in to guest bedroom and see bed, turn right and you're in the cockpit of a Dash 8 300 to very high standard!) and it's excellent.