Hi-res flicker / 3 monitors

I play *alot* of online poker.


Lately I've been having a bit of trouble:

1) Two monitors aren't quite enough. With multiple tables, and lobbys, and instant messages, and on and on, life would be easier with a larger "desktop"

2) After a couple of hours at the PC, the Hi-res flicker starts to get to me. I find myself feeling sleepy after playing a few hours, but as soon as I leave the PC, I feel fine


Has anyone else had these problems? Were you able to solve them?


As far as screen space goes, I could just pick up a larger monitor or two. If possible, I would prefer to add a large monitor, in addition to the two I already have. Does W2k support three monitors? Can I simply add another graphics card, or will it require special hardware?


Any suggestions for the hi-res flicker problem? I don't know if it makes sense to buy better monitors, or a better graphics cards. If an upgrade is necessary, what specs should I look for in the new equipment?


Currently, I have two monitors. Not sure of the specs, but they're pretty standard, and maybe 17 or 19 inch. One graphics card is a NVidia Riva TNT2 Model 64. The other is an Intel 810 Graphics Controller Hub. I have both monitors set to 1024x768 pixels, and am running W2k.


Thanks in advance for any advice.


B$

...changing the refresh rate on the monitors via the graphics software, but I am not sure how that works with multiple monitors. I have seen monitor flicker at certain refresh rates, but not at a higher (or sometimes a lower) rate. Try it for both monitors (but don't move very fast, as you could overdrive the monitor and get an unreadable screen). I am not 100% if this is what you are talking about, and I am also not sure if using the two monitors is using more resources and thus may limit the refer rate you can drive them at or not...but it is worth a shot.

make sure your refresh rate is set to 85hz on both monitors, and yes, win2k can support 3 heads

I currently have a video card w/ dual monitor inputs which allows for one virtual monitor across two physical monitors. Do they make a video card w/ 3 inputs (i.e. one virtual monitor across 3 physical monitors)?


If you simply put a 2nd or 3rd video card in the same machine, I don't think you would achieve the same objective would you?

I changed the refresh rate from 75 to 85 on both monitors. Flicker seems to be gone on one, and reduced on the other. That's good news about the third screen. I only need a third standard graphics card for that, or a card like Gone Fishin is describing below?


Thanks,

B$

Fishin


I use two standard graphics cards, and my "desktop" stretches across two monitors. Honold's post above suggests that a third can be added.


B$

when adapters have dual outputs, they can do more tricks in the software to support different spanning modes etc


if you have 2 separate adapters with single outputs, they are treated in a more generic/individual way by windows, but you can still position them as left to right, vertical on top of each other, etc and drag windows between them.


the matrox parhelia has 3 outputs but it's retardedly expensive for a weak card. to wit matrox has a quad output pci adapter for more esoteric needs, but it would no doubt be more expensive and even harder to find.


my recommendation would be to grab a pci card from http://www.newegg.com/app/manufactory.asp?catalog=289&DEPA=1 - the ati for $44 seems like the most attractive, and i can attest to ati pci cards working well in a variety of multi-monitor setups.

Thanks, honold


and if I simply add this third card, and plug a monitor into it, I'm good to go?


B$