Multi-monitor PC without discrete graphics card

WobblyDog

Hello -

I want to build a PC for software development. The most important requirements are:
1) Must support 2 monitors, each at least 1440P, preferably 4K. Will not be used for gaming, so refresh rate is not important to me.
2) It will run all the time, so I'd like to use integrated graphics rather than a discrete graphics cards, to minimise power consumption.

Has anyone successfully done this?
Any recommendations for a model sold by a mainstream supplier (eg. Dell, PCSpecialist)?
Do I need to select a motherboard with a Display Port adaptor for this?
Will a 7th or 8th generation i3 or i5 processor be sufficient (refresh rate not important to me)?
Anything else I need to consider?

I seem to ask this question about one a year, I'm hoping technology has progressed to the point that there is an easy answer.

John_Gray

I would say that the easy answer is to include a low-end and thus low-power-consumption card which supports dual monitors of the resolution you require - unless you can find a motherboard which provides this support. (Rare?)

Of course, someone else will probably answer who has actual experience of a dual-monitor setup!

Frozen_up_north

I use a dual digital output graphics card, but it bumps up the “idling” consumption a bit (and has a noisy fan on it too). You can enable power saving options to reduce consumption when you are not actually using the PC.

Some modern motherboards have DVI and HDMI sockets, but I don’t know how well the outputs match each other, or if they have the resolution and performance to be useful in higher definition roles. Maybe the easy way to find out is to visit the business people at PC World and try out a couple of desktop PCs. Many businesses use multi-monitor setups, although most won’t use very high definition graphics.

Uxb

I've used dual monitors since the days of XP.
(use display fusion to manage them and have dual status bars at bottom.)

I use a graphics card with dual digital DVI outputs.
(My earlier PC had dual with one DVI and one VGA output - didn't notice the difference between them)

As per previous reply I'm not using them for high definition graphics rather lots of spreadsheets/accounts and other stuff open at the same time across the screens - so I'm using it for business use than gaming.

onomatopoeia99

Onboard graphics tend to support multiple monitors nowadays, two x 1440p should be easy, however multiple 4k monitors might be a stretch without a dedicated card.

AndyPix

^^ This ..


the Dell optiplex range all support dual monitors out of the box.
(Display port x 2 or sometimes DVI)