[bigpapajk]

i am using a mac pro with quad core 3.67 ghz and 6G ram. I currently am using 2 22 inch monitors side by side connected via DVI..I would prefer to have just one bigger monitory and want to use my hitachi 1080i hd 48 inch instead. 2 questions
1. Is it easier on my cpu to have this one big monitor or the two
2. Will i need a special graphics card to use the 48 inch(suggestions greatly appreciated) ......As far as the graphics card goes...
a. i am using this for audio(pro tools). WHAT IS THE BEST CARD/WAY TO DO THIS TO NOT TAX MY CPU AND GET GREAT RESOLUTION?
b. what is the best way to connect to my tv?..HDMI?

 

[hockeyb213]

issue with using a tv is the resolution will not be as high as you could possibly get in a monitor but other then that there is no issue using a tv as a monitor unless it is a plasma and then you will run into burn in problems

 

[bigpapajk]

yes but what is best way or best card and what is the effect on cpu drain

 

[hockeyb213]

Well my thought process would be 1 monitor would take less processes on the cpu/gpu because the overall resolution is lower but I may be completely wrong I am only talking off a guess.

 

[skyline889]

Quote:

Originally Posted by bigpapajk /img/forum/go_quote.gif 1. Is it easier on my cpu to have this one big monitor or the two 2. Will i need a special graphics card to use the 48 inch(suggestions greatly appreciated) ......As far as the graphics card goes... a. i am using this for audio(pro tools). WHAT IS THE BEST CARD/WAY TO DO THIS TO NOT TAX MY CPU AND GET GREAT RESOLUTION? b. what is the best way to connect to my tv?..HDMI?

1) I run dual monitors and in my experience, it does not tax the cpu anymore than with a single monitor. With a quad core I doubt you'll notice anything. It does tax the GPU more however, and my card runs about 5c hotter with both outputs connected rather than just one, performance is almost unaffected though.

2) No, you don't need a special card. No matter how big the TV, the highest standard res is 1920x1080 which any modern video card will have no trouble outputting. If your graphics card has a standard DVI output, you can purchase a DVI to HDMI cable and hook up your pc to the HDMI input on your tv. If your card has HDMI out you can just hook it up via HDMI. You should note though that the pixel pitch with a 48" will be huge so you should be sitting at least 3-4ft away, and that's if you're [H]. Most users will want to be sitting farther away than that.

 

[glitch39]

what is the purpose of using 48" ? is it for gaming? as mentioned, you need to sit at least 4 ft away. but if for photochop, then you want resolution instead. better for a 32" monitor instead

 

[Gazza]

What the hell does this have to do with this forum?
Seriously?

 

[krmathis]

/me wonder how this is related to High-End Audio... ?
The Mac Pro would make a great transport for a headphone rig, but the questions are not audio related at all.

 

[bigpapajk]

sorry...the reason i put it in high end audio because the people i wanted to answer are hi-fi users...its not for gaming its for pro tools and i want to use the bigger screen because it makes it more convenient to detach a sequencer and its bigger so i could view more...sorry if i offended anyone in the forum but i wanted to know how it would effect cpu performace when recording/mixing and figured this would be the best spot..the reason i asked about performace is bc i saw some graphics cards had dsp in them..when i bought the cpu i was told i could only run 2 24 inch monitors max size so if figured a 48 inch screen would not work...all of your imput has been helpful and anymore would be greatly appreciated

 

[Dinan]

Lots of good replies above but I will take a shot. I am a big Mac guy and also like big monitors but I would take 2 22" monitors over one much larger any day of the week. First off the resolution of the smaller monitors is much higher and I would rarely need to blow anything up on my computer past 22" as I don't use it for a home theater. Second, width does more for me than absolute size so you can spread your work out from left to right and everything else being equal, there is still something nice about being able to drag over to a separate screen.

As to the processing power being able to do what you want, it shouldn;t be an issue either way as it has the resolution for a big display and is designed to drive 2.

 

[bigpapajk]

its for PRO TOOLS editing producing mixing

 

[scootermafia]

LOL tax your CPU, there's no risk of that happening. I'd use a pair of 30" 25x15 rez screens. That 48" screen, besides requiring you to sit back multiple feet, can't offer the pixel area of a pair of 30's.

 

[IPodPJ]

Just because it's bigger doesn't mean you'll get more windows on it. An HDTV with FullHD is 1920x1080, regardless if it's 32", 46", 52", or 60". It isn't made for graphics. You are much better off getting two 23" or 24" monitors that have 1920x1200 (WUXGA) resolution, or two 30" monitors that have 2560x1600 (WQXGA) resolution.

 

[ford2]

Quote:

Originally Posted by bigpapajk /img/forum/go_quote.gif sorry...the reason i put it in high end audio because the people i wanted to answer are hi-fi users...its not for gaming its for pro tools and i want to use the bigger screen because it makes it more convenient to detach a sequencer and its bigger so i could view more...sorry if i offended anyone in the forum but i wanted to know how it would effect cpu performace when recording/mixing and figured this would be the best spot..the reason i asked about performace is bc i saw some graphics cards had dsp in them..when i bought the cpu i was told i could only run 2 24 inch monitors max size so if figured a 48 inch screen would not work...all of your imput has been helpful and anymore would be greatly appreciated

Get a 32",I use one as a monitor and would never go back to anything smaller.
The pc that feeds my 32" feeds a 46" as well for movie playback etc. but there is no way that I would use the 46" for general pc work.
HDMI is the only way to go as it carries the audio signal as well as video in one cable.This is one instance where bigger is not better.

 

[Lorentz]

1. CPU does not care.

2. No, you probably don't need a special graphics card. At most, you'll worry about connector issues (if your card doesn't have hdmi output and your tv only accepts hdmi, for instance), which is mostly a non-issue anyway due to converters being available.

2.a. No audio should tax the CPU in any measuable way, especially not with your setup.

2.b. HDMI or DVI, it doesn't matter which really, use what you have. Avoid analog video such as component/vga however.

..

That said, I find huge displays as monitors to be annoying, especially if you're planning to look at them at the distance you normally view monitors at. I always followed the "your eye level should be just around the top of the monitor, so you look slightly down on the monitor when using it to reduce usage fatigue".