The Ultimate Guide to Buying a 6 Monitor Setup

Buying any sort of new technical equipment can be both daunting and a lot of fun. These days, you can find fairly cheap hardware to build your ultimate multi-monitor system. Of course, it’s your personal choice whether you start with dual-monitor setups or go straight to an awesome 6 monitor setup. Why not ask a professional for more details to help you make an informed decision?

Buying Equipment for your 6 Monitor Setup

Before doing anything, it’s a good idea to plan ahead so that you’re less likely to buy the wrong parts. You can then budget more accurately and know what to expect. First, what are you going to do with your 6 monitor setup?

For instance, do you need multiple monitors for your job or simply to enhance your gaming experience? A good rule of thumb is that you can easily fit 4 windows on each of your monitor screens.

So, how many charts, apps, documents, browsers do you tend to have open at any one time? You can then calculate how many screens you need and whether a 6 monitor setup is for you.

Once you have an initial idea of your multi-monitor setup, work through the following themes to get your budget together:

• Room arrangement
• Determine your computer
• Display adapters
• The perfect monitor
• Cable management

Room arrangement

Naturally, you’ll need extra space for your amazing 6 monitor setup. This might sound obvious but it’s helpful to plan ahead to avoid surprises. Moreover, you might need to buy a new desk and even a new ergonomic chair. After all, what’s the point of having an incredible multi-monitor setup if you’re so uncomfortable you barely use it?

Another point to remember is that you don’t want your 6 monitor setup to be too far from the power supply unit. Again, this sounds obvious but cable management can be a nightmare although, more on that later.

Determine your computer

Now you need to review whether you can use your own computer or if you need to invest in a new one. Ideally, you want a RAM of at least 16Gb or 32GB if you can afford it. Overall, you can expect a desktop to be around $1500 and a laptop to average $2000 to $3000.

Moreover, most computers have two video ports but you’ll need 6 if you’re connecting a 6 monitor setup. You can either get an external video port device or make sure your new computer has more ports.

Most importantly, you need a powerful graphics card to enable all your charts and graphics across your 6 monitor setup. We’ll review this in more detail in the next section.

Display adapters

These are sometimes referred to as graphics cards. Others prefer to use the term video card. Either way, most motherboards have an integrated graphics card although many computers also have a discrete graphics card. If you have the latter, you’ll generally have at least two more video ports.

A good graphics card usually has at least 4GB although you’ll see many with 8GB or even 10GB and 12GB. The first two specifications are more than good enough for most people. Gamers, on the other hand, might consider the higher specifications to avoid any performance drop in graphics.

The best brands for graphics cards are AMD and NVIDIA. Overall, you can expect to pay anywhere from $500 to $2000.

The perfect monitor

Most people with a 6 monitor setup choose affordable TN panels rather than the more expensive VA or IPS options. The main difference is the colour and contrast ratio. TN panels offer perfectly good screen resolution. Either way, a good mid-range budget choice is going for a 24-inch screen.

Choosing a monitor also means thinking about adjustable mounts. The more expensive monitors have these as part of their setup. This gives you more flexibility including arranging your screens in a vertical orientation for your multi-monitor setup.

In terms of cost, panels start at around $100 but can go up to thousands of dollars.

Cable management

Depending on the ports you have, you might need conversion cables. For example, DVI to HDMI or a VGA to HDMI cable, among other options. Be careful though as VGA is an analog connector and could decrease your image quality. That’s why many prefer to upgrade their computers.

Another slightly cheaper option is to buy an external graphics card. This will boost your graphics performance while giving you extra video ports for your 6 monitor setup.

Either way, cables will set you back in the tens of dollars.

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Final Recommendations for Buying a 6 Monitor Setup

Buying your 6 monitor setup starts with planning and budgeting. Have a think about what you want to use your multiple monitors for so that you can have the right equipment and cost. Make sure you also have the right room, desk and chair so that you have the best experience possible. Then, both work and play become fun thanks to your amazing setup.