1 Desktop for 16 Monitor

[EXTRADODO]

I have 16 monitors mounted on wall. All of them are 49inch and use HDMI / VGA. I have connected one laptop or desktop to each monitor.

What I want to do is to build one desktop that can connect with those 16 monitors (through MiniDP or DP or HDMI or VGA).

I'm thinking of using 2 or more graphic cards that have 4/6/8 ports. Any recommendations ? Help me pls. 

[comicsansms]

Are the monitors displaying the same image multiple times, or are you creating a monitor array with them?

[EXTRADODO]

I want to use them as a monitor array. (IF it's possible → displaying 16 people faces from 16 different locations via video calling or just remote desktop screen)

[LukeLinusFanFic]

What will you be doing with them? What's the resolution?  Can you send us a picture? I'm honestly curious how such a giant array came to be.

[EXTRADODO]

>What will you be doing with them?
small task : just to play different videos to each monitor.

mid task : to connect to remote desktops and display them on each monitor.

dream : video calling people at different place and show their web cam or screen sharing to each monitor.

 

>What's the resolution?

I'm not hoping high when it come to 16 displays. HD or Full HD would be nice.

 

>Can you send us a picture?
I'm not at the location at the moment. sorry. 

>I'm honestly curious how such a giant array came to be.
Me too.

[simson0606]

At work we have 2 of these cards in separate itx workstations to each drive 8 1080p 55 inch displays. Works like a charm. Setup is a bit of work though (have to walk back and forth to see which screen you are on )

[lewdicrous]

@ZWELINHTET please quote or tag people so that they know that you replied to them.

Welcome to the forum. 

 

In topic: most GPUs have display limits, afaik, so if you want to attach all those displays you might/will need multiple GPUs.

[EXTRADODO]

@lewdicrous Thanks for the tip. I'm new to here.

 

And thanks for the advice too. I'm sure I'm gonna need 2 or more of GPUs (or 2 desktop).

[FlappyBoobs]

I've done some distributed display software before. If you are ever in trouble with the law in the the UK then you will likely be directed to the correct court room by my software. 

 

When I did it windows 7 was new, and had a limit of (IIRC) 10 monitors absolute max. This was down to software support rather than hardware though. The problem was that, even addressing the cards directly to display what you wanted you couldn't just fire up any old application and say "display on monitor 15" it just couldn't handle it without some major workarounds that simply didn't work very well. 

 

The way I achieved it was, when we got above 8 monitors (connected via VOL) we speced a second machine to handle the rest of them (we went to 8 because we had cards that supported 4 outputs each). Then I synced the machines together (using my own software) to make sure that they all displayed correctly and switched at the correct time. In larger places with lots more screens (super markets for example) I used a master machine and then multiple slave machines that were just running output given to it by the master. (unfortunately the supermarkets went with a much worse system where they simply screwed a DVD player to the back of a cheap TV and had adverts running on repeat)

 

Now my system was a display system that didn't require high refresh rate and basically showed a data driven slideshow. So you may not be able to use the same techniques. But please ask if you have any questions you think I can help with.

 

So the problem you will run into is that windows, by default, cannot handle 16 monitors at once. Because I never needed to do this (clients were happen with multiple machines for more than 8 screens) I haven't looked into it much, but you might have better luck with Linux.

[EXTRADODO]

@simson0606 Could you tell me the specs for those desktops? I'm sure I might need to get those one by one from amazon and setup by myself. 

[lewdicrous]

9 minutes ago, ZWELINHTET said:

@lewdicrous Thanks for the tip. I'm new to here.

 

And thanks for the advice too. I'm sure I'm gonna need 2 or more of GPUs (or 2 desktop).

You might be able to use a hub, but I'm not sure about the max resolution those support

[simson0606]

23 minutes ago, ZWELINHTET said:

@simson0606 Could you tell me the specs for those desktops? I'm sure I might need to get those one by one from amazon and setup by myself. 

They are x99 systems, so many parts won't be available. But a intel 9700k or a ryzen 2700x will outperform the system listed below.

CPU: 5820k

Mobo: Asrock x99-ITX/AC

Ram: 16gb (I think)

Storage: Intel p600 128GB

GPU: NVS810

Case: fractal design core 500

PSU: Seasonic Focus Gold (Or Platinum, not sure) 650

[EXTRADODO]

@simson0606 Thank you. I'll look for the parts right away.