Are you an avid gamer or perhaps an at-home trader? You may simply love tech and want to simplify your life by no longer flicking between screens. Keyboard shortcuts are very useful but sometimes you just want to lay out 2 documents side by side. This is where you need a 6 monitor setup. Of course, you don’t have to go all out for 6 monitors straight away. You can simply start with 2 and build from there.
Interestingly, we’ve been using multiple screens since Windows 98 over 20 years ago. For many people, it now seems the norm although, let’s not forget that tech can be addictive. Basically, it answers our need for stimulation and efficiency. We like to achieve things and we feel we’ve done so much more if we have that many more screens to view and buttons to click. Let’s face it though, it’s fun. Combine that with the internet and the gaming industry and suddenly you’ve transformed your spare room into the ultimate high-tech control centre. Now though, you need to work out how to put together your 6 monitor setup.
6 Monitor Setup
Whether you’re connecting 2 or 6 monitors, the principles are the same and the main themes to take note of are the following:
- Computer or Laptop
- Mac or Windows
- Monitors
- Cables
- Setup
Computer or Laptop
This is very much down to preference because these days, laptops can be perfectly good enough for coping with multiple screens. You simply need to make sure that your processor, hard drive and RAM speed are up to scratch. In addition, you’ll need to ensure that you have a graphics card with at least 2GB of Graphics Processing Unit capability. This will then match nicely with a CPU of around 3GHz with multiple cores and a RAM speed of 16GB. You can probably survive trading with 8GB but if you’re gaming then 16GB will make everything faster and that much easier.
Mac or Windows
You sometimes have to wonder if we’ll ever get an agreed standard when it comes to software. Then again, it’s the difference that makes Mac and Microsoft what they are and why most people swear by one only. Again, this is a personal choice, usually down to a different physical interface.
Monitors
The big question is how many? If you’re not sure then the best thing to do is to start with 2 or 3 and go from there. If you’re already past that stage then you might be ready for your 6 monitor setup. It’s true that it can look pretty impressive and exciting. The 6 monitor setup almost begs you to come and game or trade.
Questions about the type of display might also come up. There are currently 3 commonly used industry variations of LCDs that are listed below in order of increasing resolution and image quality:
- Twisted Nematic (TN)
- Vertical Alignment (VA)
- In-plane switching (IPS)
Most gamers will tend to go straight for IPS panels, although TN panels are perfectly good enough for traders. They also have the added benefit of being cheaper.
Cables
These are most people’s bugbears. Isn’t it frustrating when you have the perfect tech all beautifully laid out only to be made ugly by the trailing cables everywhere? Not only are they ugly, but they do tend to get in the way. These days you can find various accessories for keeping your cables together and out of sight. Also, depending on how far you want to go, you can look at different desk designs or even drill your own holes in which to tuck away your cables.
Setup
Now that all your physical components are in place, you’re finally ready to connect them all. You now need to connect your computer’s video output port to your monitor’s video input port. If you have a 6 monitor setup then make sure that all your monitors are connected together such that they go through the final monitor and then to your computer. You’ll notice that there are different connections available but the most common ones are HDMI, VGA and DVI.
Once everything is connected, then simply go into settings or system preferences for your Mac and look for Display. Your computer should detect everything automatically and then you can choose Scale and Layout in Windows or Arrangements in Mac. Windows then takes you to Multiple Displays where you want to Extend these Displays.
Parting Words for Creating your 6 Monitor Setup
Once you’ve made your choice of equipment and layout, then a 6 monitor setup is relatively easy. Go through the steps but remember that you can always change your monitor layout later if you wish. After that, all you have to really worry about is those pesky cables. Research the different accessories available or get into some DIY and then you’ll have your perfect 6 monitor setup from which to do whatever you please.
