Triple Monitor Support - On Board Chipset

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mrmagoo_83

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I am looking to upgrade, and was looking to go as thin as possible from an overall height perspective so I was hoping to go without a GPU. I have not upgraded in years, still running a 1090T on an old Gigabyte board, at least its using DDR3 I guess.

Again going for minimal footprint, so I was thinking dual M.2 slots to remove any need for cables or hard drives, and then no GPU should allow me to really shrink the overall thickness.

So what motherboard/cpu combo would require no additional cards, and could support triple monitors, and at least two M.2 slots? I am not a gamer much any more, and I do not use it for crazy resolutions or 4k movies, though I'd like the option if it is out there. Just surfing and some programming here and there, normal day to day stuff, not doing much Nerd worthy these days.

I like the Gigabyte Aorus boards, but I do not believe they support triple monitor without a GPU.
 
the new AMD APU's should be out in the next little while, but finding a board with what you're after could be tricky I guess
 
So, the built-in Intel GPUs on their chips support 3 monitors, but often times the motherboards don't include three outputs. What you may want to look for would be a board that has a Displayport output, which you can run into a device called a MST hub (it's like a switch, but for Displayport) which will divide the single Displayport output into your three separate monitor outputs. Note, this cannot be used to bypass the 3 monitor limit on the GPUs - even if the motherboard has a Displayport output which you divide into three, and then also has onboard HDMI or something, only three monitors will work at once.

Something like this oughta do nicely: https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813145046. It actually has 3 video outputs natively on the board, so you could do the Displayport trick or if you happen to have two HDMI and 1 Displayport monitor then there wouldn't be any need. Pair it with an i5-8400 (or 8600k if you feel like OC'ing) and you should be golden. It would be a massive upgrade over a 1090T.

Alternatively, waiting on the AMD APUs is an option. The current ones are not Ryzen based, so I wouldn't waste your time on them, and the Ryzen CPUs don't include onboard video so you would *have* to have an add-on GPU for those.

One last note, keep an eye on your M.2 slots; not all of them are PCI-E enabled, some are only for SATA type M.2 SSDs. The one I linked supports 2x M2 PCIe X4 which is the fastest option.
 
You can achieve exactly up to 3 displays, not the "or more" part. 3 displays is the limit, regardless of method of attachment, on an intel integrated GPU.

That motherboard you linked does not have 3 native outputs, so you would *have* to use a MST hub and they're not free.

That said, what case in the world will accept a full-size ATX motherboard but has 'height' restrictions? I assumed you were going for a mITX setup that would be tiny - hence my linked motherboard - but that thing is full desktop size. If you've got enough room to install a full ATX motherboard, you've also got enough room to install a regular GPU as well, even if you have to use a PCI-E extension cable and lay the card down horizontally. Really I'm just curious what case you're gonna be using.

Also, that's a pretty fucking expensive Z370 board. What features does it have that a less-expensive Z370 board (they go all the way down to $105 on Newegg) doesn't have?
 
Apologies, my lack of detailed purpose may have strayed your response. I am going case less. I am planning to mount this on the wall above my desk, and thus the reason for minimal cabling. Excluding a GFX card would ensure the setup did not extend out from the wall too far, and be extremely clean.

I agree the price is a little higher than I like, but the black theme with RGB LEDs will provide a nice contrast from the wall. I am open to other cheaper models, just liked the bling on this one. I had even considered a riser card with a GFX card to rotate the card 90 degrees to minimize height, but then we're just adding cost back in to the build, and difficulty to achieving a clean smooth look.

I figure I can pass whatever cables I need through a jack and down inside of the wall to my monitors and desk to keep the clean look like I've done with my TV.
 
If you get the right monitors, you might be able to daily chain them via display port connection.
 
Yeah, the only supported Three-independent screen configuration from Intel is over DisplayPort.

https://www.intel.com/content/www/us/en/support/articles/000025673/graphics-drivers.html

You can mix-and-match with dual-monitors and a laptop display, but you can't d the same with three independent displays.

All three have to use DisplayPort. But finding a motherboard with three ports is impossible.

Your only solutions are displays with DP pass-through, or pay for a MST hub.

Luckily the MST Hub prices are down to almost half what they were when they first came on the market. But it means you'll have an external box visible.
 
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Wall-mount makes your requirements make sense. And like I said, MST hubs aren't free, so if you're gonna spend $80 on something, it might as well be an external GPU so you can get your desired monitor outputs. Use something like this - https://www.amazon.com/Express-Flexible-Extension-Adapter-Card-9cm/dp/B01NH0GW7Z?th=1 - to redirect the PCIe port, and make it look something like this: http://i.imgur.com/UEqXs.jpg. That's what I'd do at least, and you can get a real GPU and have as many monitors as you want.

If you really don't want to use an external GPU, then there are two (intel 8th-gen) mobos with native triple-monitor output on Newegg - both are mITX though. The one I linked before - GIGABYTE Z370N WIFI - and its ASRock buddy - ASRock Z370M-ITX/ac. The ASRock one only has 1x M2 slot though.

I've looked over the document listed by defaultluser and the first chart where it shows the only valid three-independent-screen configuration appears to be in reference to a laptop; right below it is another paragraph where it states: "For the following graphics, most combinations of HDMI, DVI, VGA, DisplayPort (DP), Embedded DP (eDP), and Intel® Wireless Display (Intel® WiDi) support three independent displays" and then presents you a chart with exceptions to that rule, most of which essentially boil down to "You can't use three TMDS-transmitter requiring connections" which is HDMI or DVI or any combination. The whole document is a bit shaky, because they list specific models that this list applies to, but then the whole article applies to other models as well. Anyway, the ASRock board specifically mentions triple monitor support on the mobo manufacturor's page, and it is 2x HDMI 1x DP, so there is that.
 
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Also, and I've just thought of this, you're obviously not doing any gaming with your setup or you'd be building a PC with a GPU. You might look into a good USB 3/3.1 *docking station* like for a laptop. It would let you run a single USB 3.1 cable to your wall-mounted PC and connect all your peripherals up to that, and many of them come with video output. These could easily supplement the native video outputs on the PC. They're slower than "real" video cards, but again, your usage model may mean that doesn't matter.
 
I had not considered a riser card. If I went that way I could go with a cheaper Rizen CPU and save a lot of cash, even with a descent GPU. Let me look at that route.
 
Sure! You can also look at something like the Thermaltake Core P3 or P5 line of 'cases' - they are open frame cases that are essentially designed to be mounted on a wall.
 
I have $900-$1k to spend. I already have a 480w PSU I'll use.

16gb Ram, with RGB maybe
Cpu with dual fan radiator
Motherboard, prefer black with rgb
Gpu with at least 3 outputs preferably four
Mid level cup AMD OR Intel, not biases either way except on price.
M.2 SSD, either 2x256 or I guess 1x500gb

I do not need storage here as I have a 24TB server.
 
I do not really game much anymore, no time. I watch a few movies while working, play some old games like Red Alert and Diablo 2, trying to teach my 10 year old what games I used to play. I have not bought a newer game in probably 7 years for my PC.

I mostly play games on Xbox One on my big screen downstairs. I want more processing muscle than graphics I guess. I mean my 1090 is paired with like a AMD 4200 or something card right now, which the Windows 10 drivers don't even exist for.

Oh, and how does one get Windows 10 these days for new builds? My current rig was updated from Win7 during the free days. God I sound old, and just like the guys I used to make fun of years ago.
 
Something like this should suffice:
https://pcpartpicker.com/list/9MC4RG

Notes: It doesn't include a dual-fan radiator. You really don't need it, unless you just want it, in which case feel free to add one. The included CPU cooler (Wraith Spire) is very competent, even for moderate OCing, and is RGB lit. The chosen motherboard includes a RGB controller on it, to handle that sort of thing. It's nothing I really know about - my perfect computer is silent, invisible, and not even in the room with me - but to each their own.

The chosen GPU is the least expensive modern GPU I could find. It's got 3 outputs, one of which is DisplayPort and you *can* use a MST hub on this one if you want to achieve >3 outputs.

The mobo isn't 100% black, and honestly I don't know much about it. I've only ever touched one AM4 motherboard and it wasn't this one. That said, I picked it because it is at least *mostly* black, and it's got the RGB controller on it.

The memory was chosen for the RGB-ness of it. Not sure how that works. Gigabyte's QVL list for memory is pretty shitty, so you might put a bit more effort in on that front.
 
Interesting site. I'll have to give that a spin.

I've had every type of build, hidden, MicroATX, full sized atx, 24 slot 4u server size, and I'm sure a few more here and there. So I figured this round I'd go for something new.

Thanks for the suggestions and assistance.
 
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