What graphic card(s) to connect 5 monitors?

[YetAnotherPcBuilder]

I am considering a PC with an AMD Ryzen 5 7600 (not the X version) and would appreciate some guidance on what cooler to get.
My situation:

• My use will probably be 80ish% web browsing and office software, and 20% Lightroom (photo editing). I do not envisage gaming (maybe the odd game here and there, but rarely) nor anything too CPU-intensive (no AI coding etc).
• Quiet cooling when the PC is idle will be a priority. I get it that it will be louder if the CPU is at full load, but it should be as silent as possible if I am on a video call.

My questions:

• I know I don't need liquid cooling, but will liquid cooling be quieter?
• Should I expect a meaningful difference in terms of noise between the Corsair H60x, H100x etc?

I am currently thinking of the H100x cooler.

The H150 might be even quieter because of the ML fans, but maybe that would be complete overkill?

 

[YetAnotherPcBuilder]

I would need to build a PC to connect 5 monitors. The use will be mostly office software.
2 will be the main monitors.
The other 3 will be used to keep open things like email chats and certain web pages that need monitoring.
To be clear, I will not be playing HD videos on 5 screens at the same time!

I am considering a PC with an AMD Ryzen 5 7600 CPU.
What combination of GPU and motherboard would you recommend for my use?

If I get a motherboard with integrated graphics, could I get a single graphics card supporting 3 monitors, because I would have 1 monitor connected to the motherboard, one to the CPU (the Ryzen 5 7600 has integrated graphics), and 3 to the graphics card? Or do integrated GPUs not play nicely with multiple monitors?

For my use, would AMD and Nvidia GPUs be equally good?

 

[TonyCarter]

The motherboard GPU socket is what the iGPU connects to, so that's only 1 monitor.

But most of the 30/40-series (3060 or above) Nvidia GPUs, 60/70 series AMD GPUs, and Intel Arc GPUs have 4 outputs...usually a mix of HDMI and Displayport.

There's also the Nvidia GT730 which has 4 outputs, but it's only a 2GB VRAM card, so don't know what limitations that would put on the display resolutions.

 

[YetAnotherPcBuilder]

I am considering a PC with an AMD Ryzen 5 7600.

I want the PC to be as quiet as possible.

Is the Fractal Define 7 a good choice for a case?

Would you recommend installing additional fans to improve the airflow?

Are there other choices you'd recommend? It seems that PCS no longer sells the CoolerMaster Silencio.

My use would be about 80% office software and 20% Lightroom and photos, but no gaming, 3D rendering, etc.

Thanks!

 

[TonyCarter]

The 7600 does not need a lot of cooling, so even a decent tower/air cooler would probably suffice (e.g. Frostflow 100/150/200)...although many recommend a Noctua tower/air cooler instead (which would have to be sourced elsewhere).

However, without knowing you full build, it's difficult to say whether this would suffice...as the case can have a huge impact on temperature and noise. Could you post your config as detailed below...

How to Post Your Specification to the Forum - Check this Spec

Just a first note, if you've been provided this link, don't amend your first post as it won't update the queue, please add an additional comment to the thread, that way it will go back to the front of the queue. Otherwise we don't know it's been updated. When creating a forum post looking to...

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It would also be much easier for the volunteers if you keep all your questions regarding the same build within the one post.

 

[YetAnotherPcBuilder]

The 7600 does not need a lot of cooling, so even a decent tower/air cooler would probably suffice (e.g. Frostflow 100/150/200)...although many recommend a Noctua tower/air cooler instead (which would have to be sourced elsewhere).

However, without knowing you full build, it's difficult to say whether this would suffice...as the case can have a huge impact on temperature and noise. Could you post your config as detailed below...

How to Post Your Specification to the Forum - Check this Spec

Just a first note, if you've been provided this link, don't amend your first post as it won't update the queue, please add an additional comment to the thread, that way it will go back to the front of the queue. Otherwise we don't know it's been updated. When creating a forum post looking to...

www.pcspecialist.co.uk

It would also be much easier for the volunteers if you keep all your questions regarding the same bui

It would also be much easier for the volunteers if you keep all your questions regarding the same build within the one post.

Even if they are about completely separate points?

The way you have merged the posts, the title is about connecting 5 video cards.
So someone who has tested the Corsair liquid cooler but has never used 5 video cards will read the title, conclude they have nothing to contribute, and ignore it. Similarly, other users looking for info on how to connect multiple video cards will now see posts about liquid cooling which are not relevant...

 

[YetAnotherPcBuilder]

The system I am considering (I haven't ordered yet) is:

Case
FRACTAL DEFINE 7 BLACK QUIET MID-TOWER CASE
Processor (CPU)
AMD Ryzen 5 7600 Six Core CPU (4.0GHz-5.2GHz/38MB CACHE/AM5)
Motherboard
ASUS® PRIME B650-PLUS (DDR5, USB 3.2, 6Gb/s) - ARGB Ready!
Memory (RAM)
32GB PCS PRO DDR5 4800MHz (1 x 32GB)
Graphics Card
8GB AMD RADEON™ RX 6600 - HDMI, DP - DX® 12
Graphics Card Support Bracket
NONE (BRACKET INCLUDED AS STANDARD ON 4070 Ti AND ABOVE)
1st M.2 SSD Drive
512GB INTEL® 670p M.2 NVMe PCIe SSD (up to 3000MB/sR, 1600MB/sW)
1st M.2 SSD Drive
2TB INTEL® 670p M.2 NVMe PCIe SSD (up to 3500MB/sR | 2700MB/sW)
1st Storage Drive
8TB SEAGATE IRONWOLF PRO 3.5", 7200 RPM 256MB CACHE
DVD/BLU-RAY Drive
16x BLU-RAY WRITER DRIVE, 16x DVD ±R/±RW & SOFTWARE
Power Supply
CORSAIR 550W TXm SERIES™ SEMI-MODULAR 80 PLUS® GOLD, ULTRA QUIET
Power Cable
1 x 1.5 Metre UK Power Cable (Kettle Lead)
Processor Cooling
CORSAIR H60x RGB Elite High Performance CPU Cooler
Thermal Paste
ARCTIC MX-4 EXTREME THERMAL CONDUCTIVITY COMPOUND
Extra Case Fans
2 x 120mm PCS Ultra Quiet Fan
Sound Card
ONBOARD 6 CHANNEL (5.1) HIGH DEF AUDIO (AS STANDARD)
Network Card
ONBOARD 2.5Gbe LAN PORT
Wireless Network Card
WIRELESS INTEL® Wi-Fi 6E AX210 2,400Mbps/5GHz, 300Mbps/2.4GHz PCI-E CARD + BT 5.0
USB/Thunderbolt Options
2 PORT (1 x TYPE A, 1 x TYPE C) USB 3.1 PCI-E CARD + STANDARD USB PORTS

 

[Steveyg]

The system I am considering (I haven't ordered yet) is:

Case
FRACTAL DEFINE 7 BLACK QUIET MID-TOWER CASE
Processor (CPU)
AMD Ryzen 5 7600 Six Core CPU (4.0GHz-5.2GHz/38MB CACHE/AM5)
Motherboard
ASUS® PRIME B650-PLUS (DDR5, USB 3.2, 6Gb/s) - ARGB Ready!
Memory (RAM)
32GB PCS PRO DDR5 4800MHz (1 x 32GB)
Graphics Card
8GB AMD RADEON™ RX 6600 - HDMI, DP - DX® 12
Graphics Card Support Bracket
NONE (BRACKET INCLUDED AS STANDARD ON 4070 Ti AND ABOVE)
1st M.2 SSD Drive
512GB INTEL® 670p M.2 NVMe PCIe SSD (up to 3000MB/sR, 1600MB/sW)
1st M.2 SSD Drive
2TB INTEL® 670p M.2 NVMe PCIe SSD (up to 3500MB/sR | 2700MB/sW)
1st Storage Drive
8TB SEAGATE IRONWOLF PRO 3.5", 7200 RPM 256MB CACHE
DVD/BLU-RAY Drive
16x BLU-RAY WRITER DRIVE, 16x DVD ±R/±RW & SOFTWARE
Power Supply
CORSAIR 550W TXm SERIES™ SEMI-MODULAR 80 PLUS® GOLD, ULTRA QUIET
Power Cable
1 x 1.5 Metre UK Power Cable (Kettle Lead)
Processor Cooling
CORSAIR H60x RGB Elite High Performance CPU Cooler
Thermal Paste
ARCTIC MX-4 EXTREME THERMAL CONDUCTIVITY COMPOUND
Extra Case Fans
2 x 120mm PCS Ultra Quiet Fan
Sound Card
ONBOARD 6 CHANNEL (5.1) HIGH DEF AUDIO (AS STANDARD)
Network Card
ONBOARD 2.5Gbe LAN PORT
Wireless Network Card
WIRELESS INTEL® Wi-Fi 6E AX210 2,400Mbps/5GHz, 300Mbps/2.4GHz PCI-E CARD + BT 5.0
USB/Thunderbolt Options
2 PORT (1 x TYPE A, 1 x TYPE C) USB 3.1 PCI-E CARD + STANDARD USB PORTS

Just a couple notes mate, for RAM you really want it to be running in pairs. I know you don't have the highest of performance needs but there's no point hamstringing it when it doesn't cost more. Always better have two sticks as opposed to one

Ryzen CPU's also need fast RAM to function properly, ideally 6000Mhz but I would go with the fastest option available

The GPU will handle 4 monitors no problem it's quite strong and the iGPU should handle the 5th.

Fair warning you want a quiet system and the Iron Wolf drives are really designed for server racks so they are quite loud and rattly compared to the Barracuda's. Essentially they are designed to be put on a server rack and closed away in a separate room so volume consideration wasn't taken into account in their design. You will hear it

Fractal Define 7 XL is a fantastic case, very good passive airflow and great cooling for a silent case. Good option for keeping things muted

I believe the 6600 requires a 500W PSU so factoring in the other components it'll run the PSU pretty close to the wire in turn will cause the PSU to run hot so the fan will be going hard and making noise. Aiming for quiet you want plenty of overheard so the fans never get spinning too quick, I'd go 750W

The H60x is a really old cooler now, it's grand but again if you wanted quiet I would go with a modern cooler. The H115i is particularly quiet and the H100i even would be a good call, I'd say a really good air cooler would be your best bet but PCS don't sell the one's I'd recommend. A good Noctua would be very very quiet and very effective at cooling

No need for the extra thermal paste the Corsair coolers come with a very good pre applied paste

Extra fans add extra noise and you really don't need them. For the tasks you listed it shouldn't be pushing the thermal limits anyways so the case fans and the fans on the cooler should be enough to keep it nice and cool and more importantly quiet

 

[YetAnotherPcBuilder]

Thank you so much for all the feedback!

On the hard drives: the idea is to have Windows and all the programs on the first SSD drive, all my photos on the 2nd SSD drive, and to use a non-SSD drive for all my data - things like documents, music, etc. Would you say the extra speed of the Ironwolf (which spin at 7200 rpm) is not worth the extra noise vs the Barracuda (which spin at 5400 rpm) - given my needs and the fact I already have 2 SSD drives?

For the CPU, my thinking was that I don't really use software which benefits massively from having many cores, so I preferred fewer but faster cores (which is also cheaper). I ruled out the 7600X because it runs much hotter. I was undecided between the Ryzen 5 7600, which uses the AM5 chipset, and the 5600 on the AM4 chipset. I presume the difference will be minimal when browsing or running office software - maybe only with Lightroom would I notice some difference?

 

[Steveyg]

The 7600 is a good choice I'd stick with that

I wouldn't go with a 5400RPM HDD these days it's way too slow. Honestly if it's just mass general storage I would go with an external option. I have a 4TB Seagate external that makes zero sound and you could go with 2 of them to make 8GB. I would not get a 5400 RPM anything though it's way too slow in this day and age, I would go with multiple slower drives first