Dual display question
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Even a fairly old video card - I use a NVIDIA GTX660Ti - will have support for at least two displays (but it's worth checking what inputs your monitors will take. You can't "split" a single HDMI output to two different images, just duplicate the same picture on two. Trust me, multiple monitors make things so much easier: just having one for the internet and one for VS while coding (or one for VS and one for your app while debugging) is worth it's weight in gold. I run three now: internet (Portrait), VS (Landscape) and a spare for Email & everything else! Go for it: get a cheap two - or three - output card, and disable onboard. It'll free up your system RAM and accelerate windows display stuff at the same time.
"I have no idea what I did, but I'm taking full credit for it." - ThisOldTony "Common sense is so rare these days, it should be classified as a super power" - Random T-shirt AntiTwitter: @DalekDave is now a follower!
I wouldn't be without a dual display for work. As others have said, the productivity gains are significant. Point of this post is to put in a word for the multiple desktops feature in Windows. I rely on this heavily and have been up to a virtual 8 or 10 monitors with it - two IDEs open with a lot of stuff in each, best spread over two monitors per IDE, plus documentation, browser windows, email, discreet sanity-preserving displacement activities that that shouldn't be left visible to passers by... If it wasn't for this feature, I'd be looking at more and bigger monitors and still find them constraining on occasions. Once the extra desktops have been created (Task View icon which for me is to the right of the Start menu icon, lower left), panning right and left through the desktops array is [Ctrl]+[Windows key]+[Right cursor] or +[Left cursor].
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Two Display Ports if you want to be a bit more future safe. One DisplayPort should be enough since you can daisy chain them, but not to many monitors support that, so you'd need to check that out.
Wrong is evil and must be defeated. - Jeff Ello
I agree about using Display Port. You'll almost certainly get better resolution with it than HDMI.
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I've not used dual displays since the early 90s (back then We would use
OutputDebugString()to send debug text to a second mono monitor). I would like to try my hand at using two displays again for the extra screen real estate they would provide. I'm thinking of purchasing a new computer that has 1 HDMI port. Would it be better to install a video card that has one HDMI port for the second monitor to use, or a video card that has two HDMI ports for both monitors and just not use the one integrated in the motherboard? Thanks. DC"One man's wage rise is another man's price increase." - Harold Wilson
"Fireproof doesn't mean the fire will never come. It means when the fire comes that you will be able to withstand it." - Michael Simmons
"You can easily judge the character of a man by how he treats those who can do nothing for him." - James D. Miles
I agree with those before me extra monitors are a significant improvement in efficiency, and after years of doing so I can hardly get any work done on a single monitor. Sometimes I travel and I will bring an extra long DisplayPort and HDMI cable with me so I can use the TV in the room as a second monitor. I would suggest a laptop with a dock and at least two external monitors, and skip the 1920X1080 FHD versions and go directly to 2K monitors Consider Dell XPS, or the Precision mobile workstations. The latter can be had inexpensively as companies near tech centers don't hold on to them long as they upgrade to get the latest and greatest every few years.
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Going as far back as Windows has had the ability, people have generally been recommending against mixing video chipsets from different manufacturers together, so that would mean disabling the onboard video and using instead a video card that supports two independent output ports. In reality--and I can only speak for myself--I've personally never experienced any display problem that I could attribute to mixing video cards from different manufacturers together. Maybe I've just been lucky, but I can definitely see how there could be room for strange behavior when using video drivers and add-on display software from different manufacturers. YMMV, but IMO if you're going to get a card anyway to provide a second display, then it would make sense to get a card that can provide two outputs and then just disable the built-in one. Another possibility (which is not necessarily as cheap as a low-end video card) - there are USB to VGA adapters that will act as a video card, and let you send video to a monitor through a USB port if, for some strange reason, adding a video card is not an option. You can chain them with no problem - at one point, for the hell of trying it out, I had 3 of them hooked up to a system that already had 2 "regular" displays, for a total of 5 monitors. But I will point out that the key here is to use a USB 3 port - when testing the configuration I mentioned, I could have 5 different HD videos playing full-screen, independently from each other, and not a stutter. Full-screen HD video over USB 2 did NOT work as smoothly. Even just moving a single window over a USB2 port showed the image getting clipped as it was being dragged. And TBH that was years ago when HDMI still wasn't all that common as a PC connector. I can't imagine there wouldn't be equivalent USB to HDMI adapters nowadays. [Edit] ..and sure enough, they exist, and they're even cheaper (CAD$25) than what I had paid for the USB to VGA adapters I experimented with.
dandy72 wrote:
Going as far back as Windows has had the ability, people have generally been recommending against mixing video chipsets from different manufacturers together, so that would mean disabling the onboard video and using instead a video card that supports two independent output ports. In reality--and I can only speak for myself--I've personally never experienced any display problem that I could attribute to mixing video cards from different manufacturers together.
If you go back far enough (win95? NT4????) you actually had to use different brands because something in the driver model choked on 2 instances of the same GPU. :omg: :wtf: I ran into NVidia vs ATI driver problems with XP (vista?) years ago; I was running 3 monitors in an era when GPUs only had 2 outputs and upgraded my main card from NVidia to ATI and ended up having to buy a second cheap ATI card because I could never get my main card and low end NVidia ones to play nicely. On more modern systems I never have had an issue with Intel and AMD/NVidia/USB; I've never tried mixing AMD and NVidia though. (My current systems are Intel and since cards started offering more outputs haven't needed to double up just for that.)
Did you ever see history portrayed as an old man with a wise brow and pulseless heart, weighing all things in the balance of reason? Is not rather the genius of history like an eternal, imploring maiden, full of fire, with a burning heart and flaming soul, humanly warm and humanly beautiful? --Zachris Topelius Training a telescope on one’s own belly button will only reveal lint. You like that? You go right on staring at it. I prefer looking at galaxies. -- Sarah Hoyt
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I've not used dual displays since the early 90s (back then We would use
OutputDebugString()to send debug text to a second mono monitor). I would like to try my hand at using two displays again for the extra screen real estate they would provide. I'm thinking of purchasing a new computer that has 1 HDMI port. Would it be better to install a video card that has one HDMI port for the second monitor to use, or a video card that has two HDMI ports for both monitors and just not use the one integrated in the motherboard? Thanks. DC"One man's wage rise is another man's price increase." - Harold Wilson
"Fireproof doesn't mean the fire will never come. It means when the fire comes that you will be able to withstand it." - Michael Simmons
"You can easily judge the character of a man by how he treats those who can do nothing for him." - James D. Miles
Just an odd thought to throw out into the mix, but working remotely when you have two displays in the shop is a real pain. Instead of two displays, I upped the size of the display at work to allow space for an output area, and working remotely became painless. I have a coworker who has a two-display setup at work and he is constantly complaining, reminding me of what I am not missing.
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dandy72 wrote:
Going as far back as Windows has had the ability, people have generally been recommending against mixing video chipsets from different manufacturers together, so that would mean disabling the onboard video and using instead a video card that supports two independent output ports. In reality--and I can only speak for myself--I've personally never experienced any display problem that I could attribute to mixing video cards from different manufacturers together.
If you go back far enough (win95? NT4????) you actually had to use different brands because something in the driver model choked on 2 instances of the same GPU. :omg: :wtf: I ran into NVidia vs ATI driver problems with XP (vista?) years ago; I was running 3 monitors in an era when GPUs only had 2 outputs and upgraded my main card from NVidia to ATI and ended up having to buy a second cheap ATI card because I could never get my main card and low end NVidia ones to play nicely. On more modern systems I never have had an issue with Intel and AMD/NVidia/USB; I've never tried mixing AMD and NVidia though. (My current systems are Intel and since cards started offering more outputs haven't needed to double up just for that.)
Did you ever see history portrayed as an old man with a wise brow and pulseless heart, weighing all things in the balance of reason? Is not rather the genius of history like an eternal, imploring maiden, full of fire, with a burning heart and flaming soul, humanly warm and humanly beautiful? --Zachris Topelius Training a telescope on one’s own belly button will only reveal lint. You like that? You go right on staring at it. I prefer looking at galaxies. -- Sarah Hoyt
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Just an odd thought to throw out into the mix, but working remotely when you have two displays in the shop is a real pain. Instead of two displays, I upped the size of the display at work to allow space for an output area, and working remotely became painless. I have a coworker who has a two-display setup at work and he is constantly complaining, reminding me of what I am not missing.
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I'm not sure I'm following. Are you saying you have two displays at work, but prefer a single-display setup when working remotely?
Let me clarify a bit more. I ONLY have a single large display at home. Having dual displays at work caused the problem. Replacing the two smallish displays with a larger display at work solved the scrolling problem. I have no room at home for a second display, which would have also solved the problem. A 27" display was < $200 USD, so it was a solution my owner approved of.
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I'm not sure I'm following. Are you saying you have two displays at work, but prefer a single-display setup when working remotely?
Yes. The problem with two at work and one at home is that anytime you move your mouse against the side the second monitor is, the screen on your local display scrolls in that direction. If the mouse move was just moving the mouse, this means you have to scroll back to where you were working, a delay and break of thought stream.
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Let me clarify a bit more. I ONLY have a single large display at home. Having dual displays at work caused the problem. Replacing the two smallish displays with a larger display at work solved the scrolling problem. I have no room at home for a second display, which would have also solved the problem. A 27" display was < $200 USD, so it was a solution my owner approved of.
Right...I despise working on a laptop because I'm used to multiple displays so I find one display to be cramped, to the point of being unusable...but I don't feel like the solution then is to stick with one display everywhere for the sake of having one consistent experience no matter where I am. If that's what you're saying. And are you saying 27" is "large"? What's the pair of "smallish" displays that you got replaced at work?
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I've not used dual displays since the early 90s (back then We would use
OutputDebugString()to send debug text to a second mono monitor). I would like to try my hand at using two displays again for the extra screen real estate they would provide. I'm thinking of purchasing a new computer that has 1 HDMI port. Would it be better to install a video card that has one HDMI port for the second monitor to use, or a video card that has two HDMI ports for both monitors and just not use the one integrated in the motherboard? Thanks. DC"One man's wage rise is another man's price increase." - Harold Wilson
"Fireproof doesn't mean the fire will never come. It means when the fire comes that you will be able to withstand it." - Michael Simmons
"You can easily judge the character of a man by how he treats those who can do nothing for him." - James D. Miles
Funny - it was only a couple weeks ago I found out that none of my remote team in India and Bangladesh were using dual displays, so I had them all go out and buy large monitors so they could have two monitors - their laptop screen and their external monitor. Then, 2 days ago, I was on a remote session with one of my guys and it looked like he was using only his laptop screen. He assured me that he was using his beautiful large monitor (32 inches), but the resolution looked terrible. But it was clear that he was using only one monitor. Turned out, he dutifully plugged in his monitor and then closed his laptop, using an external mouse and keyboard, forcing the external monitor to the same crummy resolution of the laptop. We went through the steps to show him how to use both simultaneously, which tripled his working desktop space - double resolution on the external monitor and then the original laptop. We put the debug window on the laptop, ran his program, and instantly found that his web system was making an extra extraneous SQL call for every action and a separate bug where a server call was being made when the data was already in memory. I cannot overstate the benefit of being able to have a live console output/debug log for applications, especially web apps. And for me, using double/triple monitors for years, don't care what the outputs are. VGA, DVI, HDMI, Display port - my primary tasks are writing and coding, so speed has very little concern for me. Once I needed a dual DVI cable to get a better resolution on my ultra-high res monitor, but that was it.
"Qulatiy is Job #1"
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I've not used dual displays since the early 90s (back then We would use
OutputDebugString()to send debug text to a second mono monitor). I would like to try my hand at using two displays again for the extra screen real estate they would provide. I'm thinking of purchasing a new computer that has 1 HDMI port. Would it be better to install a video card that has one HDMI port for the second monitor to use, or a video card that has two HDMI ports for both monitors and just not use the one integrated in the motherboard? Thanks. DC"One man's wage rise is another man's price increase." - Harold Wilson
"Fireproof doesn't mean the fire will never come. It means when the fire comes that you will be able to withstand it." - Michael Simmons
"You can easily judge the character of a man by how he treats those who can do nothing for him." - James D. Miles
I think you'll do well by adding a video card which has a DisplayPort (DP) video port. With DP you can daisy-chain 2 or more monitors with DisplayPort cables. You'll also need monitors which support DP. However, not all video cards support more than 2 monitors - you'll need to verify if they do first. My PC has an I5 9600K cpu, and its integrated grapics support 3 monitors quite well. I'm using 3 Dell U2415's arranged in a semi-circle.
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Right...I despise working on a laptop because I'm used to multiple displays so I find one display to be cramped, to the point of being unusable...but I don't feel like the solution then is to stick with one display everywhere for the sake of having one consistent experience no matter where I am. If that's what you're saying. And are you saying 27" is "large"? What's the pair of "smallish" displays that you got replaced at work?
I offered this as an alternative, not as the end all. My dual displays were a 21" and an old 19", so 27" is large. The company I work for has 25 employees, so being the third developer means cast-offs. I read the other responses and saw many bits of wisdom and offered this as an alternative that might be useful to you, not as an insult. What works for me might not work for you, but I thought you might consider it if it helped.
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I've not used dual displays since the early 90s (back then We would use
OutputDebugString()to send debug text to a second mono monitor). I would like to try my hand at using two displays again for the extra screen real estate they would provide. I'm thinking of purchasing a new computer that has 1 HDMI port. Would it be better to install a video card that has one HDMI port for the second monitor to use, or a video card that has two HDMI ports for both monitors and just not use the one integrated in the motherboard? Thanks. DC"One man's wage rise is another man's price increase." - Harold Wilson
"Fireproof doesn't mean the fire will never come. It means when the fire comes that you will be able to withstand it." - Michael Simmons
"You can easily judge the character of a man by how he treats those who can do nothing for him." - James D. Miles
At the onset of pandemic the company sent everyone home to work, but didn't let us take any monitors home. The LG 29" in the bedroom was commandeered as my second monitor. HDMI port from laptop. Couldn't have been easier.
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I offered this as an alternative, not as the end all. My dual displays were a 21" and an old 19", so 27" is large. The company I work for has 25 employees, so being the third developer means cast-offs. I read the other responses and saw many bits of wisdom and offered this as an alternative that might be useful to you, not as an insult. What works for me might not work for you, but I thought you might consider it if it helped.
Well...size is not all that matters; resolution matters too. I have a 40" 4K display as my primary monitor, and I'll make the claim that it's a better replacement than 4 1080p monitors (equivalent resolution) could provide. That being said, when I got it, I did *not* get rid of the other two 1080p monitors I already had.
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Funny - it was only a couple weeks ago I found out that none of my remote team in India and Bangladesh were using dual displays, so I had them all go out and buy large monitors so they could have two monitors - their laptop screen and their external monitor. Then, 2 days ago, I was on a remote session with one of my guys and it looked like he was using only his laptop screen. He assured me that he was using his beautiful large monitor (32 inches), but the resolution looked terrible. But it was clear that he was using only one monitor. Turned out, he dutifully plugged in his monitor and then closed his laptop, using an external mouse and keyboard, forcing the external monitor to the same crummy resolution of the laptop. We went through the steps to show him how to use both simultaneously, which tripled his working desktop space - double resolution on the external monitor and then the original laptop. We put the debug window on the laptop, ran his program, and instantly found that his web system was making an extra extraneous SQL call for every action and a separate bug where a server call was being made when the data was already in memory. I cannot overstate the benefit of being able to have a live console output/debug log for applications, especially web apps. And for me, using double/triple monitors for years, don't care what the outputs are. VGA, DVI, HDMI, Display port - my primary tasks are writing and coding, so speed has very little concern for me. Once I needed a dual DVI cable to get a better resolution on my ultra-high res monitor, but that was it.
"Qulatiy is Job #1"
That's an "attaboy" post if I ever saw one. Agreed wholeheartedly, I've been using at least dual-displays for over a decade, and there's just no going back. A laptop is just something to get by when I'm away from my desk. There's just no way I could sit down and try to do something *useful* with one display.
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I've not used dual displays since the early 90s (back then We would use
OutputDebugString()to send debug text to a second mono monitor). I would like to try my hand at using two displays again for the extra screen real estate they would provide. I'm thinking of purchasing a new computer that has 1 HDMI port. Would it be better to install a video card that has one HDMI port for the second monitor to use, or a video card that has two HDMI ports for both monitors and just not use the one integrated in the motherboard? Thanks. DC"One man's wage rise is another man's price increase." - Harold Wilson
"Fireproof doesn't mean the fire will never come. It means when the fire comes that you will be able to withstand it." - Michael Simmons
"You can easily judge the character of a man by how he treats those who can do nothing for him." - James D. Miles
David, I did that with the Monochrome Monitor. Wow... Norton Guides... [I Created NG for the Windows.h files] Anyways, USB-C is good enough. It all depends on where you want the monitor. I went from 2, to 3, and recently transitioned to a 4K, 55" TV (Equivalent of 4 monitors on one screen). It sits on my desk, my email is in the bottom right quarter. I use this and multiple desktops. Its so much easier/cleaner than 4 monitors, and no gaps/seams. BUT for you, in a desktop machine. Just add another monitor card. If you end up not using it, the cost was low. If you use 1920 type resolution, and travel (I use a laptop), I have 2 External/Portable USB type monitors. Nice and thin, all fit in the computer bag, so I can setup 2 or 3 monitors in my environment. The ONE downside to the huge monitor. It's a postage stamp on someone elses screen if I share the whole thing... LOL. Oh, and make sure you don't have to LOOK UPWARDS all day. It can throw your "bite" off, like TMJ...
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I've not used dual displays since the early 90s (back then We would use
OutputDebugString()to send debug text to a second mono monitor). I would like to try my hand at using two displays again for the extra screen real estate they would provide. I'm thinking of purchasing a new computer that has 1 HDMI port. Would it be better to install a video card that has one HDMI port for the second monitor to use, or a video card that has two HDMI ports for both monitors and just not use the one integrated in the motherboard? Thanks. DC"One man's wage rise is another man's price increase." - Harold Wilson
"Fireproof doesn't mean the fire will never come. It means when the fire comes that you will be able to withstand it." - Michael Simmons
"You can easily judge the character of a man by how he treats those who can do nothing for him." - James D. Miles
Buy a dedicated video card with its own RAM. Most integrated boards use the main RAM, which takes away from system use. You don't need to go high end, a mid-range board is sufficient for non-gaming needs. A few years ago I purchased Skyrim and my old card (low end) couldn't handle it. I purchased a mid-range card, which fixed that problem. It also speeded up the system overall, which surprised me at the time, but it makes sense as the board provides dedicated hardware and reduces the load on the CPU.
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I've not used dual displays since the early 90s (back then We would use
OutputDebugString()to send debug text to a second mono monitor). I would like to try my hand at using two displays again for the extra screen real estate they would provide. I'm thinking of purchasing a new computer that has 1 HDMI port. Would it be better to install a video card that has one HDMI port for the second monitor to use, or a video card that has two HDMI ports for both monitors and just not use the one integrated in the motherboard? Thanks. DC"One man's wage rise is another man's price increase." - Harold Wilson
"Fireproof doesn't mean the fire will never come. It means when the fire comes that you will be able to withstand it." - Michael Simmons
"You can easily judge the character of a man by how he treats those who can do nothing for him." - James D. Miles
While not necessarily two HDMI ports, I haven't seen a computer that did NOT support two monitors for a long time. The second one might be (mini) DisplayPort, for example. For programming, I have used a dual screen (preferable a triple screen setup, one for the source code, one for the debugging output and one for the actual application screen) for more than 30 years now, starting with that VGA+monochrome combo mentioned. Btw, typing this on a laptop that has a 17" 4:3 monitor attached via VGA, could also use HDMI instead) as a second monitor. Don't have the space right now for a 3 screen setup...
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David, I did that with the Monochrome Monitor. Wow... Norton Guides... [I Created NG for the Windows.h files] Anyways, USB-C is good enough. It all depends on where you want the monitor. I went from 2, to 3, and recently transitioned to a 4K, 55" TV (Equivalent of 4 monitors on one screen). It sits on my desk, my email is in the bottom right quarter. I use this and multiple desktops. Its so much easier/cleaner than 4 monitors, and no gaps/seams. BUT for you, in a desktop machine. Just add another monitor card. If you end up not using it, the cost was low. If you use 1920 type resolution, and travel (I use a laptop), I have 2 External/Portable USB type monitors. Nice and thin, all fit in the computer bag, so I can setup 2 or 3 monitors in my environment. The ONE downside to the huge monitor. It's a postage stamp on someone elses screen if I share the whole thing... LOL. Oh, and make sure you don't have to LOOK UPWARDS all day. It can throw your "bite" off, like TMJ...
Curious to know what portable USB type monitors you prefer.
"Qulatiy is Job #1"
