Multi-monitor setup...
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A few weeks ago I went out and bought a replacement monitor because I thought mine had broken (It's an old monitor, so I didn't think much of it). Unfortunately, when I plugged in the new monitor I saw the same blurred, fuzzy screen that made me go and get the new monitor... Apparently my video card fried itself somewhere, somehow. So, now I'm stuck with two perfectly functional monitors (and a cheap video card...). I think it would be really cool to have a multi-monitor setup, but I'm not sure how I can do it. I've noticed cards like Matrox's G450 dual-head series that have two RGB outs, and few other cards offer this feature. But, there's also a computer at the lab I work at that has two video cards in it - each with a different monitor attached. So what's the best way to go about setting up a multi-monitor system? For the second type of setup, do the two videocards have to have special features to allow them to coexist in the same system? Can I put three video cards in the system? Thanks -- Russell Morris Georgia Institute of Technology "Hello, I'm doctor stupid. I'm going to take out your liver bones!" - Ralph Wiggum
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A few weeks ago I went out and bought a replacement monitor because I thought mine had broken (It's an old monitor, so I didn't think much of it). Unfortunately, when I plugged in the new monitor I saw the same blurred, fuzzy screen that made me go and get the new monitor... Apparently my video card fried itself somewhere, somehow. So, now I'm stuck with two perfectly functional monitors (and a cheap video card...). I think it would be really cool to have a multi-monitor setup, but I'm not sure how I can do it. I've noticed cards like Matrox's G450 dual-head series that have two RGB outs, and few other cards offer this feature. But, there's also a computer at the lab I work at that has two video cards in it - each with a different monitor attached. So what's the best way to go about setting up a multi-monitor system? For the second type of setup, do the two videocards have to have special features to allow them to coexist in the same system? Can I put three video cards in the system? Thanks -- Russell Morris Georgia Institute of Technology "Hello, I'm doctor stupid. I'm going to take out your liver bones!" - Ralph Wiggum
The only feature I am aware of your needing is that not all OS's support more than one video card, and obviously you can only have one AGP on every motherboard I know of. I have a Matrox G400, and I love it. I don't do any 3D gaming, so can't comment there, but it runs our 3D software just fine, GL support is OK and the most important thing is that it works as dual monitor on all Windows OS I have tried ( W2000, ME, W98 ). Dual monitor rules - you can run videos on your second monitor, run the MSDN there, keep WinAmp open in big mode, all sorts of things. Christian Secrets of a happy marriage #27: Never go to bed if you are mad at each other. It's more fun to stay up and fight.
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A few weeks ago I went out and bought a replacement monitor because I thought mine had broken (It's an old monitor, so I didn't think much of it). Unfortunately, when I plugged in the new monitor I saw the same blurred, fuzzy screen that made me go and get the new monitor... Apparently my video card fried itself somewhere, somehow. So, now I'm stuck with two perfectly functional monitors (and a cheap video card...). I think it would be really cool to have a multi-monitor setup, but I'm not sure how I can do it. I've noticed cards like Matrox's G450 dual-head series that have two RGB outs, and few other cards offer this feature. But, there's also a computer at the lab I work at that has two video cards in it - each with a different monitor attached. So what's the best way to go about setting up a multi-monitor system? For the second type of setup, do the two videocards have to have special features to allow them to coexist in the same system? Can I put three video cards in the system? Thanks -- Russell Morris Georgia Institute of Technology "Hello, I'm doctor stupid. I'm going to take out your liver bones!" - Ralph Wiggum
Either get a dual-head graphics card (eg Matrox) or buy an even cheaper second PCI card, and plug the spare monitor into that. I've had this old Acer monitor that for the past 18months has been on the verge of dying (it seemed) it was onll when I bumped the cable at the back did I realise my video card was falling apart. Saved me the cost of a new monitor ;) cheers, Chris Maunder (CodeProject)
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A few weeks ago I went out and bought a replacement monitor because I thought mine had broken (It's an old monitor, so I didn't think much of it). Unfortunately, when I plugged in the new monitor I saw the same blurred, fuzzy screen that made me go and get the new monitor... Apparently my video card fried itself somewhere, somehow. So, now I'm stuck with two perfectly functional monitors (and a cheap video card...). I think it would be really cool to have a multi-monitor setup, but I'm not sure how I can do it. I've noticed cards like Matrox's G450 dual-head series that have two RGB outs, and few other cards offer this feature. But, there's also a computer at the lab I work at that has two video cards in it - each with a different monitor attached. So what's the best way to go about setting up a multi-monitor system? For the second type of setup, do the two videocards have to have special features to allow them to coexist in the same system? Can I put three video cards in the system? Thanks -- Russell Morris Georgia Institute of Technology "Hello, I'm doctor stupid. I'm going to take out your liver bones!" - Ralph Wiggum
I have done quite a bit of work with multi-head systems on windows in the past year, primarily with Windows 2000 (I develop medical imaging software that utilizes up to 5 displays). Multi-head can be a bit tricky, some video cards just will not work in a multi-head environment. I highly recommend going the single video card route (like a Matrox G400/G450). If you need to have two separate video cards, keep the receipts because it may not work. There are a few web pages out there that focus on dual-head issues, use your favorite search engine to find them - they might provide better insight. Chris Hafey
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A few weeks ago I went out and bought a replacement monitor because I thought mine had broken (It's an old monitor, so I didn't think much of it). Unfortunately, when I plugged in the new monitor I saw the same blurred, fuzzy screen that made me go and get the new monitor... Apparently my video card fried itself somewhere, somehow. So, now I'm stuck with two perfectly functional monitors (and a cheap video card...). I think it would be really cool to have a multi-monitor setup, but I'm not sure how I can do it. I've noticed cards like Matrox's G450 dual-head series that have two RGB outs, and few other cards offer this feature. But, there's also a computer at the lab I work at that has two video cards in it - each with a different monitor attached. So what's the best way to go about setting up a multi-monitor system? For the second type of setup, do the two videocards have to have special features to allow them to coexist in the same system? Can I put three video cards in the system? Thanks -- Russell Morris Georgia Institute of Technology "Hello, I'm doctor stupid. I'm going to take out your liver bones!" - Ralph Wiggum
I used a Matrox G400 with dual monitors up until recently, and I found it very useful, especially for programming (VC in one window, MSDN in the other), and for graphics and web design. Except for 3D performance (which is why I got an ATI Radeon instead), Matrox cards are just about the best in terms of dual monitor features (they're the only single card with true dual monitor support in W2k), and 2D image quality. I'm seriously considering getting a PCI card so I can use a dual monitor setup again. Cheers, Peter
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A few weeks ago I went out and bought a replacement monitor because I thought mine had broken (It's an old monitor, so I didn't think much of it). Unfortunately, when I plugged in the new monitor I saw the same blurred, fuzzy screen that made me go and get the new monitor... Apparently my video card fried itself somewhere, somehow. So, now I'm stuck with two perfectly functional monitors (and a cheap video card...). I think it would be really cool to have a multi-monitor setup, but I'm not sure how I can do it. I've noticed cards like Matrox's G450 dual-head series that have two RGB outs, and few other cards offer this feature. But, there's also a computer at the lab I work at that has two video cards in it - each with a different monitor attached. So what's the best way to go about setting up a multi-monitor system? For the second type of setup, do the two videocards have to have special features to allow them to coexist in the same system? Can I put three video cards in the system? Thanks -- Russell Morris Georgia Institute of Technology "Hello, I'm doctor stupid. I'm going to take out your liver bones!" - Ralph Wiggum
Hi I have been using a dual monitor configuration for a number of years, and could never go back to working with one monitor, as the benefits of having the extra desktop space are enormous and beats the other choice of buying a bigger and bigger screen. Before Microsoft offered dual monitor configurations I worked for a company that used dual monitor cards, but we always had trouble with the drivers, had incompatibilities with software, and had to put up with silly things like the start bar being spread across both screens or when maximizing a screen it maximizes over both screens, or something using full screen mode does the same thing – all things that disappeared by using 2 cards and letting windows take care of the rest. You need to use pci (or agp cards), that has a windows driver, and at least one card must be supported by Microsoft to be used as a second card (although does not require a special driver.), which is most, at least with a known chip. I use an ATI All in Wonder pro AGP as my primary card, with an old ATI mach 64 as the second (although have also used a S3/Virge). This configuration works no problem on win98. On win2k it is odd, because if the agp is configured as primary card in the bios, the mach 64 driver cannot start, so in the bios I reverse the settings, and that does the trick. The pc boots with the mach 64 being the primary display, but then in win2k you can select which functions as the primary display, and I choose the All in Wonder. In theory you can use as many cards / monitors as you have pci slots available, and configure them positioned to the left, right, top or bottom of each other, and each with a different size and resolution setting, but I imagine for practical reasons 3 would be a max. Once you have set up your system with 2 cards and seen the benefits: - when programming having visual studio in one screen, with msdn or other reference material in the other. - When debugging having your program running in one with watching debug output in the other, or spreading variable lists, stack lists etc over both screens, or changing the resolution of the second screen to see how your program looks at different resolutions… - when surfing the web, having 2 browsers fully visible and while one is loading, you can be reading the other. Etc. etc. etc. I’m sure you will not want to use a one monitor system again. Leo