Dual Monitors?

[SeK612]

I was just wondering how complete a dual monitor set up is.

It seems you can get a degree of independance between the when using software but I'd be interested to hear whether it's possible to have seperation when say playing a game on one monitor and using something like a browser or chat program in the other.

For the moment it seems if focus is switched to the non game monitor (say to type a message or enter a url) you're kicked out of the game and back to the desktop (similar to when you alt tab to change focus).

Is it possible to stop this from happening or will this alway be present when using dual monitors?

[Skiz]

It is absolutely possible and quite easy.

I play call of duty on one monitor with Teamspeak and MSN Messenger open on the other. I've been using two monitors for about two years now and I could NEVER go back to just one.

What brand/model is your graphics card? You'll need one with two plugs in the back so you can plug both monitors in. Once that's done, reboot and open Windows Display Properties > settings> and check Extend my Windows desktop onto this monitor. Done. :)

There is a very helpful program called Ultramon which is a great tool for controlling the monitors, and seeing as this is a file-sharing forum, we can probably set you up with that program for free. I have a "friend" who did that. :whistling

[SeK612]

But with MSN messenger can you use it whilst playing the game (or pause the game and switch to talking in messenger whilst the game remains paused on the first monitor).

I've got dual monitors set up already (a new TFT and an old CRT) and have a copy of ultramon to do stuff like extend the windows task bar, I'm just trying to perfect the setup (if I can then I'd possibly get a second TFT monitor in the future) :)

[Skiz]

If you're in a multi-player game, you can just press Ctrl+Esc and your Windows mouse cursor will appear allowing to perform functions outside of the game.

If single-player, then just press pause and do the same thing.

Does that answer your question? :ermm:

[Duffman]

or play in windowed mode...

[SeK612]

Maybe it's just a problem with me then (or the hardware I'm using) :unsure:

For the two games I've tried playing whenever I move the mouse into the other window and click on something the game in the other window minimizes to the desktop.

Could this just be a setup error on my part or something else?

[Skiz]

Hmm...not sure man. The only computer game I own is Call of Duty and the suggestion I made is what I always do. I figured it would have been the same for all games. Sorry, my expertise in this field ends there.

[Vamp]

Ok well, I do a lot of video editing and I'd like to use a second monitor, when I have my two monitors setup, I can keep my editing software on the one monitor and move different panels of it to my other monitor (like the tool bar or a dockable preview window)

I'd like to be able to watch what I've edited in the preview window in full-screen on a second monitor, so I can drag the preview window to my other monitor. However then I've moved the window from one monitor to another. I have limited space on my desk, so my second monitor isn't right next to the primary one, so that doesn't work. Is there anyway to keep the full editing software interface on one monitor, and then have the full screen video that comes from the preview window displayed on the second monitor?

[Skiz]

Ok well, I do a lot of video editing and I'd like to use a second monitor, when I have my two monitors setup, I can keep my editing software on the one monitor and move different panels of it to my other monitor (like the tool bar or a dockable preview window)

I'd like to be able to watch what I've edited in the preview window in full-screen on a second monitor, so I can drag the preview window to my other monitor. However then I've moved the window from one monitor to another. I have limited space on my desk, so my second monitor isn't right next to the primary one, so that doesn't work. Is there anyway to keep the full editing software interface on one monitor, and then have the full screen video that comes from the preview window displayed on the second monitor?

I don't know idea wtf you're talking about. It sounds like I'd need to use that program though to know anything at all. :blink:

[Vamp]

Ok, well, hard to explain if you aren't running the software :D

Let's say you have Winamp open and you're watching a video in it, so you have the Winamp screen and the controls (two separate windows). You want both of them on one monitor, but you also want just the video (not the actual window-border) to be displayed in full screen on your second monitor.

[Skiz]

Ok, well, hard to explain if you aren't running the software :D

Let's say you have Winamp open and you're watching a video in it, so you have the Winamp screen and the controls (two separate windows). You want both of them on one monitor, but you also want just the video (not the actual window-border) to be displayed in full screen on your second monitor.

I think I got what you're saying, and yes, you can do that.

[cool skill]

Do you need a special graphics card for dual monitor? OR can you just hook up a splitter to your normal graphics card, and have dual monitor?

[Skiz]

No need for a splitter. Just look at your the back of your computer. Is there two connections on the card or not? Most will have 1 VGA and 1 DVI.

[cool skill]

No.
Does your graphics card have to have dual monitor outputs? Or can you just hook up a splitter to your single output graphics card, and have dual monitor?

[Skiz]

You can have a dual monitor that way, but you wouldn't want to as the same thing would be going on on both monitors.

That way would be for like demonstrations. One monitor facing you and one facing an audience perhaps, with the same exact thing going on on both monitors..

To answer your question another way, would be to say YES. You need a graphics card with two outputs OR get another single slot card. I would not recommend that route though as a dual slot can be pretty cheap. If you're really looking to save $, you could get a GeForce 4600ti. It's a GREAT card and only about $10-20 on eBay or the like.

[cool skill]

All the dual cards I see are rgb/dvi. I been looking at ATI since the Nvidia site is even less organized than the ATI site. I can't even find Nvidia graphics cards anywhere online.

The ATI site is bad enough. Does anybody seem to know if there are any dual DVI cards? Also, does the secondary monitor have less graphics quality than the primary monitor?

I really like Matrox cards, but I don't trust them. Many of the games I see claim to only be compatible with Radeon or GeForce.

[Skiz]

All the dual cards I see are rgb/dvi. I been looking at ATI since the Nvidia site is even less organized than the ATI site. I can't even find Nvidia graphics cards anywhere online.

It's either VGA or DVI.

The sites aren't really disorganized, but you'll only find links to retailers who sell their products. They don't sell the products directly off their respective sites if I remember correctly.



The ATI site is bad enough. Does anybody seem to know if there are any dual DVI cards? Also, does the secondary monitor have less graphics quality than the primary monitor?

No. Both monitors are going to have the same quality. Don't think of it as splitting the quality in two. These cards are designed to run two monitors without losing ANY quality. I run 2 Dell LCD's and the quality is perfection on both. As to the question of dual DVI cards - of course there are. You can do some searching here on PRICEWATCH (http://www.pricewatch.com/) or go to NEWEGG (http://www.newegg.com/).

Also, I would NOT risk your time and/or money by buying anything other than a card manufactured by NVidia or ATI. You can find what you want within a reasonable price and still stick with a quality brand name.