dual monitors - how to?

In my archive search I see that you don't always have to switch out

the video card for dual monitors. I am running windows XP with a

NVIDIA GeForce4mx 420 card. Will that support dual monitors? If so,

how do I do it? If not, what do I need to set it up? (Besides the

second monitor of course :) Also, (sorry, I am a newbie to

computers really) I do plan on upgrading my system in about a year.

I have a CRT monitor now. If I buy an LCD now (wich I plan on doing)

should it be the same size as the main monitor I hope to upgrade too

(or have now). Is there any advantage to the monitors being the same

size (like having the image spill over)??

Get a Mac :) Running multiple displays on PeeCees isn't very fun. Random things happen, for sure.

 

If you don't like that option: You will have to give us more information about your card.

 

Basically, if it has more than one port on it, most likely it will do dual monitors. Turn off your computer, plug the monitor in, and go into Displays on the control panel. Set the display as "active" and check your settings. You have a pretty low end video card, so you may not be able to support high resolutions.

 

I would HIGHLY recommend getting a current video card, with DVI outputs, and a nice DVI display.

 

If you don't have dual ports on your video card, you will either need to replace your card with one that is "dual-head" or add another card to your system.

 

Again, we need more info. Is your grahpics card built into the motherboard or is it an actual card? Is it AGP? 2x 4x 8x? is it old PCI?

 

Regards,

 

Aaron

The card MUST have two monitor output. if you use a Y cable the card and the OS will not know which one is which therefore, you'd have the SAME data on both monitors.

 

To have a dual monitor setup you could one of the many cards available today with DVI as well as the standard analog output. YOu could also use the S-VHS out although, you'd need an adapter to convert that signal into whatever your monitor uses (VGA or DVI).

 

If your card has two outputs you are ready to go. Each application will allow slighlty different windows layout. Generally speaking, WIN XP will remember what you did in you last session so, if for example you had NOTEPAD open on monitor 2 and ACDsee on monitor one that's the way they will re-open the next time.

 

You would not want the image to be divided between two monitors. Usually, you put the image on one monitors and the tools on the other...etc...

>>Random things happen, for sure.<<

 

Never had a problem with my DUAL monitor setup and my PCs. Not one "random thing" happened, for sure.

No problems on my PC with either ATi or NVidia cards.

 

Based on a real quick Google search it looks like this card only has one VGA output, which would mean you can't run dual monitors. That said, depending on the socket type the card is (AGP, I'm assuming), it probably wouldn't cost you all that much (like $100) to get a new one. If you are planning to upgrade in a year anyway...you might want to just wait. If you are on a budget, $100 is a substantial portion of a new eMachines or Dell.

You can find a dual monitor card for $50 and under. Do a Google search.

 

You don't need a super heavy duty, CAD-ready card. A GForce with 256 mb RAM and DVI, VGA and S-VHS outs can be found, i you do a search, for $49.00.

You guys are awesome, but WAY ahead of me. DVI, VGA, AGP, ?? Morse code? (smiles) I have no idea what any of that is. There is a parallel type plug for the monitor that goes into the back of the tower. It's right above where my internet cable goes (which is above the firewire port/slot, then the USB/slot). Next to the monitor's parallel plug there is what appears to be round plug receptacle. There is a small straight hole across the top and about 3 little ones on each side (all contained in the circumfrance of what I think is a plug receptacle next to where the monitor is currently plugged in). Okay, I surfed around my control panel and found this (though it means little to me)

AGP 4X, 64MB, {Pentium 4 with SSE2, DirectX 9.0 or better.

 

Keep in mind that I will keep my current monitor in addition to the new LCD so if I upgrade it still must deal with the old CRT. As for waiting, I'll swap all this over later to the new system so it'll keep me satisfied for a while anyway. My performance is OK, I just want more space.

 

Not to add to many issues, if I increase my resolution (I can go to 1600 x 1200 but it's at 1024 x 768) everything gets tiny. I saw that I can compensate with the DPI. How should it be set for the best viewing without changing the relative size it is now?

<i>...Running multiple displays on PeeCees isn't very fun...</i></p>

<p>another fantasy of a Mac owner ;-P I have used dual monitors in several PC's and it always worked perfect from the begining. I agree with the previous posts. Just get one of those tons of Dual-Monitor cards (if they support it, it will be described in the datasheet) and have fun. The size and resolution of the monitor does not plays a role as far as the dual function is concerned (there are of course some issues regarding the available memory on the video card, i.e. few memory could limit your resolution and/or color depth)

The round hole is most probably a TV-out port. But it does not matter: You'll have to get rid of your current video card and plug the new card there. The old card should be plugged in the AGP port of your motherboard (but some motherboards have on-board video), open your computer and see if you can take it out. Your CRT will be (again, most probably) VGA. Your LCD can be VGA and/or a DVI (i.e. digital). Look for a card with at least one VGA output and a second output matching the type of LCD that you plan to buy... I do not know if the 4x speed of your AGP port will be enought for the two cards (newer ports are 8x)

Check this site for a lot of information on multi-monitors.

 

http://www.realtimesoft.com/multimon/

 

It is confusing at first; just like anything you've never done. Once you understand that you need a video card that supports 2 monitors, its just a matter of plugging them in. Some folks will tell you that you just need to install a second PCI card (that's the shorter socket on the motherboard, of which there may be 4 or more), and then connect the monitors individually to each card, however, that's when the problems may occur. Also, you probably want a AGP card (that's the longer socket on your motherboard), and generally there's only 1.

 

I went thru this a couple of years ago, and have never had a problem on Windows XP, despite what the Mac elites say.

Thanks for the info. That link seems to have a lot of info so I will read up!

Wait a minute. It is flat WRONG that a dual-head video card is necessary for dual monitors on a PC. If you have more than one card in the machine, each one can run a monitor; as far as Windows itself is concerned, you can run up to NINE monitors on a PC, each with its own video card.

 

It's the motherboard that may present limitations. Some motherboards can't release VGA control to the operating system if there is a video card in the AGP slot--you'd have to use multiple PCI video cards and leave the AGP slot empty. Some of the early motherboards with integrated VGA could not release control properly to the operating system, either.

 

Generally, you can avoid problems by using a motherboard without integrated video, and leave the AGP slot empty. Some motherboards, strangely, can't handle two of the exact same video card model--there seems to be a problem with it determining how to run the same drivers simultaneously for two cards. However, this is definitely a motherboard problem, because other boards have no problem. If you can use the same cards, however, the manufacturer's multi-monitor software will work properly for both of them.

 

I've been running two nVidia mx4000 single-head cards in my image workstation for three years now. They work and play just fine together using the nVidia drivers and multi-monitor. I eventually replaced one of them with a dual-head card so that I could use THREE monitors (I didn't have any more PCI slots free just to add a third PCI card).

One more thing no-one spoke of, does size really matter? Seriously, is there any good reason to have the two monitors the same size or is it purely a financial decision? What has been you experiences with a 17" vs 19" monitor as the second one?

There is no set fast law that says that both monitor have to be the same size. I've seen plenty of set ups with a large 19" monitor for the photo and a smaller, 15", for the tool pallet.

 

There is really nothing magical or even hard about dual monitors on a Windows system. Most modern graphics cards support this right out of the box. My Radeon 9700 pro is 3 years old and supports dual monitors. It has DVI port and a RGB port on it. The only limitation I think is both monitors ahve to be RGB. There is an adaptor in the box for that. It even has a S-Video port on it so I can plug it into a regular tv and us it at 2 device.