My sister had a dual monitor system when she was in college. Since she did computer animation stuff in her major, she liked to be able to see what she was working on full-screen in one monitor, and she had her program open in the other monitor. So one monitor was her easel, and the other monitor was her artist's palette. I can't remember if she still uses two monitors now, I know she has had problems with her college rig.
God hates us all, you know it's true, God hates this place. - Slayer 1726 Posts 10/03
Posted - Feb 17 2009 : 7:36AM
I use 2 monitors regularly, and it's easy to set up. You just need to make sure your video card has the second output. If it does, you're all set. Get your new monitor, plug it in to the wall and the other VGA/DVI port. Go to your desktop, right click -> properties. On the settings tab you should see a second monitor grayed out, click on it, tick the box "extend my desktop to this monitor", click apply. The screens should flash and you are now on 2 monitors. At at that point u can change you rez on the monitor, orient the screen - meaning if monitor two is on the right, when you are on screen one and move your mouse all the way to the right, it keeps going past the normal "boundry", and then it's on screen 2. I have a 22" LCD and a 19" LCD here at home, and work with a laptop and a 19" at work. Hope this helps. World Class Adult Reviews
When programming it's nice to have your source code in one screen and the application/website/database open in another full-sized window on the second monitor. It's more efficient since you're not constantly changing windows on the same monitor. It doesn't save that much time but it's a more comfortable workflow.
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nietzsche Deactivated User
5470 Posts 8/03
Posted - Feb 17 2009 : 2:43PM
I don't see a second output, so I guess I"ll have to get another card. That's not a big deal right? Is there anything special i need to know?
Open your box first and see that you have an open slot, and ascertain what kind of slot it is. If you don't have an open slot, and your present video is on a card instead of being built-in to the motherboard, you'll need a card with two outlets to replace your existing.
God hates us all, you know it's true, God hates this place. - Slayer 1726 Posts 10/03
Posted - Feb 17 2009 : 6:05PM
According to this study, it increases productivity 44%. I code for a living, and totally agree with Drew on his statements about programming World Class Adult Reviews
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nietzsche Deactivated User
5470 Posts 8/03
Posted - Feb 17 2009 : 9:12PM
The current card is built into the motherboard. I have one slot available.
God hates us all, you know it's true, God hates this place. - Slayer 1726 Posts 10/03
Posted - Feb 17 2009 : 9:17PM
^^ Now all you need to do is determine if it's a PCIe, AGP or PCI slot, and off to newegg.com you go for a new vid card In this link, the red, circled ones are PCI slots, the brown slot to the right of the red circled PCI slots is the AGP slot. This is a PCIe slot. If your computer is less than I'd say 5 years old, maybe even a little older, you should be on PCI and PCIe World Class Adult Reviews Edited by - PL on 2/17/2009 9:17:28 PM
I am using an ATI Radeon 9250 in an AGP slot. It didnt cost very much. This has two monitor outputs. You can run the windows desktop across them both and it acts like one big screen. Very handy when debugging code.
ah ok. thanks for the response drew. I've got my 20" LCD screen attached to my Macbook and can easily mess with the settings to do the double monitor thing. i've done it before just messing around with it and didn't care for it. I'm gonna stew on this and see if i can find any added benefit for doing it...
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nietzsche Deactivated User
5470 Posts 8/03
Posted - Feb 18 2009 : 2:14PM
OK i got the new card.i can nock the card in at an angle on the right hand side, but as i swing the card over and try to seat it, it's not clearing the slot opening on the left. Does that make sense? It's missing it by about half an inch, and i don't want to force it because i don't want to break the motherboard.
It's the PC you bought fairly recently, right? I doubt it very much that it would have an AGP slot, so perhaps you're trying to fit a PCIExpress card into a PCI slot. (or maybe, it's the other way around) Most cards these days are PCIe x16. PCIExpress x16 slot is a little longer than a PCI slot. See the pic. Obviously, you need to insert the card into a correct slot.
Strange. It should fit in the slot like this: Some motherboards have locking mechanisms on their PCIe slots, a "thingy" that needs to be pushed aside before you can insert the card, and then pushed back to lock it in place. I am not exactly certain (from your description) what part of the card is not clearing the slot opening.
Typically a system will have two monitor plugs, a regular 15 pin RGB and a DVI plug. Do you know what a DVI plug looks like?
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nietzsche Deactivated User
5470 Posts 8/03
Posted - Feb 19 2009 : 12:25PM
mine doesn't h ave the second input. I bought a new card with 3 DVIs and decided to play it safe and take it to a shop to be installed. Only $15. I tried yesterday but i'm useless with my hands. I'm currently setting up the second monitor. Keep your fingers crossed.
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nietzsche Deactivated User
5470 Posts 8/03
Posted - Feb 19 2009 : 12:25PM
i meant 2 DVIs
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nietzsche Deactivated User
5470 Posts 8/03
Posted - Feb 19 2009 : 12:46PM
ok i got the dual monitors working but it's not crossing to the other screen
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nietzsche Deactivated User
5470 Posts 8/03
Posted - Feb 19 2009 : 12:56PM
plus the windows are not 'passing' to the other side.
I got it working dude thanks; it wasn't passing over because i had the monitors backwards. they were passing on the 'outside' if you catch my drift. everything is copacetic. Thanks all.
In the future there's an easier way to do it. On XP you right click on the desktop, select Properties, settings and then drag the monitors into any physical configuration you want. Like these: [Image not found DB]
I looked at different LCD array stands and then stopped day trading so the need for a third monitor kinda went away. My ideal setup would be 21" LCDs on the left and right and a 19" in the center. I'm thinking about getting back into the market though. (I enjoy bottom feeding on stocks that have been beaten up.) We'll see.
i just came back from talking to my Calculus professor at school (in his office) and I noticed that he had two monitors set up that he was using on his computer. i didn't ask him why he used it and what he had on each monitor (i couldn't tell by glancing at it while he was talking to me). On the way back to the car my interests were piqued and i thought about how using my 20" widescreen LCD and 13" Macbook (up on a stand next to my 20") would increase my productivity or make things easier....i'm definitely thinking of trying it out at least. Thanks neech. goddamnit. haha.
ha no. i meant do other stuff as well as watch a movie and check my mail. that would be pretty crazy to have a computer in the bathroom. the first time i saw a phone in a hotel bathroom, i was amazed.
Little Puck Interview
Posted - Feb 16 2009 : 8:14PM
haha.
