dual monitors

[CMetaphor]

Originally Posted by BrainEater

The very first piece of advice I will give , is to not bother trying to run 2 monitors from 1 video card.It might be capable of it , but you are doubling the pixle count the video card needs to drive, and this will affect gaming a lot.

But if you're Not gaming I'd suggest a Matrox video card (Cause I know someone that works there).

[Jack Rabbit]

Can you get me a killer deal on one of their latest 4 monitor cards?

Going the separate video cards route is the best way if you want to really want to optimize the "main" for gaming. But it also introduces other issues especially if they are not the same manufacturer. You will need to install drivers for both cards and that can lead to weirdness.

I had a Matrox PCI card (G450 maybe?) in a PC with a nVidia 6800 and they gave me problems. The Matrox desktop software, which I forget what it is called, just made a mess of the nVidia settings every time I tried to do anything with it. It was extra software and not necessary so I just uninstalled it but that is a few hours of my life I will never get back.

I would like to get one of Matrox's 1 lane PCI-E video cards and try that out to see if it is any better now. As soon as I win big on the lottery that is first on my list.

[enzeo]

hey braineater,

So would it be fair to say then I can run my dual screens off of two seperate videocards (different manufacturer if your set up supports it) WITHOUT SLI?
Because I have a dual set up right now running two LCD 22" screens off of a single 8800 GTS and its noticeably reduced the frame rate when modelling in Maya2008. Based on what you wrote earlier, you think splitting the video out put into two using another low end video card to handle the other half will help?

cheers,

[ipaine]

It would most definitely help. I have two 8800 GT's and really only run them in SLI when I am in XP. When I'm in Vista I just use them as two separate cards. But yes even a lower end card will make a big difference, and since you have a Nvidia I would say get another Nvidia just to make the install easier.

Considering the card you already have I would say just go with a cheaper but good card, like the 8800GT. Since you are doing modelling in Maya it should be better with a nice card then a really low end card.

Personally I would recommend getting a little program called UltraMon. It manages your displays way better than windows does. I know that I love it and use it at home and at work.

Thats my 2 cents

[Jack Rabbit]

I have been reading some things that seem to say you can not do dual monitors in SLI. At all. Can some one set me straight here?

Also, I find programs do not run well if you have some of the window on one screen and some on another. Palettes (like the ones in PhotoShop) are fine but if the main window is on both screens, even if it is just one row of pixels, response goes down. You may want to test this out a bit.

You may also want to change the settings from dual view to horizontal span (or vice-versa). I do not like span mode because the task bar goes all the way across the bottom of both screens and dialogs and new windows pop up half on both screens but some people actually like it.

[ipaine]

Originally Posted by Jack Rabbit

I have been reading some things that seem to say you can not do dual monitors in SLI. At all. Can some one set me straight here?

You are correct you can not have SLI enabled and run two monitors. But if you do have 2 cards like my two 8800 GTs, you just have to disable SLI in the Nvidia control panel and you can have a dual/triple/quad display.

Basically I have my one 22" monitor connected to one of my 8800 GTs, then I have my TV and my 19" monitor connected to my other card. If I enable SLI then the display on my 19" and the TV will not work, but with it disabled I can run all 3 displays at the same time. Just remember that most games will only run on the primary monitor.

Originally Posted by Jack Rabbit

Also, I find programs do not run well if you have some of the window on one screen and some on another. Palettes (like the ones in PhotoShop) are fine but if the main window is on both screens, even if it is just one row of pixels, response goes down. You may want to test this out a bit.

You may also want to change the settings from dual view to horizontal span (or vice-versa). I do not like span mode because the task bar goes all the way across the bottom of both screens and dialogs and new windows pop up half on both screens but some people actually like it.

This is why I like to use UltraMon. I can have apps stretched across the 22" and 19" and have not noticed any issues. Also ultramon allows you to enable or disable a taskbar on each monitor, and also have it so that any apps open on that display only show up on that displays task bar. You can also set programs to always open on a certain display.

I can also set up wallpaper that allows me to have a seperate picture for each monitor or one single image stretched across all displays.

[enzeo]

hey,

Yeah, I've been using ultramon ever since I got my two screen and its priceless.
So am I to understand that ultramon has no problems outputting to two video cards onto two screens?

thanks

[ipaine]

Correct, no issues what so ever.

I can even run 3 different movies, one for each display all at full screen with no slowdown on any of them.

Not that I need to watch 3 movies at once, but hey nice to know that I can if I want to.

[Jack Rabbit]

Originally Posted by ipaine

You are correct you can not have SLI enabled and run two monitors. <snip> If I enable SLI then the display on my 19" and the TV will not work, but with it disabled I can run all 3 displays at the same time.

Good to know it is just a software setting. I tried asking on the nVidia forums but the jerks just ignored me. I guess this question is not 1337 enough.

Originally Posted by ipaine

This is why I like to use UltraMon. I can have apps stretched across the 22" and 19" and have not noticed any issues.

What happens if you span two monitors with a movie window? I have not done much with dual monitors on my 8800 but my 6800 craps out if I try to do any fancy accelerated graphics or video overlay in a spanned window.

Most of the bling that ultramon provides I just do not find handy. To each their own. I would really like to see the source code.

[ipaine]

Originally Posted by Jack Rabbit

What happens if you span two monitors with a movie window? I have not done much with dual monitors on my 8800 but my 6800 craps out if I try to do any fancy accelerated graphics or video overlay in a spanned window.

Well I just tried it and it works without a hitch. Still nice and smooth playback.