Solved Dual monitor setup help

[Phill3990]

Hey all,

I am thinking about setting up a dual monitor on my PC. I tried to find a FAQ or tutorial on here but had no luck. I have 0% knowledge on how to set this up or even if i can on with my specs, so any help would be awesome.

Thanks

Phill3990

PS: if this is in the wrong section I apologize.

 

[oscer1]

for that card you can have four displays. so should be no problems running 2 just need the appropriate connections on monitor and video card.

 

[Phill3990]

for that card you can have four displays. so should be no problems running 2 just need the appropriate connections on monitor and video card.

Ok so after connecting the second monitor is there a setting or install wizard i have to start?

 

[oscer1]

you might need to go to display settings to choose what monitor you want as the default i am not on a win 7 machine to tell you exactly how but here is a link that should help. Change display settings on multiple monitors

EDIT: you can set it to extend the desktop or clone. most people extend the desktop.

 

[dsperber]

Assuming you have the nVidia drivers installed, you can support multiple monitors in "extended desktop" mode. As was stated, just connect the second monitor in your project to a second connector on the video card. I'd suggest using two digital connectors, like DVI and HDMI or DisplayPort if you can (in any combination), but you can use VGA if that's needed for the monitor. You can also use adapter cables if you need to, depending on the card connector you want to use and the available connectors on the monitors.

Anyway, you can go into nVidia Control Panel and use the "multiple monitors" dialog to configure things. You drag around the 1 and 2 icons to reflect where you have the 1 and 2 monitors. You can also use Windows (right-click on desktop and select "screen resolution") to do the same thing. Use IDENTIFY to blast out 1 and 2 to the screens, so you can see which monitor the graphics card and Windows considers to be 1 and 2. It really doesn't matter which one is 1 or 2, only that you know which is 1 and which is 2.

You indicate that you want to run in "extended desktop" mode, rather than clone/duplicate mode. Windows will want to know which one is going to be your "primary" and which will be your "secondary" (extended).

Once you've got them arranged in the Windows or nVidia dialog as you want, you can also specify which on is your main "primary" monitor. This will be the one where by default Windows will put the taskbar and open program windows to. Of course you can move those objects to the other monitor if you want to (and then will re-open there the next time they're used or if you re-boot), but by default Windows will use your "main" monitor for this purpose. By definition, the other monitor is the "extended" display.

Each monitor can be specified as having its own resolution, and of course you probably want to use the highest "native (recommended)" resolution which appears. You simply click on that monitor in the graphical representation, and the information for that particular monitor will then appear and you can change it. Each monitor is customizable independently in this way.

If the two monitors are not identical sizes, you position them in the graphic representation shown to you up or down a bit from each other, and this will impact how the top and bottom of each screen aligns with the other screen, and what happens when you drag a window or the mouse across the edge between them. When the two heights aren't the same it's often confusing when you do drag things from one monitor to the other, as to why the whole object does or does not remain fully visible. You'll just have to get used to this, as there's no way around the issue when your screen sizes are physically not identical.


That's pretty much it... it's really very simple, and very intuitive, whether you use Windows or nVidia Control Panel.

 

[Phill3990]

Assuming you have the nVidia drivers installed, you can support multiple monitors in "extended desktop" mode. As was stated, just connect the second monitor in your project to a second connector on the video card. I'd suggest using two digital connectors, like DVI and HDMI or DisplayPort if you can (in any combination), but you can use VGA if that's needed for the monitor. You can also use adapter cables if you need to, depending on the card connector you want to use and the available connectors on the monitors.

Anyway, you can go into nVidia Control Panel and use the "multiple monitors" dialog to configure things. You drag around the 1 and 2 icons to reflect where you have the 1 and 2 monitors. You can also use Windows (right-click on desktop and select "screen resolution") to do the same thing. Use IDENTIFY to blast out 1 and 2 to the screens, so you can see which monitor the graphics card and Windows considers to be 1 and 2. It really doesn't matter which one is 1 or 2, only that you know which is 1 and which is 2.

You indicate that you want to run in "extended desktop" mode, rather than clone/duplicate mode. Windows will want to know which one is going to be your "primary" and which will be your "secondary" (extended).

Once you've got them arranged in the Windows or nVidia dialog as you want, you can also specify which on is your main "primary" monitor. This will be the one where by default Windows will put the taskbar and open program windows to. Of course you can move those objects to the other monitor if you want to (and then will re-open there the next time they're used or if you re-boot), but by default Windows will use your "main" monitor for this purpose. By definition, the other monitor is the "extended" display.

Each monitor can be specified as having its own resolution, and of course you probably want to use the highest "native (recommended)" resolution which appears. You simply click on that monitor in the graphical representation, and the information for that particular monitor will then appear and you can change it. Each monitor is customizable independently in this way.

If the two monitors are not identical sizes, you position them in the graphic representation shown to you up or down a bit from each other, and this will impact how the top and bottom of each screen aligns with the other screen, and what happens when you drag a window or the mouse across the edge between them. When the two heights aren't the same it's often confusing when you do drag things from one monitor to the other, as to why the whole object does or does not remain fully visible. You'll just have to get used to this, as there's no way around the issue when your screen sizes are physically not identical.


That's pretty much it... it's really very simple, and very intuitive, whether you use Windows or nVidia Control Panel.

Yeah i have NVIDIA control panel, cant believe its that simple to set it up. So i can make it so for example monitor 1 displays the taskbar/windows and have it so monitor 2 plays games etc?

 

[dsperber]

Yeah i have NVIDIA control panel, cant believe its that simple to set it up. So i can make it so for example monitor 1 displays the taskbar/windows and have it so monitor 2 plays games etc?

That's exactly how you do it, and what it's for and can be used as.

I have two monitors and have Windows Media Center on the machine (which is also my HTPC and home DVR system). So while I work looking straight ahead (right now) on what is my "main" primary monitor (where Windows taskbar is, and where most programs I use continue to open), my second "extended" monitor is off to my left where I open the WMC window so that I can watch TV on that screen while I work on the main screen.

Any well-written program will typically remember the physical size and location of its window from the last time you use it, and will re-open it with the exact same size and location the next time you launch it. This goes for "extended desktop" as well, where essentially the entire combined horizontal width of your two screens is simply one Windows desktop with some +/- pixel location used to identify where the secondary screen is relative to the left edge of the "main" primary screen (which is considered +0 pixel location).

But some not so well-written programs many not remember their last used window location in a multi-monitor setup, and even if you have dragged the window to your secondary monitor may simply may always open back on your "main" monitor (either at the left edge or the right edge). This isn't your fault, and there's nothing you can do about it aside from complain to the software vendor.

But regardless of whether or not location is remembered across program instances, you can still always just manually drag a window to be anywhere you want it, on either monitor. It will certainly stay there for as long as you keep the window open, even if it's not persistently then there always as it really should.

 

[Phill3990]

Thanks for your help I picked up my 2nd screen, just waiting on a DVI>DVI cable to get delivered from amazon then I will setting it up!

Phill3990

 

[Phill3990]

Ok so I have my dual screen set-up my pc automatically made settings etc once I plugged the second one in. I have one final question to ask about dual screen stuff.

Is there a way to use the 2nd monitor when the 1st is running a game in fullscreen mode.

For example,

Monitor 1 is playing say diablo 3 in fullscreen mode which of course uses the mouse. This makes it so i cannot use the 2nd monitor because the game is using the cursor and wont allow it to go over to the second screen. This means i have to minimize the game. Its only a minor thing but it would be great to use the 2nd screen without having to minimize the game on the 1st screen first.

Thank you in advance,

Phill3990

 

[dsperber]

This is a unique "feature" of Windows multi-monitor mode when one monitor is being used in full-screen mode. The mouse is limited to that monitor.

Same symptom if you use Windows Media Center in a multi-monitor setup, and have it maximized to full-screen (on one of your monitors). The mouse cannot leave that monitor.

The only workaround is to not run in full-screen. You can run in windows mode instead, but drag the outer edges of the window to just about the end of the screen. You now have effectively full-screen mode although it's not officially full-screen mode, but at least the mouse is now free to roam over the entire two-monitor extended desktop.

The only downside is that in windowed mode there is the outer window frame and title bar to deal with, which with WMC disappears when you run in full-screen mode. Your games might behave the same way.

If this isn't an acceptable workaround with your games, I don't know what else to say. It's either full-screen for the game with no window frame and the mouse locked to that monitor, or almost max window mode with window frame and a fully mobile mouse available to both monitors.

 

[Phill3990]

Thanks for your help on this Dsperber.

I will have a play about with windowed mode on games, the dual setup is mainly for university work and other various tasks. so I can have multiple documents up and videos etc. So the 'not being able to use while gaming' issue is only a minor inconvenience.

Thanks again,

Phill3990

 

[oscer1]

Glad it's all setup and working