What do ya guys think about Dual monitors?

[Monte]

I'm getting another free monitor, what are your guys thoughts on dual monitors? Is it cool for a bit then just get annoying? or is it nice and beneficial?

[big_k105]

i think it would be pretty cool but i dont know cause i have never tryed it sorry i couldnt help but i think it would be beneficial as you could see alot more stuff on your desktop :)

[Zachery]

if youve got a nice video card its nice :)

[Monte]

Yeah i got a Geforce FX 5200, i cant wait to try it. :)

[Dani]

It's really cool if you multitask in a bunch of applications ... i.e. webpages side by side, etc. Personally I find it obnoxious to have to look either right or left because all you see when you look straight ahead is space between the two of them ;)

[Caislander]

I'm getting another free monitor, what are your guys thoughts on dual monitors? Is it cool for a bit then just get annoying? or is it nice and beneficial?

Monte,

If you are doing something that make it useful, such as heavy graphic use, where the pallet is on one monitor and the image on another then i think it is awesome, if youn are getting it just beacuse well then I can think of better ways to spend my money ;)

But either ways congrat and I hope you enjoy it :cool:

[movielad]

Dual monitors are very useful for digital video editing - we have a few set-ups around here that are used precisely for that purpose. All NVidia Quadras or Geforce FXes. Twinned with Sony high-resolution 24" widescreen Trinitron monitors. Lovely jubbly.

Regards,

Martyn

[Redshift]

Sounds cool but I think if the desktop were spread across two monitors it would just become annoying, would be cool if you could have two seperate desktops on the same computer :D

[Dani]

2 desktops on the same computer is sorta like having multiple X sessions on a linux box. There's also a free Windows XP Powertoy that can do this. You can download it from Microsoft's website for free.

[Redshift]

2 desktops on the same computer is sorta like having multiple X sessions on a linux box. There's also a free Windows XP Powertoy that can do this. You can download it from Microsoft's website for free.

OOOHHH, me heads to microsoft, Poste Haste:cheesy: MY Graphics card has two outputs. Now where's that other monitor:!:

Thanks Dani

[alc6379]

I love dual monitors.

I don't program much, and I don't do much graphics editing. But, I do multitask, a LOT. I can have a web page maximized in one screen, and then I can have serveral terminals and other programs in the other screen. If you angle your monitors properly, it's not that bad to have to look left and right all the time.

So, IMHO, if you do lots of stuff, and you crave desktop space like me, dual monitors is one way of attaining more desktop space.

[floris]

I once went three way monitor, and never want to go back.

My 'chat' system is a 1 monitor setup, but man do I miss 3 monitors in a row when I chat.

It really helps development, design and workflow to have 2 or more monitors.

I have the middle one as the active work page where I have fullscreen browser or program to work in and on the left the operating system things and email in a virtual desktop together with some other tools that can idle in the background and only checked once in a while. On the right monitor I have the result of what I work on. Like the html or php page or control panel or other toys. This way it is easy to switch between apps and eaier to get an overview. You can really use multitasking beyond.

If you have the money, GO FOR IT!

[Ragnarok]

I have never had the luxury of using more than one monitor cus my recorces are pritty bad with little money and only have a laptop doesn't exactly give me a change to upgraide my Graphics card so it can support 2 monitors. Although in a sence it can, one being connected to the laptop and one through the monitor socket in the back...

[mdknutz]

If you have two computers and want to share the keyboard and mouse, you should try synergy, it's very cool, you can point to the right of the screen and find that the mouse will travel to the next computer. You can find synergy at:
http://synergy2.sourceforge.net/faq.html - It's really KVM witout the "V"

[retardcat]

it would be kind of cool but you would look like a bit of an admin but if u like that then thats ok

[server_crash]

I think it's pretty cool. My neighbor gave me an old monitor, but the graphics didn't look to good with my little laptop! I saw get you one of those dual core gpu's that's coming out next year and it will look just fine.

[jbennet]

In windows u can make it so u drag off one screen onto the other. Useful for debugging. App on right and code and variable watcher in left

[TheNSS]

windows can actually support up to nine freakin monitors!!!!!!!!!! you'll never need that many though. some games like flight simulator can let you use 3 monitors.

[nickbrec]

I'm getting another free monitor, what are your guys thoughts on dual monitors? Is it cool for a bit then just get annoying? or is it nice and beneficial?

There was an article on /. about Bill Gate's desktop... he uses 3 screens. E-mail on the left, browser in the center.. and probably his plans for world domination on the right.

Two screens are cool and useful if you have the physical space and you really do that much multi-tasking. Frankly, it's all in how much space you need and how much crap you need in your face at one time.

nickbrec

[pctec]

I think only people who are heavily into graphics and video editing could get much practical use out of it...

[donno92]

I’ve been using dual screens for a while now, its not annoying, it very beneficial for me I’m not a programmer, I do a bit of graphic design but I find it good for just day to dad use. It helps me with me design as I can have pallets on one screen and the image/video on the other.

[uniquestar]

I've used dual screens for a while now, although only with laptops. I use it at work and have Outlook open on the external screen, so I can keep a decent eye on my mail, calendar etc. And I work on the Main screen.

When at uni, it meant I could watch movies or visualisations on the external screen while working on the laptop. and I also use it when comparing things, it gives me a lot more space.

I have trouble when using a windows maching to use only one monitor now. Try it and see how you feel.

[ashikkalam123]

Dual monitors are really useful when you have to do a lot of multitasking.My friend who is a web developer and a photographer as well uses dual monitors to work on a web page as well as his photos at the same time.And of course you need to have a more than decent graphics card to support dual monitors.

[jbennet]

i run dual monirors on my laptop (its got less a 4mb onboard)

if you do the calculations, dual monitors need very little

Decent cards are only needed for effects, games, cad/cam

[uniquestar]

Your laptop has an onboard video memory of 8mb? Thats a bit low isnt it?

Mines got an ATI onboard chipset running at 256mb!

[jbennet]

its a business laptop. Not designed for games therefore doesnt need a big card

Pre 2001ish most cards were 1,2,4,8 mb and 32/64/128 for games.

i still come across servers with 1 or 2mb cards

P.S your card is not 256mb. Its 1-64mb and steals the rest from system RAM which is slow. Thats why laptops and budget cards suck at games.

[ashikkalam123]

Dual monitors can work on 8 mb of video RAM.But you need more RAM depending on the work you are doing.People who use more resource draining stuff need better graphics and video cards.

[uniquestar]

My card doesnt steal sys memory, and also runs games perfectly fine.

[jbennet]

it does, unless its an XPS or something

If its an ATI card check its name under Catalyst. If it has the word "Hypermemory" in it then it steals sytstem RAM

The same with budget desktop cards. A lot of these cheap "512 mb" cards are actually 128 and steal the rest as they need it

[uniquestar]

Again, My card does not steal memory from the system, but I did get one detail wrong.

I've looked it up, and its 128MB not 256 as I first thought. The laptop is a 2 year old HP Compaq nx8220, and the graphics card is an ATI Radeon X600.

I know all about hypermemory, as I recently built a PC for a mate and had a hard time finding a decent GFX card.