Dual monitor setup

Post by **Joose** » July 16th, 2005, 11:50

Im looking to upgrade my graphics card at some point (my poor 5600 is beginning to feel the strain), and was wondering about dual monitors. Whats the easiest/cheapest way of doing this?

The other small point is that the second monitor is currently plugged in to the second computer

Anyone know of a switch of some kind that i can plug it into, so i dont have to keep rewiring my computers.

wyrd · Post by **wyrd** » July 16th, 2005, 13:10

look for a kvm switch or maybe just video switch

most cards come with 2 outputs now just do some research before you buy

Nickface · Post by **Nickface** » July 16th, 2005, 13:34

wyrd wrote:most cards come with 2 outputs now just do some research before you buy

this

Post by **Joose** » July 16th, 2005, 13:46

huzzah! that makes things easier.

Post by **ProfHawking** » July 16th, 2005, 14:34

pretty much any card with a dvi socket can be used to drive two monitors
a small adapter can turn a DVI connector into a normal D-Sub
if you have 2 tfts tho, one can be driven on dvi, the other would have to be analogue. (unless you spend silly money on a quattro or summin)

if you need more than 2 monitors, you can use another pci card as well.

use a kvm switch for switching between computers, make life much easier and can be had for about a tenner now i think

Post by **FatherJack** » July 16th, 2005, 23:32

wyrd wrote:most cards come with 2 outputs now

and quite a few have a little s-video out as well, which if you don't mind it not being quite as sharp as a normal monitor means you can use any sort of screen, even a game gear. My 6600 came with a little adapter for the DVI out socket as well, to convert it to normal VGA, so older, cheaper monitors can be used.

I'm guessing Joose wants to expand his desktop with two similar-sized monitors, but I'm thinking of doing something a little different, and wondered if anyone had any thoughts.

I have a CRT(1) plugged into the VGA out of my 6600, leaving me the s-video and the DVi/VGA. There's not enough space on the desk for another full-sized monitor, but there is about 8-10 inches where I want a small screen, probably an LCD to display webpages, chat clients and stuff while I'm gaming.

I've lost the game gear, but a small handheld TV would just about do the job - I'd prefer something a little larger and clearer, but 'proper' LCD monitors seem overpriced, and too large for what I need - any ideas?

(1) I prefer CRTs for gaming, and mine is a nice, clear one with integrated speakers. Also I have a nearly inexhaustable supply of replacements from work.

wyrd · Post by **wyrd** » July 16th, 2005, 23:43

i used to love crts, but 2 two on one desk is too much

now i'm one one lcd, its not bad

www.aria.co.uk

Post by **Joose** » July 20th, 2005, 17:09

Well, ive got the dual monitors thing working. It utterly kicks all of the asses in the world. Hard.

I looked in to KVM switches, but the only ones in PC world (the only PC shop thats ever bloody open around here) were rather excessively spangly ones for about £50. A little rich for my tastes. The search continues.

On a side note: anyone know of a source of decent-for-games, large, cheap flatscreens? Ive just discovered that my second CRT actually sucks ass.

EDIT: actually, thinking about it, it would make sense to keep my huge CRT (thats rather nice for games) and get a cheap shitty flatscreen as a second monitor. Any sources for those

cashy · Post by **cashy** » July 20th, 2005, 17:11

if you want cheap and shitty, i would recomend ebay. garanteed to have the cheapest and shittyest of everything

Post by **Joose** » July 20th, 2005, 17:28

Buying from Ebay gives me the fear.

Stuk · Post by **Stuk** » July 20th, 2005, 21:29

Damn, I had a site which sold good brands at cheap prices..searched my bookmarks to no avail, which is a shame because I want a cheap TFT too

. I'll point you in the direction of http://www.ebuyer.co.uk, usually a good place for stuff (although I've never bought anything there)

Maybe a stickied thread should be made with links to good sites for different types of hardware?

Stuk

Post by **ProfHawking** » July 21st, 2005, 1:08

ones i use:

http://www.scan.co.uk
http://www.ebuyer.com
http://www.rlsupplies.co.uk
http://www.retekdirect.co.uk
http://www.komplett.co.uk
http://www.aria.co.uk
http://www.overclockers.co.uk
http://www.savastore.com
http://www.misco.co.uk
http://www.cclonline.com
http://www.svp.co.uk (consumables mainly)

umm cant think of any others right now, but im sure there are

mrbobbins · Post by **mrbobbins** » July 21st, 2005, 8:53

Joose wrote:Well, ive got the dual monitors thing working. It utterly kicks all of the asses in the world. Hard.

I looked in to KVM switches, but the only ones in PC world (the only PC shop thats ever bloody open around here) were rather excessively spangly ones for about £50. A little rich for my tastes. The search continues.

On a side note: anyone know of a source of decent-for-games, large, cheap flatscreens? Ive just discovered that my second CRT actually sucks ass.

EDIT: actually, thinking about it, it would make sense to keep my huge CRT (thats rather nice for games) and get a cheap shitty flatscreen as a second monitor. Any sources for those

Joose, does your card have TV out as well?, svideo or something?, do you know if you can use that at the same time as your dual monitors?.

I'm still trying to find out if normal graphics cards can do this

Lateralus · Post by **Lateralus** » July 21st, 2005, 9:47

ProfHawking wrote:ones i use:

http://www.scan.co.uk
http://www.ebuyer.com
http://www.rlsupplies.co.uk
http://www.retekdirect.co.uk
http://www.komplett.co.uk
http://www.aria.co.uk
http://www.overclockers.co.uk
http://www.savastore.com
http://www.misco.co.uk
http://www.cclonline.com
http://www.svp.co.uk (consumables mainly)

umm cant think of any others right now, but im sure there are

www.dabs.com is also a good one - bought 5 or 6 things from there recently including my new HD, and they've always been very quick and cheap.

/sales pitch

Jinxx · Post by **Jinxx** » July 21st, 2005, 13:49

Lateralus wrote:www.dabs.com is also a good one - bought 5 or 6 things from there recently including my new HD, and they've always been very quick and cheap.

I found dabs to be utter bastards if you needed to return anything.

Lateralus · Post by **Lateralus** » July 21st, 2005, 13:56

Luckily I've never needed to return anything, but theres a first time for everything!

*makes pagan prayer for new HD*

Post by **FatherJack** » August 12th, 2005, 10:10

FatherJack wrote: I've lost the game gear, but a small handheld TV would just about do the job - I'd prefer something a little larger and clearer, but 'proper' LCD monitors seem overpriced, and too large for what I need - any ideas?

I got this:

little 7" LCD thing for 20 notes from that nice ebay man.

Does exactly what I wanted it to, but probably too blurry for most people.

spoodie · Post by **spoodie** » August 12th, 2005, 10:18

FatherJack wrote:I got this:

little 7" LCD thing for 20 notes from that nice ebay man.

Does exactly what I wanted it to, but probably too blurry for most people.

THAT is a very good idea, what is it exactly so I can get one?

mmmmm Stella ...

Post by **FatherJack** » August 12th, 2005, 10:56

spoodie wrote: THAT is a very good idea, what is it exactly so I can get one?

mmmmm Stella ...

This is the auction: http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll? ... 5791274943
and it's titled a 7" lcd monitor with A/V & speaker if that link expires.

It's a 7" widesceen-ratio LCD screen designed primarily for putting in cars like in 'Pimp My Ride'. It can be mounted either in a bracket (for screwing to walls, car headrests etc) or a little stand.
Because it's designed for cars it runs off 12V requiring a mighty 1A - the power connectors are car-type ones which I chopped off and connected to a PSU I got from Maplin.
Input is either via 3 phono plugs (AV1) or a socket on the face (AV2), it also has a headphone socket, a little remote control and OSD brightness, colour and contrast.

I already had an svideo M-M cable, and just needed a svideo F-F phono converter (also from Maplin) to connect it.

As soon as I plugged it in I was able to select clone or extend from the advanced section of the graphics card, after rebooting it came up as dualview and showed as a second monitor in the normal section of display properties.

I don't know what resolution it actually is - I run it at 800, which is far too high to clearly see normal size text, but I either increase the text size or display graphical information, such as the Intel active monitor or Konfabulator widgets, as I said it's pretty blurry due to using the svideo cable.

Also everyone I've shown that photo to seems to notice the Stella despite the appalling quality of the photo taken on my phone.

Stoat · Post by **Stoat** » August 12th, 2005, 13:32

That's rather tasty, I must say.