Arch Linux

Thrillhouse

Member

From: Arlington, VA, USA

Registered: 2007-05-29

Posts: 175

Going to try dual monitors, but first...

I need some information.  I've done a little reading on the subject and I've come to understand that dual monitors (usually) requires the use of two graphics cards.  Well, I don't have two cards though I'd be happy to buy a second to get it working but I'd like to know a couple of things first.

The monitor I'm currently using is a 24 inch widescreen that supports a native resolution of 1920x1200.  The monitor I plan on adding is a 17 inch that supports 1280x1024.  Will this be a problem?  I don't mind having the second monitor at a lower resolution but I don't know if X will be able to support that.  Will I have to drop my 1920x1200 to 1280x1024 to make everything work?  I'll leave it at that for now.  I may come back with some more questions depending on your responses.  Thanks.

---

For the strength of the pack is the wolf, and the strength of the wolf is the pack.

tam1138

Member

Registered: 2007-09-10

Posts: 238

Re: Going to try dual monitors, but first...

You don't need two graphics cards, but you do have to plug both monitors into the computer somehow.   (Some graphics cards come with two monitor ports.)

The difference in resolutions is no problem: you will be able to run both at native resolution.

Thrillhouse

Member

From: Arlington, VA, USA

Registered: 2007-05-29

Posts: 175

Re: Going to try dual monitors, but first...

Well, my card doesn't have two ports.  So I'll have to get one anyways.  Any suggestions?  I'm leaning towards nvidia because of the better Linux support but I'm welcome to suggestions.  I'll probably plug the 24 inch monitor into the new card seeing as how my current card is only 128 MB and the new one will likely be 256 or greater.

---

For the strength of the pack is the wolf, and the strength of the wolf is the pack.

skottish

Forum Fellow

From: Here

Registered: 2006-06-16

Posts: 7,942

Re: Going to try dual monitors, but first...

My video card (nVidia 7600GT, dual head) has a maximum resolution of 2560x1600. Currently I'm running 2 monitors at 1280x1024. If you can find a graphics card with 3200+ width, you can do it. From my experience though, running dual monitors side by side with different height resolutions can be a little strange. I always ended up with "screen area" below my smaller monitor. It's a great place to lose icons and things.

You can use multiple video cards too. I've never done it so I can't be of any help.

tam1138

Member

Registered: 2007-09-10

Posts: 238

Re: Going to try dual monitors, but first...

Unless you're going to play games, I wouldn't invest much in a new card.  I'm running 1600x1200x2 off on-board video. 

It will almost certainly be easier if the chipsets on both cards use the same driver, if not impossible otherwise -- I don't have any experience with that variation.  That is, if you've got an NVIDIA card now, the new one should probably be NVIDIA, too.

wuischke

Member

From: Suisse Romande

Registered: 2007-01-06

Posts: 630

Re: Going to try dual monitors, but first...

I have only experience with notebooks (one ATI mobility radeon x700 and a Intel GMA950), but it worked very well.

I used 2x 1400x1050 with mergedfb for a while and it's really nice to have so much space, but due to a lack of monitors I had to revert the setup.

I also used dual head (two screens) to playback a dvd on one monitor whilst working on the other. I tried Xinerama with the external monitor's native resolution (1024x768) as well, but I didn't work well with gnome.

Now, with me new notebook I use xrandr (1.2) to extend the screen size to 1680x1050 when I plug in my external monitor and don't use the internal display. I could use dual-monitoring as well, but there's little left to be desired with a 22'' widescreen.