Dual Monitor Setup.

[blackeye]

Im thinking about getting a dual monitor setup.

Right now I have the FE991SB Monitor and I would like to get another monitor for dual monitor setup.

I got a couple questions that some of you may be able to help me out with.
-Does it affect gaming performance If I have a game open in one monitor and firefox, msn and whatever in the other monitor?
-Will i be able to stretch photoshop, cinema4d, and other application across so they fit two screens?
-When im playing games is my mouse going to keep going onto the other screen or will it stay on the same screen im playing games on.
-Do you find dual monitors usefull?
-Is it worth it or should I just keep a single monitor and alt tab between documents, programs and whatever else.

If I use my FE991SB for my gaming monitor do you think it would be better to get a cheaper monitor for the second monitor such as the FE990? Or just spend the extra $40 and get another FE991SB? Or if anyone could recomend a good LCD that is 19inches and is No higher then $300 american I might consider that.

Oh and does anyone know wher I can get this background. I have seen it many times befor but never a link to download
http://www.hardforum.com/showthread.php?t=840576&highlight=dual+monitors

 

[Ranga]

i'm not so good on the technial side of it, but i had two moitors running and it was great. i put a cheats page at the top and my game at the bottom...this was before i got a printer. for me the mouse stayed on the game. select the bouncing ball screen saver! the ball bounces up both

 

[Link]

Does it affect gaming performance If I have a game open in one monitor and firefox, msn and whatever in the other monitor?
Only as much as having them open in the background normally would

-Will i be able to stretch photoshop, cinema4d, and other application across so they fit two screens?
Yup. Bear in mind you will have the bezels in the middle though, which can be irritating

-When im playing games is my mouse going to keep going onto the other screen or will it stay on the same screen im playing games on.
No, games capture the mouse and keep it in the area of the game. You have to alt-tab out to get your cursor back. Saying that, if you pull up a menu in game, you can mouse across to the other screen.

-Do you find dual monitors usefull?
Damn bloody right I do. I can see who is talking in ventrilo, rather than having to recognise the voice, have system stats and hardware monitors running, msn and xfire up to see who is online and where they are, all without leaving the game. Stunning says I

-Is it worth it or should I just keep a single monitor and alt tab between documents, programs and whatever else.
Very, but that is imo and my set up was free (I had a spare monitor lying around anyway) and I already had a dual monitor capable card. I recommend it, espesially if you have a lot of hardware monitoring and communication tools you like to use, but you will have to pay for another monitor, so its up to you.

Might be worth looking at a crappy cheap second hand monitor and use that for display and your old one for games. Would work out much cheaper.

 

[blackeye]

K thanks guys. I think im going to go ahead and get a dual setup.

 

[Link]

Search google for ultramon when you do. Its a monitor manager which is quite good.

 

[Asus]

Aye, dual monitors.

I put Teamspeak/xfire etc on the right side while I play my games so I know where my buddies are and I know whos in the channel. Great way to do it. It's funny cause everyone else is like "Who just joined?" and I just say "Hi, whoeveritis".

What I have noticed is that if you have winamp with the mini visualization enabled showing above the time and playlist or if the websites are running macromedia flash or something then my game will not perform the same as if I had them minimized.

You can stretch programs, such as photoshop, across the screen but you will probably find yourself leaving it fullscreen on one window for multitasking.

 

[Link]

Well, that would make sense. Theres a lot of CPU work that goes on rendering a flash or winamp visualization, which wouldn't be taking place if they are minamized, but they are extreme examples. Team speak and xfire are very un-cpu intensive, so should have little effect.

You can test this also. Load up clearinfo and run a flash or what have you and note the cpu usage. then minamize it and the CPU usage should drop, especially on slower machines. Do the same with xfire or teamspeak and I don't think you will see any difference.

 

[Ecthe|ioN]

I advice you to get a dual monitor setup. I've had it for a month or so, and it's sweet. I'll stick with two monitors forever now

And like already said by link. Search for "Ultramon". It's a great little application for all your dual-screen needs.

 

[simmo]

You know when you press ESC in HL2 and you have the windows mouse, will it let you move to the other screen ?, or is it locked like every other game ? ;(

 

[destrukt]

some setups lets you move to the other monitor, but if you click it will minimise hl2. it did that on my old setup, but instead of hl2, it was just some other game.

 

[Asus]

If you run your game in window mode, you could.
My brother does that all the time. He has AIM up and chats and plays at the same time.