Question about dual monitors

Norbert666

Norbert666

Norbert666

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Can you use dual monitors to play games or is it rubbish?

Can you use a widescreen and a non-widescreen in dual (not gaming)?

Can you use a widescreen and a non-widescreen in dual (for gaming)?

NB: the spec of my pc is not top of the range if that makes a difference.

Thanks
 
I'd also like to know the answers.

You need to give your spec. As some cards are capable of multi-monitor, others aren't.

You can use them both non gaming no problem. Right click desktop and look for graphics propeties then resolution and you should see both monitors ready to activate.

But for gaming I'm not sure if Nvidia Surround or Eyefinity works with 2? As you'd have the center point of the screen obscured by bezels.
 
You can use dual monitors for gaming - with ATI you can game with 6 monitors... but you need a really good computer to be able to keep up.

If you imageine your desktop area times the number of screens... it takes a lot of grunt to run.

I am not sure about different res monitors, you probably could - but why would you want to? What use would a wide screen and a 4:3 be next to each other - just confusing to look at.

Also, if your PC is not top end, then i would suggest that to keep FPS up, you only game on 1 monitor and the other is disabled by the drivers when you game - or you may end up with the games being slow and jerky.
 
Spec is:
Asus M3A78-T AM2+ Motherboard
AMD Athlon 64 X2 5000+ AM2+ CPU Unlocked to a Quad Core Phonom II X4
4GB DDR2 Ram
Corsair TX650 PSU
Gainward Rampage700 HD4870 X2 2048MB GS GLH

The GPU has multiple outputs.

Games - erm, well I'm a bit behind - current games installed are L4D (1st one), The Witcher (1st one) and Elder Scrolls: Oblivion.

I'd like to play some more modern games though!
 
I have a 4870 and personally wouldnt game that on dual screens - but you have the X2 which does have more grunt.

Most cards do have dual outs anyways - but that is mroe for extended desktop and not games - which is why low end cards also have dual outs.

I have no idea on AMD cpus and how much grunt they have - so I would just give it a go and see how it works.
 
Norbert666 said:
Can you use dual monitors to play games or is it rubbish?

Can you use a widescreen and a non-widescreen in dual (not gaming)?

Can you use a widescreen and a non-widescreen in dual (for gaming)?

NB: the spec of my pc is not top of the range if that makes a difference.

Thanks
Click to expand...

On a 4xxx series graphics card, you can only game on one screen. You can run two screens from it for normal desktop use and these can be set to be independant resolutions (I ran a 1920x1200 and a 1600x1200 together for a year or two). However, when you run a game it will only run on your main monitor (the one you chose to have the Windows start button it) and your second screen will still show your desktop. I used to play a game on one and have GPU/CPU temperatures and email displayed on the second screen.

With a 5xxx or 6xxx series graphics card, you can run Eyefinity which gives you the option to play a game across more than one screen. With this set up you have to run the same resolution on both monitors - so in my example above I would have to run 1600x1200 on both as the smaller one can't do 1920 - so mixing widescreen and non-widescreen looks HORRIBLE. Also, on most games most of the action is in the centre of the screen - which with a 2 screen Eyefinity setup is the bezel! I would PERSONALLY say stick with 1 or 3 screens for gaming.

Final note is that you can set up profiles and flick between them at the press of a button so you can switch between desktop mode (independant resolutions on each screen) and Eyefinity (duplicated resolutions) very easily and quickly.
 
On an ATI 4xxx series your dual screen gaming is game dependant unlike the AMD 5xxx/6xxx which has Eyefinity.

I know for a fact (cause I've used it on my old 4890) that Supreme Commander 2 supports dual screens where 1 screen is your main game while the 2nd screen is the minimap enlarged. Also quite a lot of flight sims support multi monitor gaming already without Eyefinity.
 
Weazle said:
On an ATI 4xxx series your dual screen gaming is game dependant unlike the AMD 5xxx/6xxx which has Eyefinity.

I know for a fact (cause I've used it on my old 4890) that Supreme Commander 2 supports dual screens where 1 screen is your main game while the 2nd screen is the minimap enlarged. Also quite a lot of flight sims support multi monitor gaming already without Eyefinity.
Click to expand...

Thank you - I stand corrected. I'm mainly a FPS/Driving/Sandbox gamer so I haven't had much experience with Strategy and Flight SIM games (and forgot they existed!)
 
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