adding a second monitor at different resolution

nalla · 26 Mar 2012 at 14:37

hi all, i have just sold my spare pc but they do not want the monitor, so i thought i might put it onto my main pc as a second monitor, my main monitor is a 30" dell at 3560 x 1600, the spare is a 19" dell, 1280 x 1024 ( i think ), will i need a spare graphics card to run this at a different resolution, i currently have 2 x gtx 480's sli, but i do not want to lose my sli as i need it run run games at max res, so will i need a cheap card to go in also to run the second monitor.

shahpor · 26 Mar 2012 at 15:49

Hey.

You mean 2560 x 1600, right?

As for the second monitor, you don't need any more graphics cards. If it is DVI, then just plug it into the second connector on your first graphics card and windows should pick it up.

beejjacobs · 26 Mar 2012 at 15:54

As above, no problem it will work fine. Having two screens is always useful too

nalla · 26 Mar 2012 at 22:01

cheers for that, i always thought they had to be the same resolution to be on the same card, ill give it a whirl, oh and yes i do mean 2560 x 1600.

beejjacobs · 26 Mar 2012 at 23:45

nalla said:
cheers for that, i always thought they had to be the same resolution to be on the same card, ill give it a whirl, oh and yes i do mean 2560 x 1600.

I'm running a 1920x1200 and 1024x768 just fine

Sash · 29 Mar 2012 at 19:14

beejjacobs said:
I'm running a 1920x1200 and 1024x768 just fine

I scavenged a 1280 x 1024 from my mum to work alongside my U2412M, I think it does nicely. Don't know why but I prefer looking at web pages on the small 17" compared to the 24" one. Both running off an 7970 no issues at all

beejjacobs · 29 Mar 2012 at 20:57

Sash said:
I scavenged a 1280 x 1024 from my mum to work alongside my U2412M, I think it does nicely. Don't know why but I prefer looking at web pages on the small 17" compared to the 24" one. Both running off an 7970 no issues at all

I find I use it a surprising amount, and it was free too

would prefer 1280x1024, am still seeing what I can find!

TAC4U · 29 Mar 2012 at 21:01

I don't see the advantage of a second monitor, particularly not one so small. I have a HDTV hooked up to my computer but I use that purely for watching video. I've had several multi-monitor setups in the past but always end up going back to a single large screen.

The only reason I'd even consider another monitor would be for touch-screen, like the Dell ST2220T. But I just don't think I'd end up using it enough.

Sash · 29 Mar 2012 at 21:51

TAC4U said:
I don't see the advantage of a second monitor, particularly not one so small. I have a HDTV hooked up to my computer but I use that purely for watching video. I've had several multi-monitor setups in the past but always end up going back to a single large screen.

The only reason I'd even consider another monitor would be for touch-screen, like the Dell ST2220T. But I just don't think I'd end up using it enough.

Watching movies on one screen (24 inch) and got messenger, webpages and twitter on the other screen.
Also using one screen for coding and the other screen for tutorials for Uni. I love my current setup but still tempted for 3 x 24 which I could also use for eyefinity gaming!