Advice required!

Ant84 · 13 Jun 2011 at 13:21

So I've decided to take the plunge and go for a dual monitor set-up.

I've decided on a couple of these (http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=MO-033-BQ) as they seem to be about the right size and rated very highly for the pricepoint.

My graphics card is pretty much the exact same as this (http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=GX-139-OK&groupid=701&catid=1914&subcat=1830) with the two DVI-I inputs at the rear.

My question is whether the card is suitable for the dual monitor display and, as the monitors are DVI-D, which cables I'll need to purchase to ensure I get it all working correctly?

Many thanks.

Edit - Is it possible to get a dual link cable to do the job? That would mean I could use the other DVI-I input for connecting to my plasma TV.

Reaper 392 · 13 Jun 2011 at 13:39

you will need 1 cable per monitor if you plan on having the two screens displaying separate stuff. (not sure if thats what you mean by a dual link cable)

the card itself is quite happy displaying to 3 different monitors i believe, but if your planning on gaming over two of them i would seriously not recommend it, because you will have the bezels (outer boarder) of the monitors right in the middle of your screen. for gamiing, its really a case of 1 monitor or 3. however, for normal use the second monitor is quite useful

as for cables, this will be fine: http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=CB-066-OK&groupid=1929&catid=1754&subcat=

Ant84 · 13 Jun 2011 at 13:43

Cheers. I don't do much gaming so I'm really just looking for normal use.

I'm not looking to duplicate the displays, I'm effectively looking to place the monitors side by side to achieve a resolution of 3840 x 1080.

Will I need two separate cables for that?

Edit - After further reading, I think I'm going to go for a couple of Samsung 2333T monitors instead to keep costs down.

honosuseri · 13 Jun 2011 at 13:52

The monitors should come with cables (id hope both vga and DVI) and possibly an adapter. So you can run both monitors off the DVI ports on the gfx card.

It's an nvidia card you have linked to so eyefinity (multiscreen gaming) isnt possible. I would suggest running the plasma tv off the HDMI port on the gfx card (you may need to buy an adapter).

I have a dual screen setup and it is very useful. Once the screens are hooked up right click on the desktop, select screen resolution and there is a drop down box for multiple displays. You want to "extend these displays". You can then arrange them in order so the pc knows which screen is to your left and right.

Hope this helps

Ant84 · 13 Jun 2011 at 13:54

Excellent.

Cheers for the advice guys.

honosuseri · 13 Jun 2011 at 13:58

Not a problem.

You set each monitor to it's native resolution whatever it may be. Mine is 1680x1050 for each screen. With the desktop set to extend over the two displays I can drag a window (firefox or media centre for example) past the edge of screen 1 and it will then appear on the second screen.......if that makes sense.