Dual Head Setup Guide

[Death_blooms]

Death_Blooms' Dual Head Setup Guide

Ok so like me you feel you need a bit of extra desktop space but don't want to splash out on a huge monitor. Well here it is my guide to setting up a dual head configuration. In this guide I will cover the hardware you will need and how to set it up and how to tweak windows to work with your monitors.

The Hardware:
Choosing the right hardware for your dual head configuration is easy providing you no what hardware you've already got. Firstly we are going to look at the graphics card. Have you already got the right one, and if not which one is right for you.

Graphics Card:

You can tell if your card is compatible with a dual head configuration without lifting the lid on your rig. This is done simply by looking at the connectors at the back of your computer on the faceplate of your graphics card.

fig. 1

if your card has either:

• 2XDVI
• 2XVGA
• 1XDVI 1XVGA (see fig. 1)

Then your card is compatible with a dual head configuration. If this is not the case you are going to need to either replace the card or if you have a PCI slot spare for a PCI graphics card.

The Monitors:

You wont be needing a specialist monitor for your configuration a cheap CRT will do but a big LCD would be nice. One thing you need to bear in mind is that if your spare display output on your card is a DVI and you want to use a CRT you will need a DVI to VGA adapter which can be bought very cheap from amazon £0.01!!! if you want to plug a DVI monitor into a spare VGA output however your monitor should have a VGA input as well if not things get much more complicated so a new PCI card with DVI sounds like a plan.

The Software:

No extra software is needed to use the basic features of a dual head configuration however software such as Realtime Soft's Ultramon will unlock the full potential of your configuration.

Basic MS Setup:

Once you have everything plugged in its time to setup the software side of your configuration. Startup your computer and when logged on right click your desktop and select properties. Click on the settings tab then select the secondary monitor and tick extent windows desktop onto this monitor and set the resolution then drag the squares representing your monitors into the position that you have placed your monitors in. Click "OK".

CONGRATULATIONS YOU NOW HAVE A DUAL HEAD SETUP LIKE ME!!!

hope this helps those of you who are stuck and thanks to all the guys who helped me with my config.

[Cyberlon]

That is excellent advice. At work we use dual monitor setups, but since what I do doesn't require any 3D acceleration, we use stock video cards in conjunction with a matrox dual head to go. They are limited to specific chipsets for video controllers, and not cheap... but they definitely get the job done.

[Death_blooms]

Originally Posted by Cyberlon

That is excellent advice. At work we use dual monitor setups, but since what I do doesn't require any 3D acceleration, we use stock video cards in conjunction with a matrox dual head to go. They are limited to specific chipsets for video controllers, and not cheap... but they definitely get the job done.

my card was £25 and alowed me to plugin 2 monitors!!!

[Jokerswild]

What does Ultramon do that I can't do with my video cards software?

[Death_blooms]

Originally Posted by Jokerswild

What does Ultramon do that I can't do with my video cards software?

it allows you to have a seperate task bar for each display only displaying the programs that are on that monitor and allows you to quickly swich between display profiles so you dont ahve to change the settings for games eg GTA3 were your mouse would normaly move on to the other screen and when you go to shoot the game would minimise but with ultramon you can quickly disable and enable the secondary monitor.

[Hitman]

Originally Posted by Death_blooms

it allows you to have a seperate task bar for each display only displaying the programs that are on that monitor and allows you to quickly swich between display profiles so you dont ahve to change the settings for games eg GTA3 were your mouse would normaly move on to the other screen and when you go to shoot the game would minimise but with ultramon you can quickly disable and enable the secondary monitor.

Or you could just use nView if you have an nVidia Card.

[Death_blooms]

Originally Posted by Hitman

Or you could just use nView if you have an nVidia Card.

note the IF i dont mines ati but i have sli so nVidia it is... soon.

[Panda Man]

I refuse to believe that Death Blooms just posted a guide that is grammatically correct.

Good guide though

[halutzparilla]

Originally Posted by Death_blooms

my card was £25 and alowed me to plugin 2 monitors!!!

well, amazin, but i would greatly appreciate a guide on dvi and HDMI dual head setup... kinda pisssd off with me setup coz my lcd and tv won't display same resolutions making one or the other miserbaly an eysore... :baghead:

[Death_blooms]

Originally Posted by Panda Man

I refuse to believe that Death Blooms just posted a guide that is grammatically correct.

Good guide though

its true "the power of ms word"