Which is better for dual monitors?

[John Doe]

I do dual monitors and gaming.

For me, the benefit of having two monitors while gaining is being
able to use the secondary monitor for the Windows desktop. I don't
mean being able to click around on the secondary monitor while
playing, but the secondary monitor should be able to display the
Windows desktop while I am playing a full-screen game on the primary
monitor.

That's the way it is now, and always has been, using two NVIDIA
video cards. Currently I'm using an older GeForce3 AGP and an FX
5200 PCI.

I'm looking to upgrade and I'm surprised to hear that the NVIDIA
version of dual monitors does not support a full-screen game plus a
Windows desktop at the same time.

Does ATI's version of dual monitors support a full-screen game plus
a Windows desktop at the same time?

Generally, I'm asking which dual output video card is better for
dual monitors in Windows XP, ATI or NVIDIA?

Thank you.

 

[vellu]

To my knowledge there isn't (or has ever been) ANY, by any manufacturer,
single graphics card that would be able to show a game on one screen and
the desktop on the other. This due to the fact that almost all games
take full control over the graphics card to run nothing but the game. 3D
accelarated games in particular, which pretty much means all games these
days. The graphic cards are not designed to multitask.

This is why you still need another card in order to run the desktop at
the same time.

John Doe kirjoitti:

 

[Scotter]

OK you made it clear you don't need to be clicking around on the second
monitor while playing a game on monitor number 1. So it sounds like you do
what I do. I'll be playing PlanetSide on monitor #1 while monitor #2 shows
my Outlook Express, clock, iTunes, etc. and if I need to click around I hit
the Windows key and PlanetSide minimizes and I can then *use* the desktop. I
also have the choice of playing the game in "window" mode but PlanetSide
doesn't provide resolutions I dig in that mode so I play full screen
1600x1200. Anyway, I'm doing all this with one XFX 7800 GTX 256 card. The
monitors are dual Dell 24" wide LCDs. I did this same thing with PlanetSide
and with World of Warcraft back when my video card was a BFG 6800 GT OC. So
yeah, it doesn't sound like you are asking for much.

--
Scotter
Tyan Thunder K8WE
Dual Opteron 252s (2.6ghz)
6 gig DDR400 RAM
XFX 7800 GTX 256 w/VGAsilencerV3
500 gig SATA2 Hitachi
Dual 24" Dell LCDs
550W power supply
-

 

[Schrodinger's Cat]

To my knowledge there isn't (or has ever been) ANY, by any
manufacturer, single graphics card that would be able to show a game
on one screen and the desktop on the other. This due to the fact that
almost all games take full control over the graphics card to run
nothing but the game. 3D accelarated games in particular, which
pretty much means all games these days. The graphic cards are not
designed to multitask.
This is why you still need another card in order to run the desktop at
the same time.

Every graphics card I've had in the last few years allowed me to play Games
like UT2004 on one monitor and show the Windows desktop on the other.

Which card are you using?

Regards

Martin

 

[vellu]

I guess I'm wrong then.

Schrodinger's Cat kirjoitti:

 

[==--==]

I've got an ATi x800xl

I always run my full-screen games (rFactor, FPS's) on my widescreen TFT and
keep a windows desktop open on the other CRT monitor. I use the second
monitor also for email, ventrilo, Teamspeak, etc. etc. so that I can see
other things going on in the computer while I am in a full-screen app.

Don't why this Vellu poster would say that there are no cards that do
this.... actually MOST of the newer cards do this with a multi-monitor
setup. It's also worth getting a 3rd party package to manage the screens
ie: "Ultramon"

==--==

 

[Schrodinger's Cat]

I guess I'm wrong then.

No sweat. I wish I could say everything I'd ever posted was bang on.

Regards

Martin

 

[HockeyTownUSA]

To my knowledge there isn't (or has ever been) ANY, by any manufacturer,
single graphics card that would be able to show a game on one screen and
the desktop on the other. This due to the fact that almost all games take
full control over the graphics card to run nothing but the game. 3D
accelarated games in particular, which pretty much means all games these
days. The graphic cards are not designed to multitask.

This is why you still need another card in order to run the desktop at the
same time.

John Doe kirjoitti:

I use a single video card, Viper V5500 AGP, quite old I know, and run MAME
games on one screen and the second screen displays the controls in a full
screen web browser window.

 

[pjp]

XP - nVidia ti4800, two crt monitors and a tv all hooked up simultaneously.
Software allows me to mix and match any two of the three devices to obtain
extended desktop/dual-monitor.

XP & 98SE dual-boot - ATI 7200 & Matrox Mystique, two crt monitors and a tv
all hooked up simulataneously (7200 has VIVO). All three can be active at
same time but limitation as tv-out is only a copy of ATI screen and has
limitng res at 800x600 plus can't be used when doing Video-In (prevent
loopback back idiots) so it can't do extended desktop alone.

98SE - G400, 2 crt's or 1 crt & TV on 2nd head using dongle cable. Standard
extended desktop setup to use.

Under all conditions games "take over" the primary display and it's seldom
where one can move the mouse onto the extended desktop on the 2nd display.
If you can, it's basically a bug in the game and it'll probably crash. The
extended desktop can be slightly "shifted" when a game starts but usually
it's because of resolution differences between normal desktop and game, e.g.
some of primary gets shifted onto 2nd display.

Note : both the nVidia and G400 being true dual-head cards, have a "DVD
Theatre" type of mode where the 2nd display shows video's full screen (e.g.
to TV presumably) even when only a window on primary display.

As yourself, I find it handy when playing games to have downloads and other
apps I want to monitor on 2nd display. Can't interact while in game but
still very handy.

 

[belto]

Hi all experienced twin monitor users.
I have just installed An ATI Radeon 9250DDR withDV-I-TV
to use simply to spread my programme applications around instead of Alt.
Tab.
I have the desk top on second monitor and now trying to get the programmes /
application up
I have read all possible and still do not know how to set up.
Have I missed somthing simple or am I simply simple

Any help most appreciated

 

[Roffle]

I hooked up two monitors to a TI4800 card. I would play a game on one
monitor like dod or cs, and on the 2nd monitor, I would have up
teamspeak so I could follow who was talking. The problem was that the
fps dropped significantly using a 2nd monitor on the same graphics
card. Loss of fps was too significant such that I discontinued use of
2nd monitor. I have been told that using a 2nd graphics card with the
2nd monitor will not result in the loss of fps. I'm thinking about
getting a cheap PCI card to use for windows. I've heard of people
having problems with multiple cards when one was a Radion and the other
was Nvidia. I currently have a A6600GT. Can anyone recommend a good
cheap PCI graphics to use for 2nd monitor?

 

[John Doe]

I hooked up two monitors to a TI4800 card. I would play a game on
one monitor like dod or cs, and on the 2nd monitor, I would have
up teamspeak so I could follow who was talking. The problem was
that the fps dropped significantly using a 2nd monitor on the same
graphics card. Loss of fps was too significant such that I
discontinued use of 2nd monitor. I have been told that using a
2nd graphics card with the 2nd monitor will not result in the loss
of fps.

I've used two NVIDIA cards for 5 to 10 years, one AGP and one PCI. I
think there is a small drop in FPS. It might depend on your
demands/requirements whether you think it's significant. I can't
tell you exactly what percentage.

I'm thinking about
getting a cheap PCI card to use for windows. I've heard of people
having problems with multiple cards when one was a Radion and the
other was Nvidia. I currently have a A6600GT. Can anyone
recommend a good cheap PCI graphics to use for 2nd monitor?

Currently I'm using a Geforce 3 AGP and an FX 5200 PCI. I would
expect your 6600 GT to far exceed my frame rates. Haven't you tried
yet?

I'm going the other way. I expect the two monitor outputs on a
single Radeon X700 Pro will run significantly better than my current
two cards. I certainly hope so.

Good luck.