Dual monitor information thread

[Dan Coldrick]

This is my thread from another site, thought it might be useful for those with dual monitors-

Well seeing as dual monitors are becoming more popular I thought I would start a info thread for those new to dual or looking at going dual monitors. I would appreciate any info people have so I can update this thread. I'll go first with a few-

The Best Dual Monitor Program Around is UltraMon (too many features to list)- http://www.realtimesoft.com/ultramon/
Another good dual monitor program- http://www.binaryfortress.com/displayfusion/

# Advanced Multi-Monitor Taskbar support
# Use a different desktop wallpaper image on each monitor
# Use a desktop wallpaper image that spans all monitors
# Randomly change your desktop wallpaper using local images or images from Flickr
# Drag or middle-click the taskbar of maximized windows to move them to other screens
# Auto-snap windows to the edge of your monitor
# Integrated Flickr.com image search & download
# Integrated Vladstudio.com image search & download
# Manage application windows with fully customizable hotkeys:

* Move windows to the next monitor
* Move windows to the next monitor and maximize them
* Move windows to the centre, top, bottom, left or right side of the monitor
* Size windows to a configured size or percent of the work area
* Maximize windows so that they span all monitors

Want to Run Games and watch a film without stuttering?
Personally I use VLC and run the movie in OpenGL mode, you can do this through the start menu>VLC>Quick Settings>Video>Set Video mode to OpenGL
I have found this stops stuttering in some games.

Want to stop your mouse leaving the gaming screen over to the other desktop when playing some games?
I use Mouse Jail- http://www.dr-hoiby.com/MouseJail/ which I have never had a problem with.

Some more info on Dual monitors-
http://lifehacker.com/software/geek-...ors-317479.php

Free Dual monitor Task Bar-
http://www.mediachance.com/free/multimon.htm

Customize you Dual monitor Wallpaper-
http://www.binaryfortress.com/displayfusion/

Video for setting up dual monitors-
http://www.pcworld.com/video/id,367-...d,4/video.html

Convert you unused laptop into a second monitor-
http://www.instructables.com/id/Lapt...o-2nd-Monitor/

Moving your mouse cursor across multiple monitors them all can be a long haul, especially in triple- and quad-monitor setups. Snap your mouse from screen to screen instead with keyboard shortcuts.
http://graphics.cs.columbia.edu/projects/m3/index.html

Links to Dual monitor Wallpapers-
http://www.dualscreenwallpaper.com/index.php
http://www.dual-display.com/pages/wallpaper.php
http://www.wallpaperpimper.com/wallp...ual_screen.htm
http://www.dualmonitorbackgrounds.com/
http://www.deviantart.com/- My Favourite

How to change which monitor is on the left/right and manage vertical positions-

Drag the monitor in display properties from one side to the other and up and down-




Triple Monitor gaming without tripple head go-
http://downloads.guru3d.com/SoftTH--...load-1922.html

SoftTH allows using three monitor "triplehead" with Direct3D 8 and 9 games without special hardware. You need three monitors attached to PCI Express video cards. Only one card does all the rendering work, so secondary card can be a low end card, only Direct3D support is required.

While SoftTH can theoretically be compatible with any Direct3D 8 or Direct3D 9 game, some features used by games could not be yet suppoted or they can use special features which are incompatible with SoftTH. A common problem is also that the game cannot handle the aspect ratio, which results in a stretched image.

Examples of SoftTH compatibility with some games tested:

Working correctly:

* Live for Speed S2
* Operation Flashpoint
* Lock On Modern Air Combat
* Richard Burns Rally
* Needs forceHorizontalFOV set to 1
* Elder Scrolls 4 - Oblivion
* rFactor
* X3 Reunion
* GTR 2
* GT Legends
* Test Drive Unlimited
* Enable hooks and doScaleMouseCoordinates to fix cursor clipping
* Armed Assault
* Trackmania Original
* BMW M3 Challenge
* Nascar Racing 2003
* The Witcher
* Company of Heroes
* Call of Duty 2
* Call of Duty 4

Please post if you have anything else and I will update the thread :)

[Abdul Ahmed]

Great thread Dan. This could evolve to Triple sets maybe...

I run Dual right now but not the same screens. Looking to buy another Dell 24" of the same make to go with the one I have now. I so want to enjoy the immersion dual/triple gives gamers.

[Eric Kaczmarek]

This is a really great post!! THank you Dan!!

[Dan Coldrick]

If anyone has any dual or tripple monitor tricks/tips please let me know and I will update the OP.

[Ben Tusting]

Dan I see no pictures( I'll change to firefox, am using Safari now)

Edit: I see pictures now on Safari

[Geekmaster]

Hey I love this post! Some great information!

Here is a great article section I posted at Multi-Screens.com (A beginners introduction to Multiple Monitors)

The Three main ways to Setup Multiple Monitors

1) You can buy a pre-manufactured multi-monitor computer. The best place to purchase a multiple monitor computer is at:
Multi-Monitors.com. They carry a multi-monitor computer line called SUPER-PC that can support from 2 to 16 monitors.

Multi-Screen Computer Systems

Multiple Monitor LCD Displays

2) You can get a USB to VGA Adapter, or USB to DVI Adapter that will allow you to add an extra monitor to your computer
via any USB2.0 Port. You can also add multiple extra monitors by using multiple adapters. This is a great option for viewing
documents, surfing the web, using Microsoft Office and many other business tasks. This is not a good option for intense
graphical situations such as HDTV, Blu-ray, Gaming and 3D / CAD Workstation applications. For those types of scenarios,
it is highly recommended that you purchase a high-powered multi-monitor workstation or a Matrox Dual or Triple Head2Go.

Multi-Monitor Adapters

3) You can replace or add an extra video card to your existing computer, depending on how many monitors you wish to support.
Although this sounds easy enough, this is a rather complex solution for a beginner, especially when trying to find a compatible
graphics card. For this reason, I am going to write an entirely seperate post on that topic and will link to it here, very soon.

Multi-Monitor Video Cards

Once you have your multiple monitor system set up and ready to use, you will need to enable all of your monitors in
your “Display Properties” Control Panel. Here is a great link to a complete and animated walkthrough of how to enable
your multiple monitors in Windows.

How to Setup Multiple Monitors (Instructions)

This is what it will look like when you are done:

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j_avGStqZOI"]Multi-Monitor Video Demo 1[/ame]