Help Dual screens and games.

simonbratt99 · 09-05-2006, 11:50 AM

hi
I have 2 19inch tft screens, thinking this would be COOOLL for games. But its not turning out to be that way.
I thought it would be great, game on one screen, chat progs and anything else on another screen. I thought be cool i can flip easily from one screen to another. But no.
It causes problems with some games ie Command conquer games, scrolls the screen when the mouse is at the edge of the screen, doesnt work properly.
all the FPS games .... i still need to Alt tab out to get to the other screen, so basically a waste of time.

I have a radeon card, and i usually need to turn off one screen via the software.

Can anyone else comment on thier experience or setup with dual monnitors. i feel like i needent have bothered getting a second one.

Thanks
Simon

Cow · 09-05-2006, 04:58 PM

I've got a Viewsonic VX2025wm 20.1" and a dell 17" next to it. I pretty much have the same problems, but it doesn't matter to me because i didnt buy them both (at the same time).

eZ` · 09-05-2006, 06:02 PM

I have 2 monitors, but i have a Digital Tuner card, so i simply full screen the TV on the second monitor and then play games etc with my main TFT.
You'll never be able to play a game and still use an app on the second monitor as the mouse is "fixed" to your game screen, so ofcourse you have to alt tab out.

I'm sure there's a piece of software out there somewhere which creates "2" desktops. I know ATI's Hydrovision does, but i found that pretty slow and it didn't really achieve what i wanted it to.

At the end of the day, the pros i see for having 2 monitors are
- being able to move MSN/Xfire etc chat windows to your second monitor while playing a game, so that you can see if someone talks to you
- moving task manager over there so if a game crashes on a black screen, you can move over to the second monitor and end the process simply.
- TV as i've said
- Putting up a FAQ or any other text which you want to copy or read. If you have to type a straight copy of something over, you can have both up at the same time.
- You look cool on the Steam survey ;p

You can always find a use for it, hopefully some of those points will make you feel better about having 2 screens.
I've yet to experience problems with any games on a dual screen setup, and even Pro Evo 5 works when it's not the active window. Therefore you can click and type on apps on your second monitor, and still play it with the gamepad. It's the only game i've found to be like that tho. Most others freeze while they're not active.

09-05-2006, 07:23 PM

I have used dual screens for years. You can have other programs loaded on the secondary, but because the way the games work you will always have to alt-tab to access them. The only way around it in a Windows environment is to run your games in maximised windows, which is not something all games support. The other option is to setup the two screens in a spanned desktop and play your games on both at the same time.

09-05-2006, 04:58 PM	#2 (permalink)
Cow is on the 6th circle: Heresy Join Date: Aug 2004 Location: Houston, TX, USA Posts: 2,363 Hellbux: 31,620	I've got a Viewsonic VX2025wm 20.1" and a dell 17" next to it. I pretty much have the same problems, but it doesn't matter to me because i didnt buy them both (at the same time). __________________

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09-05-2006, 11:50 AM	#1 (permalink)
simonbratt99 is on the 1st circle: Limbo Join Date: Sep 2006 Posts: 4 Hellbux: 37	hi I have 2 19inch tft screens, thinking this would be COOOLL for games. But its not turning out to be that way. I thought it would be great, game on one screen, chat progs and anything else on another screen. I thought be cool i can flip easily from one screen to another. But no. It causes problems with some games ie Command conquer games, scrolls the screen when the mouse is at the edge of the screen, doesnt work properly. all the FPS games .... i still need to Alt tab out to get to the other screen, so basically a waste of time. I have a radeon card, and i usually need to turn off one screen via the software. Can anyone else comment on thier experience or setup with dual monnitors. i feel like i needent have bothered getting a second one. Thanks Simon

09-05-2006, 06:02 PM	#3 (permalink)
eZ` is on the 1st circle: Limbo Join Date: Aug 2005 Posts: 2 Hellbux: 225	I have 2 monitors, but i have a Digital Tuner card, so i simply full screen the TV on the second monitor and then play games etc with my main TFT. You'll never be able to play a game and still use an app on the second monitor as the mouse is "fixed" to your game screen, so ofcourse you have to alt tab out. I'm sure there's a piece of software out there somewhere which creates "2" desktops. I know ATI's Hydrovision does, but i found that pretty slow and it didn't really achieve what i wanted it to. At the end of the day, the pros i see for having 2 monitors are - being able to move MSN/Xfire etc chat windows to your second monitor while playing a game, so that you can see if someone talks to you - moving task manager over there so if a game crashes on a black screen, you can move over to the second monitor and end the process simply. - TV as i've said - Putting up a FAQ or any other text which you want to copy or read. If you have to type a straight copy of something over, you can have both up at the same time. - You look cool on the Steam survey ;p You can always find a use for it, hopefully some of those points will make you feel better about having 2 screens. I've yet to experience problems with any games on a dual screen setup, and even Pro Evo 5 works when it's not the active window. Therefore you can click and type on apps on your second monitor, and still play it with the gamepad. It's the only game i've found to be like that tho. Most others freeze while they're not active.

09-05-2006, 07:23 PM	#4 (permalink)
GM™ Posts: n/a Hellbux: 0 [Check]	I have used dual screens for years. You can have other programs loaded on the secondary, but because the way the games work you will always have to alt-tab to access them. The only way around it in a Windows environment is to run your games in maximised windows, which is not something all games support. The other option is to setup the two screens in a spanned desktop and play your games on both at the same time.