I have a Samsung 19\" 931BF flat screen (2ms, 2000:1).
It turns out that I'm going to get a bit back from my tax return, so I'd like to return to a dual monitor setup (used to have two 21\" sony crt monitors before moving to HI).
Any opinions on the second monitor?
I was thinking of matching my monitor (I'm very happy with this monitor, and it does great with games), as I run everything at its native resolution (1280 x 1024). However, there are some nice 20\" and 22\" monitors available now with great response times, but the native resolutions are off (some wide screen have some wacky native res.).
I'll probably use the 2nd monitor for gaming primarily (cant wait to use it for SupCom), as well as having my email, skype, word/excel files working from time to time.
Thanks for any input!
RM
2nd monitor opinions
2nd monitor opinions
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Krom
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Go widescreen, or you could go the route I took, a 20\" 1600x1200 panel. It should also be noted that 1600x1200 is 4 by 3, not 5 by 4 like all the 1280x1024 panels. But since you already have non 4 by 3 panel, getting a widescreen makes no difference if you want to go that route. Otherwise get another 19\" 1280x1024 panel and call it good.
As a user of dualviews myself, I know it is quite nice to have identical monitors but you do get used to it in a day or so even if they are completely different, so keep that in mind.
As a user of dualviews myself, I know it is quite nice to have identical monitors but you do get used to it in a day or so even if they are completely different, so keep that in mind.
Yeah. My only qualm about having two monitors of different resolutions is that my background wallpaper doesn't line up on each monitor. 
You get used to it though and it is super nice for a lot of tasks. Level building, you can keep the editor on one screen and move the texture browser to the other monitor.
You get used to it though and it is super nice for a lot of tasks. Level building, you can keep the editor on one screen and move the texture browser to the other monitor.
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Krom
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Special software, hubs, or multiple video cards are not required. All you need is a video card with dual outputs (almost every card made these days can do this) and two monitors. Most major operating systems handle the rest with a little help from the video driver.
Home use for dualviews? For instance as I am typing this up, I am also reading an IRC chat room, all my instant message windows, winamp and my bittorrent client are on the second monitor. On this monitor I have a couple instances of Firefox and an explorer window open. What you see in a store is just a cloneview, which would only be useful for something like duplicating a video feed to a larger monitor somewhere. What we are all using is a dualview, where each monitor is separate and is simply added to your desktop as more usable space. The mouse cursor and other windows can be freely dragged from one monitor to the other.
I have an old picture of my dualview desktop in use that can help explain a bit better:
Home use for dualviews? For instance as I am typing this up, I am also reading an IRC chat room, all my instant message windows, winamp and my bittorrent client are on the second monitor. On this monitor I have a couple instances of Firefox and an explorer window open. What you see in a store is just a cloneview, which would only be useful for something like duplicating a video feed to a larger monitor somewhere. What we are all using is a dualview, where each monitor is separate and is simply added to your desktop as more usable space. The mouse cursor and other windows can be freely dragged from one monitor to the other.
I have an old picture of my dualview desktop in use that can help explain a bit better:
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Foil
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Exactly.
Spooky, I highly recommend dual monitors, if you can do it. It's extremely useful to have the extra desktop space, as well as a way to organize one's multi-tasking. I love it because I can test my new programs in full-screen on one side, and watch my debugging info on the other. It's even useful in gaming, as some players have the game up on one screen, while keeping an eye on their other screen for voice chat, IMs, etc.
Since you play Descent 3, my guess is that you already have dual-monitor capability, since you likely have either:
- a video card with two outputs (many cards have one VGA and one DVI)
or
- an output from your video card, plus one from your motherboard
It's typically a pretty simple thing to activate the second monitor as an extension of the desktop. From my own experience, for Windows 2000 and XP, it's not hard at all, as they have very good support for multiple monitors.
[Edit: Oh, and ReadyMan, in answer to your original question, I would recommend a matching monitor to your existing one. I'm on two unmatching monitors (one a CRT 17\", one an LCD 19\") - it's a bit annoying at times because moving the cursor or a window from one screen to the other, the varying screen sizes and contrast makes the transition strange.]
Spooky, I highly recommend dual monitors, if you can do it. It's extremely useful to have the extra desktop space, as well as a way to organize one's multi-tasking. I love it because I can test my new programs in full-screen on one side, and watch my debugging info on the other. It's even useful in gaming, as some players have the game up on one screen, while keeping an eye on their other screen for voice chat, IMs, etc.
Since you play Descent 3, my guess is that you already have dual-monitor capability, since you likely have either:
- a video card with two outputs (many cards have one VGA and one DVI)
or
- an output from your video card, plus one from your motherboard
It's typically a pretty simple thing to activate the second monitor as an extension of the desktop. From my own experience, for Windows 2000 and XP, it's not hard at all, as they have very good support for multiple monitors.
[Edit: Oh, and ReadyMan, in answer to your original question, I would recommend a matching monitor to your existing one. I'm on two unmatching monitors (one a CRT 17\", one an LCD 19\") - it's a bit annoying at times because moving the cursor or a window from one screen to the other, the varying screen sizes and contrast makes the transition strange.]
Heh, I have two screens myself. different sizes from each others, strangly enoough they run at a resolution of 1279x1024. What's worse is that If windows knows what my second screen is, it won't let me set the resolution to it...
First screen is a SAMPO AlphaScan 711, and my second is a NEC MultiSync XE15.
First screen is a SAMPO AlphaScan 711, and my second is a NEC MultiSync XE15.
Thanks for the replys.
I think I'll go with the same model monitor.
I've been single monitoring it for 6 months now and cant wait to go back to two.
As an additional gaming advantage, the 2nd monitor can have detailed information/build orders etc for RTS style games. In quickmatch games, you can even quickly check an opponents rating and information during setup (if it's available).
When I was deciding on dual monitors a while back, everyone here said do it if you can afford it, and that I'd never go back....they were right.
and, btw, it's really simple to set up. it took me only a few minutes...
RM
I think I'll go with the same model monitor.
I've been single monitoring it for 6 months now and cant wait to go back to two.
As an additional gaming advantage, the 2nd monitor can have detailed information/build orders etc for RTS style games. In quickmatch games, you can even quickly check an opponents rating and information during setup (if it's available).
When I was deciding on dual monitors a while back, everyone here said do it if you can afford it, and that I'd never go back....they were right.
and, btw, it's really simple to set up. it took me only a few minutes...
RM
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Krom
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Re:
Throw that list out, it is too out of date, especially for that price. Basically if you are looking at an (Intel) upgrade now, absolutely under no circumstances should you think about anything other then a Core 2 Duo processor. Though the Athlon X2 chips are DIRT CHEAP right now, which makes them a pretty good value. However a Pentium D is a complete waste of time and money and will remain that way unless it was free or they actually paid you to take it (which even then I would be iffy). Also the PSU is too small by about 200 watts, get a 550 minimum these days. For the HDD a 160 is fine if that is all the storage you need, get a seagate 7200.10 SATA it is only about $100, plenty fast and as cheap as new HDDs get. Make that 2 GB of DDR2 (and at least 800 MHz), unless you plan on running vista at any point, then just jump straight to 4 GB.Spooky wrote:1. Intel Pentium D 2.8 Ghz (D915) CPU
2. 2.0 GB DDR667 Memory
3. 160 GB SATA 7200rpm Drive
4. Mid Tower ATX Case w/350 Watt Power Supply
5. Keyboard and Mouse
6. MS Windows XP Pro Edition
7. I just noticed on the list I was given that there is no Mother Board!!! Yow!
8. Add one new video card with two ports . . .
I just put together a workstation for the EE at work w/ the goal to stay <= $800. Unfortunately neweggs wishlist feature is broken for me, here's the list as text. The case (w/ the PSU) is OOS and some things can be tweaked but this machine will give you a LOT more power for your buck.
Newegg wrote:Eagle Tech CA-SA1-K Black 0.8mm aluminum made ATX Mid Tower Computer Case 450W Power Supply - Retail
Model #: CA-SA1-K
Item #: N82E16811117074
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Out Of Stock
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$99.99 $99.99
Update EVGA 256-P2-N541-T2 GeForce 7600GS 256MB GDDR2 PCI Express x16 Video Card - Retail
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Update CORSAIR XMS2 1GB (2 x 512MB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 675 (PC2 5400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model TWIN2X1024-5400C4 - Retail
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Subtotal: $773.91