Tech Forum

The sisters in FH would like to put two monitors on each computer to make it easier to do FH. What is the best way to do this?

You've asked a good question. But I think I'd also look at the actual usage they intend to do and which is more cost-effective: Dual monitor or a large, wide monitor? For example, a 24W gives enough space for two letter-sized pages side-by-side with enough room for the viewer toolbar. You'd need a pair of 19" to come close.

Something to consider: I've not used it, but I think there's software that will allow you to use a single keyboard and mouse on two computers as if it was a dual-monitor setup. That might help you inexpensively prototype the setup to see if a dual-monitor setup is worth the cost.

farwest wrote:The sisters in FH would like to put two monitors on each computer to make it easier to do FH. What is the best way to do this?

The other thing you need to make sure of is that you have a video card that can handle two video out for each monitor. this does not mean using a splitter to make it happen. That will give you the same screen on both.

I also agree with the other post. Look at what they want to do and then determine what is the best approach.

I'll throw in my 2 cents here. As one who has dual (small) monitors at work, I'd much rather have one big monitor. It's much easier to support (I'm always having to fiddle with the video driver) and more productivity enhancing to have the one large monitor.

I have 2 monitors at home and I have 2 monitors at work, so I can definitely vouch for the productivity gain of such a setup. I will agree that you should probably do a cost/benefit analysis before making any final decisions. Getting new graphics cards in every computer and a whole new set of monitors could be a pretty penny and just add more hardware that has to be maintained/repaired over time.

RussellHltn wrote:Something to consider: I've not used it, but I think there's software that will allow you to use a single keyboard and mouse on two computers as if it was a dual-monitor setup.

I have used 2 of the most notable ones, Synergy and InputDirector. I prefer InputDirector as it seems a bit more stable and reliable in my opinion.

I could be wrong, but I think one difference between the large vs dual: With dual you either can't or it's not practical to expand something across both monitors. So a single window is only as large as the single small monitor. Dual is only an advantage if you have another window open. With a single large monitor, you can expand the window to the entire viewing area. It's great for busy web sites, or using zoom to better see small print. If the application supports it, you can have a lot more information on the screen without having to pan. And there is still plenty of real estate to put two windows side by side for those times you want that.

RussellHltn wrote:I could be wrong, but I think one difference between the large vs dual: With dual you either can't or it's not practical to expand something across both monitors. So a single window is only as large as the single small monitor.

Actually, in most cases you can expand the view across both monitors, so it acts like one large monitor. An application window can span both screens. But although it is possible, the discontinuity caused by the edges of the physical monitors does make it disconcerting to have one window span the monitors, so you're right that it's not very practical.

RussellHltn wrote:With a single large monitor, you can expand the window to the entire viewing area. It's great for busy web sites, or using zoom to better see small print. If the application supports it, you can have a lot more information on the screen without having to pan. And there is still plenty of real estate to put two windows side by side for those times you want that.

Two monitors can be better than one when you are doing two distinct activities and you need more width than height. For example, if you are doing code development or debugging on one and viewing the browser window or other application window in another.

But two monitors will take more desk space and may well requre a new video card, so it's rarely cost effective. A 24" monitor is twice as big as a 17" monitor, and by the time you consider the cost of a dual video card and two 17" monitors, a 24" monitor is generally more cost effective.

We recently received four cascaded OptiPlex 780 computers to replace our old GX-280 towers. The OptiPlex 780 computers have the large wide screens. We got rid of the GX-280 towers and kept the 19-inch monitors. We have four OptiPlex 740 computers with 19-inch monitors, and I would like to add the 19-inch monitors from the GX-280s to the 740s.

I need to know what sort of low-profile PCI-Express video card to add to the 740s so they can support two monitors. The cheap cards have one port with a splitter cable, but I think that only sends one signal to two monitors. I probably need a card with dual outputs.

As a test, I bought a card that has VGA, HDMI, and DVI output ports, but I have not tested it yet to see if it will support two monitors. I know there are DVI-D and DVI analog ports, so I will be watching for those.

drepouille wrote:\The cheap cards have one port with a splitter cable, but I think that only sends one signal to two monitors.

Not necessarily. I've seen some that look like splitter cables, but they are two separate outputs.