You might want to consider using a USB graphics adapter. There have been some good improvements in this area recently since DisplayLink came along and the performance is comparable to a standard graphics card provide you’re not trying to play 3D games or 1080p video.
The nice part about DisplayLink is that all you need is a spare USB port and the USB graphics adapters are pretty cheap these days. EVGA sells a UV+12 (up to 1280x1024 or 1440x900) for $59 and a UV+16 (up to 1600x1200 or 1680x1050) for $79. (http://www.evga.com/products/prodlist.asp?switch=10)
I have been using Synergy for about a year and I really like it. It passes the clipboard along with keyboard and mouse commands to a second pc over the network. I’m using it with two dual display systems. Besides the fact that you can’t drag windows from one pc to another, it really feels like I am working on a single system with four monitors and two cpu’s. It let’s me spread processing around and maintain two versions of the same browser mounted shared drives let me share hard drive space. Anybody that has two computers near each other or a laptop and pc should check it out.
and I use MaxVista to handle the mouse, keyboard, and clipboard across all 3 screens. PC 1 runs the server. PC 2 runs the client (viewer). The two computers are on the same gigabit network.
LAG - With this setup, there is small lag from time to time as I am maneuvering the UI on PC 2. I think that this is because this is a software solution, and that mouse and keyboard data need to travel across the IP network from PC 1 to PC 2.
KEYSTROKE ERROR - Certain keystrokes are failing, notably CTRL-ALT-DEL and some screen capture hotkeys within SnagIt.
QUESTION - Would a hardware solution speed up the connection? Is there a hardware solution? I keep reading about KVM switches. However, they seem to address multiple PCs on a single display. I’m looking for speed… no lag.
I have four, two glass tubes and two of those new kind that are platic and skinny. The tubes are 14 and 16 and the flat plastic ones are 19 and 20. To fit all of them onto the very small space on my desk I set it up 16-20-14-19, with the 20 being primary. It works very well, most happy with all the screen area, and took only a short time to get used to swivveling head back and forth, it’s good exercie, strengthens neck muscles. My computer had only one PCI express slot, so the second video card (which I bought for $50) had to be the older type PCI regular, no express. Don’t know if current computers (mine is 4 years old) come with two PCI-express slots, that would be an improvement. However, the pictures on all four screens still appear to be very sharp and clear. That’s my exp. rgds
Multiple Monitors definitely improve productivity. I’ve been using
them for years and I’ve built two multi-million dollar web companies!
Now I’m up to six monitors on my main computer and four on my
sidekick PC! Big monitors are good for video and multiple monitors
are good for multi-tasking!
Thanks for the post.
Why it is unable to make larger screen resolution monitors.
So that we can not add up several monitors
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I’m taking a class on computers and I have been assigned to hook up 5 monitors. I’ve got them working so I can open a different programs in each. Now I am supposed to make each monitor have the same thing on it. I’m sure it’s a setting of some sort but I am stumped, so is the teacher. I have 2 GeForce FX 5200 in it. Any ideas out there, Please let me know. Thanks
Hi , my set up is just has a dual view, nvidia 7900 gs pci express card with two lcd creens on the end… the pc has an onboard 6150 LE nvidia card…
im thinking if its possible to use the onboard video card at the same time with the pci express so i can run another monitor to make it 3. if not do i just add a pci vdeocard?
the bios only lets me choose a primary adapter… any other way around it?
Another thing to consider for going multiple monitors is a software solution. I use MaxiVista http://www.maxivista.com, but I know StarDock has a similar application. These apps allow you to connect to another computer over your LAN and hijack an attached monitor. MaxiVista sits in my taskbar and allows me to either use the second computer remotely or allows me to extend my main computer’s desktop over to the second computer.
The disadvantage is that this remote desktop extension can be a little slower. I don’t notice it at all for most desktop applications, but dragging a game like World of Warcraft over there doesn’t get such great results as it looks like it is running at 5 fps. I imagine video wouldn’t work so well either.
However, when using the remote desktop control you get the nice advantage that you have a totally separate computer running over there. If you don’t need to specifically drag tools and pallets over to the third monitor, you can just use the remote desktop control and launch your IM, video encoding, browser, music, etc. on the second PC without tying up RAM or CPU cycles on your main PC past MaxiVista. I love to pipe TV into my second PC when I’m relaxing and web surfing or gaming.
I know both advertised that they work well with laptops too.
Neither of the remote desktop apps I mentioned are free, but they may be a cheaper alternative than multiple video cards, especially if you have some older PCs and monitors sitting around.
GREAT link! using an MSI nx7600gs in the PCI Express x16 slot, and e-GeForce fx5500 in the PCI slot. Vista home basic had the drivers for both already, so i didnt use the install cd’s. Using ultramon makes this easy to manage too. For my setup, using nVIDEA based cards in both slots worked.
THANK YOU JEFF ATWOOD!!!
only tricky part for this noob was to configure the hardware so the startup and primary screen was the middle, as the slideshow feature in my photo program doesnt support the extra ultramon buttons. and every time i selected slideshow, it started far on the far left.
This can be done. Just read a LOT and take it all with a grain of salt!
the 1550 card actually supports two monitors, i need to get the splitter for that 4th monitor. it shows as an unused, discrete monitor in display settings.
Hi Jeff, hope this may be interesting for you and blog readers: the new multimon manager app has appeared - Actual Multiple Monitors ( http://actualtools.com/multiplemonitors/ ). Comparing to UltraMon, it has such unique features as the Start button and system tray on secondary taskbars, Alt-Tab Task Switcher on all monitors. Also there are some advanced usability features:
snapping windows to desktop boundaries, to each other and to the specified grid
dragging taskbar buttons and tray icons with the mouse
dragging/sizing windows by any point (not only title bar or border frame)
multi-monitor wallpaper/screensaver support
For its price ($29.95 USD) it appears to be the best suite of multi-monitor tools. Of course, it works well on Windows 7, both 32-bit and 64-bit.
I’ve been using multiple monitors for the better part of 5 years and have to agree that Ultramon has helped me tremendously in window specific program launch and also in delegating certain functions to certain monitors. It’s very robust. It actually came preloaded with the computer system I bought from http://www.multiplexpc.com
Here’s a couple of info sites I found associated with multiple monitors as well. Maybe they can help everyone here.
yes having dual or more monitors is a real benefit provided the computer does have good ram and good processor and all the information related to dual or multiple monitors si scattered all over the web which might make selection a little tricky (which graphics card to choose for and other small things) and finally understanding what all we are going to get after connecting dual or multiple monitors is really helpful. A website which offers all the related information by category of software and hardware can be located ta http://www.dual-monitor.biz/ which i guess would be helpful to anyone who is looking forward to join the multi monitor group and indeed for linux and other operating systems i have no idea, i am sure there is lot more available on internet
Can the MS- 6728 m/board with the latest bios be set up to use both AGP AND PCI video cards at the same time?
I have 2 video cards of the same generation (1 x AGP nvidia 5600 & 1 x PCI nvidia 5200) so there should be no conflict there.
I can get either card to work independantly with 2 monitors - without the other card working.
I tried altering the BIOS. - PNC/PCI configuratiion - Init. Graphics Adapter Priority. This enabled either AGP or PCI to be initialised first, then falling back to the other card if the first card is not available. This works as it says but I cant find where to initialize BOTH cards.
Can the MS- 6728 m/board with the latest bios be set up to use both AGP AND PCI video cards at the same time?
FYI I have…
<<< System Summary >>>
Mainboard : MSI 865G/P/PE Neo2 (MS-6728)
Chipset : Intel i865PE
Processor : Intel Pentium 4 @ 2600 MHz
Physical Memory : 3072 MB
Video Card : NVIDIA GeForce FX 5600 AGP
Hard Disk : MAXTOR (60 GB)
Hard Disk : WDC (250 GB)
Hard Disk : WDC (80 GB)
DVD-Rom Drive : _NEC DVD_RW ND-2500A
Monitor Type : ASUS VK266H - 25 inches
Monitor Type : AOC International LM720/LM720A - 17 inches
Network Card : RTL8139/810x Fast Ethernet Adapter
Network Card : RTL8139/810x Fast Ethernet Adapter
Operating System : Microsoft Windows XP Professional 5.01.2600 Service Pack 3
DirectX : Version 9.0c (September 2009)
I tried for many hours to achieve the above set-up but hit a lot of problems. I found out many others had also hit problems when I sought assistance on the web. For the benefit of others, this is how I setup MSI MS-6728 (MSI 865g /p/pe neo2 ) with 3 monitors – using NVIDIA AGP FX 5600 & PCI FX5200 video cards. I hope this helps.
KEY ELEMENTS
Motherboard
Video cards
Monitors
Bios
Drivers
HOW TO
Have only the AGP video card installed with 2 monitors connected.
Delete all reference to existing Nvidia drivers. ( Use Control Panel > add/remove programs OR CCleaner ).
Restart Computer – do not accept M/soft to look for P&P drivers.
Restart Computer and initiate the Bios with the DEL key. Make sure PNC/PCI configuration - Init. Graphics Adapter Priority is set for AGP/PCI as per this photo… Save on exit by pressing F10.
Restart Computer - do not accept M/soft to look for P&P drivers.