How do you people on single monitors manage?

[dug777]

even on larger monitors, it doesn't come close to being able to have an app fullscreened on one monitor, and msn/taskmanager/winamp/temp monitoring programs running on the other...

And for working, it's awesome to be able to have word full screen on the primary, and sources (either net or pdf) on the other.

For gaming i have my temp monitoring stuff up/msn up, and winamp if i'm playing something oldskool like UT2004 or NFSHP2 on the primary.

And of course i can watch HDTV on my primary, fullscreen, while using ff fullscreen on the secondary

Mind you, i inherited the second CRT (so i've got two 17' CRTs at 1024/85hz), i guess if you were setting out to buy a whole new rig 2x Dell 20' widescreen LCDs are beyond most people's price range...

 

[BFG10K]

I run everything full screen on a single monitor and use the Taskbar to switch between programs. I think this is how most people operate.

 

[SynthDude2001]

I can sort of see the appeal in theory, but it just doesn't sound like something I'd use that often...especially not to justify the cost (to me). I don't feel at all claustrophobic on my 2005FPW

 

[xtknight]

Originally posted by: BFG10K
I run everything full screen on a single monitor and use the Taskbar to switch between programs. I think this is how most people operate.

Same here. It's not like I'm monitoring a space ship or something. What would I do with a 2nd display?

While I'm at it, how can you stand 1024x768? I use 1280x1024 and I can't stand 1024x768.

 

[mOeeOm]

Originally posted by: xtknight

Originally posted by: BFG10K
I run everything full screen on a single monitor and use the Taskbar to switch between programs. I think this is how most people operate.

Same here.

 

[mOeeOm]

Besides theres not enough room on most comp desks for two monitors.

 

[dug777]

Originally posted by: BFG10K
I run everything full screen on a single monitor and use the Taskbar to switch between programs. I think this is how most people operate.

yeah, but that is a total pita when you are writing a paper and want to read the source at the same time as you type

and it certainly doesn't work for watching HDTV/DVDs and doing something else...

I guess you just get used to it, and then you don't want to go back, i find it so useful to have the second screen just to shift stuff to if i want to keep tabs on it while doing something else, and having the second toolbar courtesy of ultramon is pretty handy when you have a whole load of stuff open at once.

 

[BFG10K]

yeah, but that is a total pita when you are writing a paper and want to read the source at the same time as you type

So run the monitor at 1600x1200 and put both on the screen at once.

 

[dug777]

Originally posted by: BFG10K

yeah, but that is a total pita when you are writing a paper and want to read the source at the same time as you type

So run the monitor at 1600x1200 and put both on the screen at once.

fair enough, but then you'd need a pretty whopping great screen to have them both a decent size...at least 24', in fact more to have them comparable in size to what i get on my humble current set-up ...

 

[SynthDude2001]

Originally posted by: dug777

Originally posted by: BFG10K

yeah, but that is a total pita when you are writing a paper and want to read the source at the same time as you type

So run the monitor at 1600x1200 and put both on the screen at once.

fair enough, but then you'd need a pretty whopping great screen to have them both a decent size...at least 24', in fact more to have them comparable in size to what i get on my humble current set-up ...

Maximizing total screen area is not necessarily everyone's goal If that were the case, no one would buy the 2005FPW over the 2001FP...

 

[1Dark1Sharigan1]

Once you've used dual screens you really can't go back. I've been using a 21" CRT and a 19" LCD for a while now (CRT for gaming, LCD for everyday use) and I really couldn't imagine going back to one monitor. Photoshop, for instance, just cries out for dual monitors . . . and the fact that you can watch a movie on one monitor and still type, surf the web, etc on another monitor is simply awesome . . .

 

[dug777]

Originally posted by: 1Dark1Sharigan1
Once you've used dual screens you really can't go back. I've been using a 21" CRT and a 19" LCD for a while now (CRT for gaming, LCD for everyday use) and I really couldn't imagine going back to one monitor. Photoshop, for instance, just cries out for dual monitors . . . and the fact that you can watch a movie on one monitor and still type, surf the web, etc on another monitor is simply awesome . . .

like you say, it's something that once you've experienced for a while, you can't go back

 

[archcommus]

Originally posted by: dug777

Originally posted by: 1Dark1Sharigan1
Once you've used dual screens you really can't go back. I've been using a 21" CRT and a 19" LCD for a while now (CRT for gaming, LCD for everyday use) and I really couldn't imagine going back to one monitor. Photoshop, for instance, just cries out for dual monitors . . . and the fact that you can watch a movie on one monitor and still type, surf the web, etc on another monitor is simply awesome . . .

like you say, it's something that once you've experienced for a while, you can't go back

I prove that statement false. I used dual monitors for about a year and really found myself not using the second much. It was more of pain just worrying about it being on a still image for too long, wanting to turn it off when playing games since I wasn't using it anyway, etc. So I went back to one screen.

 

[1Dark1Sharigan1]

Originally posted by: archcommus
I prove that statement false. I used dual monitors for about a year and really found myself not using the second much. It was more of pain just worrying about it being on a still image for too long, wanting to turn it off when playing games since I wasn't using it anyway, etc. So I went back to one screen.

I think the sheer possibilities of having two screens is worth the effort necessary to turn off one monitor when it's not being used while gaming . . . . . . also what about horizontal stretch? (for gaming)

Hell if I can have two windows of Firefox open at once and view both of them it would be worth it to me . . .

But I suppose it's still a matter of opinion. But seriously if you can have two screens, why the hell not?

 

[dug777]

Originally posted by: archcommus

Originally posted by: dug777

Originally posted by: 1Dark1Sharigan1
Once you've used dual screens you really can't go back. I've been using a 21" CRT and a 19" LCD for a while now (CRT for gaming, LCD for everyday use) and I really couldn't imagine going back to one monitor. Photoshop, for instance, just cries out for dual monitors . . . and the fact that you can watch a movie on one monitor and still type, surf the web, etc on another monitor is simply awesome . . .

like you say, it's something that once you've experienced for a while, you can't go back

I prove that statement false. I used dual monitors for about a year and really found myself not using the second much. It was more of pain just worrying about it being on a still image for too long, wanting to turn it off when playing games since I wasn't using it anyway, etc. So I went back to one screen.

burn-in doesn't exist anymore Current drivers don't take any real hit having the second screen running in games, and it's useful to see if anyones chatting to me/i get any emails/monitor my temps/mem usage if i'm overclocking/trying a new game...but if you really didn't use it then i'm impressed, i've never heard anyone else come to that conclusion so far i have to admit.

 

[1Dark1Sharigan1]

Originally posted by: dug777
it's useful to see if anyones chatting to me/i get any emails/monitor my temps/mem usage if i'm overclocking/trying a new game...

LOL don't get me started on that . . . I always have like ten messenger windows open when gaming . . .

One thing I forgot to mention, pair two monitors with an dual core processor and well you get the sweetness . . .

 

[AnnoyedGrunt]

When I bought my 19" CRT, I tried a dual monitor setup with my old 17" CRT (the 17" was a great monitor) but I could never really get used to it and the two monitor wires caused intereference with eachother and made the picture crappy. Even with a perfect picture I probably would not have kept the setup for my home use (don't do enough multi-tasking). At work though, I would definitely like two monitors. I could use 1 for Pro/E and another for spec sheets, and drawings and stuff. Or one for word or power point and another for excel or web stuff. At work I definitely would like to try it out, but only if I could get 2X LCD's, since two 21" CRT's take up too much desk space.

-D'oh!

 

[gac009]

Ehh, I dabbled in dual monitors when I got my 19' LCD and kept my old 24' CRT but I guess I just dont do as much stuff as you guys do. I dont monitor my pc when I play games, I just play the games. I only Im at night (more of a phone person) around certain times and it rarely comes up that I need to read and write at the same time, if I ever do having one thing on the top half and one on the bottom and scrolling between the both is worth not having that giant crt on my desktop.

 

[lexmark]

never observed a dual monitor setup before... question. When your using dual monitors, do you press a button to switch your mouse from one screen to the other, use separate mice, or what?

 

[Lonyo]

Originally posted by: lexmark
never observed a dual monitor setup before... question. When your using dual monitors, do you press a button to switch your mouse from one screen to the other, use separate mice, or what?

Mouse moves between the two like they are the same desktop (they are), so you use the same mouse across both screens. When you hit the right edge of the left monitor, the mouse just moves onto the other monitor.


And 1600x1200 is nice if you can run it, but 1280x1024 isn't big enough to give enough real estate. When I moved from a 19" CRT at 1600x1200 to a 17" LCD (for space limitation reasons, depth wise), I found I didn't have enough room, so now I have 2x17" LCD at 1280x1024 to give me enough desktop space without it feeling claustrophobic.

 

[lexmark]

sounds very useful. any noticable performance hits with dual setups?

 

[dug777]

Originally posted by: lexmark
sounds very useful. any noticable performance hits with dual setups?

with current drivers from both parties the performance hit seems to be negligable ( i always leave my second screen enabled when gaming).

 

[archcommus]

Originally posted by: gac009
Ehh, I dabbled in dual monitors when I got my 19' LCD and kept my old 24' CRT but I guess I just dont do as much stuff as you guys do. I dont monitor my pc when I play games, I just play the games. I only Im at night (more of a phone person) around certain times and it rarely comes up that I need to read and write at the same time, if I ever do having one thing on the top half and one on the bottom and scrolling between the both is worth not having that giant crt on my desktop.

Exactly, I don't monitor my temps while gaming, I just check email occasionally, don't need it open all the time, and if someone IMs me while I'm playing a game, oh well, that's what away messages are for, I'll simply get it when I'm done. I don't multitask enough to make it worth it.

 

[Chocolate Pi]

I find multiple monitors to be a big pain in the rear with little benefit, but then again I have a 2405FPW and an onld analog 17" Samsung... Adding the samsung does little for me!

 

[the splat in the hat]

l use a Mitsubishi 2070sb 22 inch crt hi def screen with two input channels, you just press a button 10mm below screen and you switch screens to second pc, its connected to the dual core pc, and the fx55 games pc, yes editing movies while playing battlefield 2 is mad fun !