Is this possible?

futurefields

Diamond Member
Jun 2, 2012
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I just ordered a 25 ft hdmi cable so I can hook my PC up to my TV.

My monitor is 1080p.

My TV is 720p.

Can I have my monitor be set to my desktop @ 1080p, and at the same time play a game on the TV @ 720p?
 

sam_816

Senior member
Aug 9, 2014
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If I understand your question correctly, you want dual monitor(1 monitor+1tv) set up, right? Its possible n is very easy to setup. Both monitors can be set to their native resolutions .. Just make sure your gpu is good enough to provide images for both.( on tapatalk, cant see signatures. In case your config is mentioned there)
 
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futurefields

Diamond Member
Jun 2, 2012
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Yeah my PC monitor @ 1080p via DVI and my TV @ 720p via HDMI and want to be able to game on either one at their native resolution. Use the monitor when sitting at desk and TV when on the couch.
 
Feb 6, 2007
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Yes, it's very easy to do something like this through Nvidia's control panel (I'm thinking I saw you had a GTX 970, yeah?). The biggest issue you'll run into is that many games will force output through whichever monitor is listed as the "primary" in Windows, so you'll need to set the HDTV as primary when you're gaming on it (and make sure the games you're opening are set to the proper resolution as well). Once you've got the HDTV set as primary, Steam Big Picture makes it a snap to use a controller to open any game so you don't even need to bother with a mouse/keyboard from your couch.
 

futurefields

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Jun 2, 2012
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Ok I got my cable and it's working BUT

the only way I can get the game sound to come through my HDTV is if I set the HDMI output as the default audio device, but then that cuts off my PC sound

How can I get the game audio going through the TV and my PC sounds going through the PC speakers simultaneously?
 

futurefields

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Jun 2, 2012
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Weird, when I switch Advanced Warfare to FUllscreen I get 60fps, but on Borderless Windowed it gets all choppy.
 
Feb 6, 2007
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Ok I got my cable and it's working BUT

the only way I can get the game sound to come through my HDTV is if I set the HDMI output as the default audio device, but then that cuts off my PC sound

How can I get the game audio going through the TV and my PC sounds going through the PC speakers simultaneously?

As far as I know, you can't. There probably is a workaround, but I'm not familiar with it, as honestly, it doesn't bother me; when I'm gaming, I don't want my PC making other sounds.
 
Feb 6, 2007
16,432
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Weird, when I switch Advanced Warfare to FUllscreen I get 60fps, but on Borderless Windowed it gets all choppy.

This is a known issue on multiple setups and multiple pieces of software (including GTA V and Source-based games). As a general rule, it's better to run Fullscreen regardless, so you should favor that when possible.
 

futurefields

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Jun 2, 2012
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As far as I know, you can't. There probably is a workaround, but I'm not familiar with it, as honestly, it doesn't bother me; when I'm gaming, I don't want my PC making other sounds.

So you just go into Control Panel > Sounds and enable the primary one for whichever you are using?

For now that's what I'm doing and I put a shortcut to Sounds on my desktop to speed up the process a little.
 

tential

Diamond Member
May 13, 2008
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Ok I got my cable and it's working BUT

the only way I can get the game sound to come through my HDTV is if I set the HDMI output as the default audio device, but then that cuts off my PC sound

How can I get the game audio going through the TV and my PC sounds going through the PC speakers simultaneously?

You can't from my knowledge. It's something I would be interested in but alas, I haven't seen it possible. I've tried to get simutaneous sounds on a lot of devices it seems devices just don't like that feature (get game sounds or tv sounds + Music in the background).

As for me? On my projector right now I switch between headphones (SPeakers) and HDMI (Projector Speakers). Doesn't bother me too much since I usually use headphones.
 

TeknoBug

Platinum Member
Oct 2, 2013
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Weird, when I switch Advanced Warfare to FUllscreen I get 60fps, but on Borderless Windowed it gets all choppy.
That's because the GPU and CPU has to deal with rendering the desktop at the same time, full screen should always be used when gaming especially when you use high/ultra graphics settings. Games like Cities: Skyline or Guild Wars 2 or such are fine played in borderless windowed though.
 

railven

Diamond Member
Mar 25, 2010
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I haven't had to do this lately, but on the AMD side was super easy with Hydravision (man that software suite is old haha). Basically with hotkeys setup which port you'd want to use. I was feeding 5 displays with my HD 5870 Eye6 GPU back in the day.

But I never used a duplicate option, just switch output completely, so it wasn't like my monitor was getting a feed while I was gaming in another room.

With a USB hub and extensions run through the wall, I could access my PC in three rooms, and play on 5 displays (of course never more than one at a time.)
 

futurefields

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Jun 2, 2012
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The problem I am having is Big Picture Mode on Steam sets my HDTV as primary display and so I lose desktop/start menu and sound on my PC monitor...

I want to be able to game on my HDTV and still have full use of my PC on the PC monitor for Netflix, YouTube, browsing etc.... is it possible?