why do so many people have dual monitors?

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Peter

Elite Member
Oct 15, 1999
9,640
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Yes there aren't ... remember that on a CRT, image size can be adjusted :)

For example, my 20" monitors do have 4:3 tubes, but originally having been CAD workstation monitors, they were factory tuned to show a narrower image, such that 1280x1024 comes out in the correct 5:4 ratio of the /used/ screen area.

I changed that back and run them 1280x960 now.
 

Steve

Lifer
May 2, 2004
15,945
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Is there any way to set a CRT to 5:4, other than just guessing?

I have a 19" LCD and next to it a 17" CRT. I can hear the latter buzzing so I plan to retire it soon. Ideally I'd like to get another CRT for video viewing, but I'd also like to have at least the pixel height (1024) the same, if not the resolution. I'd also like to not have black bars at the side, but that's probably not possible.

Just had a brainstorm: 19" CRT with custom 4:3 res of 1366x1024 - any problems with this?
 

Peter

Elite Member
Oct 15, 1999
9,640
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1400x1050 would be your best bet on a standard resolution ... or, if you want a custom resolution to match your LCD's height in pixels, then yes, it'll be 1366 horizontal. The operating system doesn't mind the tiny "dead area" of the total screen rectangle.
 

jdoggg12

Platinum Member
Aug 20, 2005
2,685
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I use my 37" westy for games, movies, photoshop, and multi-tab browsing. I use my 2nd monitor (22" CRT) for chat windows (while gaming), keeping firefox open while gaming(walkthroughs/cheats), and to keep system messages/monitors on.
 

konakona

Diamond Member
May 6, 2004
6,285
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Just a question, why not get a seperate rig dedicated for other tasks? For messaging, downloading, playing music while playing a game and such, a seperate computer is a much better idea IMO. Most of you here are geeks with bunch of leftover hardware anyway (sorry, but sadly true :p), so why not put old hardware to use rather than selling them for at a severely depreciated price? Space and power concerns can't be that bad if you are already considering another monitor and all...
 

Peter

Elite Member
Oct 15, 1999
9,640
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Hooking up a 2nd monitor to the machine you're using anyway is both cheaper and more practical. With two machines, you'd have to have another keyboard and mouse, a second set of speakers, etc. etc.

Just dragging your less important stuff over to the other monitor is so much more convenient ... and besides, my 20" CRTs /are/ leftovers bought at a severely depreciated price ... I paid $1. For ten of them. :D
 

konakona

Diamond Member
May 6, 2004
6,285
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many if not most decent speakers have a way of secondary input, or you could have it hooked up through line-in (easy to do, did this on my old setup). then again, not everyone needs sound on the secondary machine either.

kb/mouse is rather cheap unless you need something fancy, and again I assume many of us probably have a spare set lying around. sorry if its just me.

most games take over the control of the entire machine and you cant do stuff in the background. not sure how things were in vista, but managing volume is a bitch with multiple apps fighting for the mixer (especially if you care about sound quality and opt for kernel streaming or asio). there are so many things you could do with a secondary machine in terms of gaming, general convinience, not to mention the obvious value of having another computer for troubleshooting when things go wrong.

unless you are in a habit of selling old hard drives, eventually you would have old hdds piling up... I have 8 at the moment, so why not use them? :D
 

boglwe

Senior member
Aug 16, 2007
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Originally posted by: Rottie
Why? because they like to show off.

This is a seriously immature statement. If you have never used Duel Monitor then you should try it. I have used duel monitor for about 7 years now and I could not imagine using one screen. Yes, the space is available but the application of having two monitors doing two different things at the same time is huge. For example, working in InDesign and photoshop/illustrator at the same time, have all three windows up also surfing the web for those images is huge.

Leading large raids in WoW was huge as well, as I can have Wow open on my main and then thotbot and ventrilo open on the other (i was always seeing who was speaking without overlay). For me it just came down to more information at my fingertips and multitasking.

As for this persons statement, yea, it wows my friends, but I could care less, heck, most of my friends cannot stand my love and hobby of computers and gaming.

BTW, here is a pic of my setup, this was on the day we were building it, so the computer is in the other room.

This is a Sharp 32 inch 1080p and a Samsung 24in 244t.

here you go

now that may look like i have no desk space, but remember thats a huge lcd and I still have loads of space for normal paper work. Its a big desk from Akia (dirt cheap as well and strong)

Also note these two monitors are ran using one 8800 gtx, but not while gaming with new games like bioshock or crysis demo. All other games like wow, steam game, etc etc can easily be done in duel mode. Still get 150+fps on any games but the two i menioned earlier with duel monitor.
 

taltamir

Lifer
Mar 21, 2004
13,576
6
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i tried duel 19inch 4x3 but decided to go with a single 24inch widescreen @ 1920x1200... (I had one 19 inch and borrowed the other same model monitor from a friend, so i sold him MINE so he could duel monitor with them while I bought the 24inch widescreen)

I wish I could afford two more of those (700$ a peice... its the dell ultrasharp 24). Then I would really have some fun.
 

Peter

Elite Member
Oct 15, 1999
9,640
1
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Dual, not duel. Duel is the "<weapon> at ten paces, at dawn in the park" thing.
 

taltamir

Lifer
Mar 21, 2004
13,576
6
76
well... sometimes the left monitor gets fancy with the middle monitor who is married to the right monitor... tempers get heated and then they duel it out... I loose so many monitors this way ... sigh.
 

m1ldslide1

Platinum Member
Feb 20, 2006
2,321
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I'm trying to go dual-monitor, but my brand spankin' new dell laptop only has a single VGA out (is this bizarre or what?), leaving me with another 22" viewsonic LCD sitting under my desk until I figure something else out.
 

taltamir

Lifer
Mar 21, 2004
13,576
6
76
for someone reason apple were the only ones to put DVI outs on their laptops for years... Now I read of one or two PC models that just came out with DVI out on the laptop... and in a few monthes that is being replaced with display port... :(
 

KeithTalent

Elite Member | Administrator | No Lifer
Administrator
Nov 30, 2005
50,231
118
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Originally posted by: Throckmorton
Next Door Nikki on on the left, Hailey Young on the right

Edit: Don't Google these people at work.

Bwahahaha, nice save! :laugh:

KT
 

taltamir

Lifer
Mar 21, 2004
13,576
6
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Originally posted by: KeithTalent
Originally posted by: Throckmorton
Next Door Nikki on on the left, Hailey Young on the right

Edit: Don't Google these people at work.

Bwahahaha, nice save! :laugh:

KT

now I finally know the names of some modern porn stars... its kinda hard getting black stares when referencing someone like anna nicole or jenna jameson... Or worse, pamela anderson...

It is not that I don't watch any, its just that I never bother learning their names ;p
 

konakona

Diamond Member
May 6, 2004
6,285
1
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Originally posted by: Peter
Dual, not duel. Duel is the "<weapon> at ten paces, at dawn in the park" thing.

I nominate the word "duel" for one of the most misused words on the intraweb :D
 

taltamir

Lifer
Mar 21, 2004
13,576
6
76
nah, its "their/there/they're" and imaginative combinations thereof. I have seen "the'ire" and the like too many times. Oh and your vs you're
 

konakona

Diamond Member
May 6, 2004
6,285
1
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Originally posted by: taltamir
nah, its "their/there/they're" and imaginative combinations thereof. I have seen "the'ire" and the like too many times. Oh and your vs you're

and hence my wording "one of the most misused"
 

taltamir

Lifer
Mar 21, 2004
13,576
6
76
you know, i am not even a native english speaker and that drives me insane,.. how hard is it to tell the their/they're/there apart?
 

SirFelixCat

Senior member
Nov 24, 2005
564
0
0
I use a dual monitor setup at work and became accustom to it.

For home, I currently have 2 - 20" 2001WP's and next week, the mother of all monitors will be parked in between them, the Gateway XHD3000, so that the 20" ones then go into portrait and then I have 4960x1600 desktop space.


I should note that I'll soon be playing poker professionally, so being able to play multiple tables w/o overlap plus having plenty of desktop space for other programs is a huge advantage, imo.
 

taltamir

Lifer
Mar 21, 2004
13,576
6
76
You know there are some games that make use of dual monitor... Supreme commander is one.
Also the X series also makes use of dual monitor...
I am surprised it is such a rare thing since dual monitor support should be fairly easy to implement and can add tons of fun to almost any game.
 

heymrdj

Diamond Member
May 28, 2007
3,999
63
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I love dual viewing. I connect my laptop to my tv so I watch an anime streamed from my home server on my 32" tv, while doing school work or instant messanging on my laptop 17" display. Also for my game server at LAN party's. UT2004 and Serious Sam: Second Encounter spectator modes on one projector, and system/server stats on the other projector, allowing me to sit back and just watch things.