:: Multiple Monitor Setup in Single Computer ::
Now days, a dual-monitor setup has become
very commonplace. But why stop at two displays?
I can speak from experience: Having multiple monitors (and I’m talking three, four, five, or even
six) is just…awesome, and something you totally need in your life.
But before you go, you want to give your
multi-monitor plan some forethought. This guide will walk you through all the
factors you need to take into account before setting up three or more monitors.
Check your graphics card(s)
Before you run out and buy a bunch of
extra monitors, check to see whether your computer is physically capable of
handling all that graphics prowess. First, look at the
back of your PC: How many graphics ports (DVI, HDMI, DisplayPort,
and VGA) do you see?
you will also need to enter your PC’s BIOS
and go to Configuration > Video > Integrated graphics device and set it to “Always enable.”
You need new generation Motherboard with
Graphics card, Just because many older Nvidia cards are unable to run more than two monitors on a
single card, even if they have more than two ports,
. The best way to find out whether your
graphics card supports multiple monitors is to find the name of your card (Control Panel > Device Manager > Display
Adapters) and Google it with the monitor setup you’re looking to run (e.g.
“Nvidia GTX 770 four monitors”).
If your graphics card supports—and has
enough ports for—the number of monitors you want to set up, excellent. If not,
you may need to purchase an additional graphics card to get the multi-monitor
support you’re looking for.
If you buy a graphics card solely for the
purpose of having multiple monitors, it’s best to get one that’s the same (or,
at least in the same product family) as your current graphics card, so you can
connect them using SLI (Nvidia) or CrossFire (AMD). SLI and CrossFire
setups will help your graphics cards run smoothly, and they’ll also boost your
PC’s overall graphics performance so you can do fun things like play games in
multi-monitor mode without frame rates plummeting. You’ll get much better
performance with multiple connected graphics cards than you will with multiple
non-connected graphics cards. And, while you technically can run Nvidia and AMD cards side-by-side…it’s more trouble than
it’s worth and I don’t recommend it.
Monitors, ports, and cables
Once you figure out your graphics card
situation, it’s time for the fun part: obtaining extra monitors. In general,
monitors can be had for fairly cheap these days.
A Display Port connector (left) and an
HDMI cable (right).
Before you buy your monitors, you’ll also
want to make sure they have input ports that
Correspond with your PC’s output ports.
While you could use conversion cables, such as DVI-to-HDMI or DisplayPort-to-DVI, they can be a hassle. If you have a VGA
port on your PC or your monitor, I suggest staying away from it: VGA is an
analog connector, which means your picture will be noticeably less sharp and
colors will be less vivid.
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<![endif]>Set up your PC :
Set up your monitors, plug them in, and
turn on your PC. But there are still a couple more steps.
The first thing you’ll want to do is
configure Windows to play nicely with your multiple monitors. If you’re running Windows 7 or Windows 8, right- click on the
desktop > Screen resolution > Display settings.
This will take you to a screen where you
can configure the options you have for multiple monitors in Windows.
Here, you can confirm that all your
monitors are detected. Click Identify, which will cause a large number to
appear on each of your displays, so you can determine which screen is which.
Select the monitor you’d like to serve as your main display (which will also
determine where your taskbar and Start button appears). A drop-down menu lets
you choose whether to duplicate your desktop or extend
your desktop across all the screens. In most multi-monitor setups, you’ll want
to extend your desktop across all three (or four, or whatever) of your
displays.
Tips from ARES :-
Nvidia sarah
multiple displays
Alternately, you can set up your
multi-monitor configuration in your GPU’s control panel. Right-click your
desktop and choose either the Nvidia or AMD control
panel (depending on your graphics card), and find the Display section, which
will offer similar options as Windows.
For gaming(not
all games are multi-monitor compatible), it’s easier if you have multiple
identical displays, because otherwise you’ll run into issues with resolution,
distortion (if your displays aren’t at the same height), and color calibration,
all of which can be difficult to work with if you’re trying to play in a
“seamless” environment.
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