Guide To Setting Up Dual Monitors
Compiled by the editors at
TigerDirect.com
Having two monitors may sound like something from the movie "Hackers", but the reality is
far more day to day. After all, how many times have you had a document on the screen, and
you needed to switch to your web browser or a spreadsheet - you can only see one at a time
- unless to reduce each window size, which is not really a viable solution. The answer to
this problem is more screen space.
Of course, you could by a bigger monitor - this does work up to a point - the point where
you run out of resolution on one monitor. But adding another monitor, especially having two
large monitors, gives you a totally different vista (no pun intended!). With two monitors
you can have your browser and massive spreadsheet on screen at the same time. You can be
viewing a large webpage and pasting text into your PowerPoint or Word document. In short,
having two monitors dramatically improves your productivity.
A typical dual monitor setup
Most people don't have any idea how really easy it is to set up dual monitors on their
system. However, there is one thing you must have to be able to do it! A second video card.
Here is a list of what you would need, but remember, this is an upgrade that almost anyone
can perform:
What You Need
• Two Monitors
They can be the same or totally different - two LCD, two tube monitors, one of each. They
can also be different resolutions, and different physical sizes.
• Microsoft Windows XP or Vista
To easily setup dual monitors you can use Windows 2000, but it is much easier with XP or Vista.
• A Second Video Adaptor Card
The second card can be a simple VGA or higher resolution state of the art NVIDIA video card.
Of course, some PCs come with dual monitor support (2 video cards/outputs) built-in - so
check you system before buying a second video card.
• Optional Dual LCD Monitor Stand
If you have two LCD monitors with VESA compatible mounts, a dual monitor stand makes sense
- it saves desk space and mounts both monitors at the same level for better use.
That's it. However, it is recommended to extend the RAM memory in your system to 2GB,
as each screen will use memory - but even on a 1GB main memory system, dual monitors work wonderfully.
Two Separate Monitors Configured Together
| 
About BTH
User Agreement
Privacy
Site Map
Contact
Advertise Here
News Feeds
Free Downloads
RSS Feed
