Dual Monitors on Vista?

omnialpha · Oct 2, 2006, 01:25 PM

Anyone have any luck running dual monitors under vista? I have 2 PCIE cards, 1 ATI and 1 Nvidia, and it seems vista will only find one and not both. Any one have any thoughts?

Thanks in Advance

Ferret_Style · Jul 9, 2007, 05:57 AM

You dont need the second card and i would recommend not mixing brands of cards in your system. Run either one and use the 2 video outputs if you card has those. If not it is time for an upgrade to get a second to run SLI or Crossfire or just have a card with dual dvi out.

(IIRC the x800 has dual outputs and would way outperform the 6600)

Judas · Jul 9, 2007, 07:42 AM

FYI, currently you CANNOT run dual monitors on a crossfire setup, WHILE in crossfire...

zaim · Jul 9, 2007, 09:21 AM

i can dual monitor on vista.. but under DUAL mode.. i prefer SPAN.

that is the only reason why i haven't moved to vista yet.. because i am unable to SPAN my screen to a 3360x1050 resolution.

Necrosis · Jul 9, 2007, 09:34 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Judas

FYI, currently you CANNOT run dual monitors on a crossfire setup, WHILE in crossfire...

He's not trying to run Crossfire.

Quote:

Originally Posted by omnialpha

Anyone have any luck running dual monitors under vista? I have 2 PCIE cards, 1 ATI and 1 Nvidia, and it seems vista will only find one and not both. Any one have any thoughts?

Thanks in Advance

Quote:

Originally Posted by omnialpha

GFX: 256 Meg ATI Radion X800 XL PCIE & 128 MegNvidia 6600 GT PCIE

I think the problem is a limitation with your chipset. It depends if it can run dual cards at the same time, I'm certain the nforce chipsets can. So it's either a chipset limitation or OS.

Judas · Jul 9, 2007, 06:40 PM

I wasn't responding to the orginal question, i was just making it clear that (someone previously had mentioned crossfire) you can't use dual monitor in a crossfire setup in crossfire mode.

OldBuzzard · Jul 12, 2007, 12:50 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by zaim

i can dual monitor on vista.. but under DUAL mode.. i prefer SPAN.

that is the only reason why i haven't moved to vista yet.. because i am unable to SPAN my screen to a 3360x1050 resolution.

Take a look at Ultramon: http://www.realtimesoft.com/ultramon/ Version 3.0 Beta 1 supports Vista. I'm not sure that it will SPAN in Vista, but I know that it does in XP and XP x64.

They have a full feature demo available, but I'll tell you, if you use multiple monitors, it's the best 39.95 that you can spend

zaim · Jul 12, 2007, 11:48 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by OldBuzzard

Take a look at Ultramon: http://www.realtimesoft.com/ultramon/ Version 3.0 Beta 1 supports Vista. I'm not sure that it will SPAN in Vista, but I know that it does in XP and XP x64.

They have a full feature demo available, but I'll tell you, if you use multiple monitors, it's the best 39.95 that you can spend

i know about ultramon.... but i dont want thirtdparty software to assist me in dual monitor setup.... i want proper nvidia drivers which is classic menu driven or something similar

OldBuzzard · Jul 12, 2007, 11:57 PM

You just might be older than I am now before that happens

nevaspb · Jul 16, 2007, 12:22 AM

Looking to buy a video card (or two) for a new multimedia PC.
I intend on using it for general use and multimedia. It will be connected to a 24" widescreen LCD monitor via DVI and a projector via VGA. The connectors are given by default since i already have a long VGA cable for the projector hook-up installed.

I would like to be able to smoothly play a DVD or OTA HDTV from my ATI HDTV tuner card on the projector while browsing the web, doing emails, watching clips on youtube, reading PDF, etc on the LCD monitor.

The display will run at 1920x1200 resolution, while the projector will be at 1280x720 (720p).
So, it is very important for me to be able to set up resolutions for the two video signal outputs independently, which I was not able to do before with my one old AGP card.

I am putting a Intel quad processor in. As far as video card, I am thinking of buying a ATI Radeon HD 2600 XT.

Now, the question is...for very smooth performance of the system as described above, should I buy 2 of them or just one would suffice? If two, then should I connect it via crossfire (motherboard supports it) or just set them up independently.

Lastly, the reason why I am going with HD2600 is b/c (1) it is affordable, (2) seems to be better for video (esp for BlueRay/HDDVD if and when I get it) than an equivalent NVidia card; and (3) my HDTV tuner card is also by ATI.

I have read a ton of reviews but unfortunately all of them look at SLI/CrossFire functionality strictly from a gamers' perspective. And I NEVER PLAY(or intend to) ANY GAMES.

Any thoughts/advice are appreciated.

Starlord · Aug 27, 2008, 07:29 AM

i just want to know
who is responcible for this bug

that under Vista is no Dual Span Option....

i worked most the time with that, and all options Vista offers me wont make me happy..

To clarify, I am plugging both monitors via DVI into the same nVidia graphics card. I can extend the desktop (or clone the display) just fine using the built in nVidia tool.

What I can't do is "span" the display across two monitors. This is somewhat different than the extended desktop functionality. For example, using horizontal span mode on monitors with native resolution of 1280x1024, I could run a full screen game at 2560x1024 and treat both monitors as essentially one large display. Under XP, this option was available in the nVidia tool, and was called horizontal span mode. I no longer have this option in vista, and it seems that, for some reasons I don't completely understand, this option is no longer available in vista (as indicated by landis).

After a lot of googling, I can't find any software based solution to this. So it seems like this is just yet another case of vista somehow providing less functionality than XP, but I'd like to be sure before giving up on it.

**dj_stick** · Aug 27, 2008, 10:34 AM

i doubt it's the OS giving you less functionality, it's more like the vendor (nVidia) isn't supplying the function in its drivers

OldBuzzard · Aug 27, 2008, 01:17 PM

Is one big desktop all tht important, or are you more interested in that option for certain applications?

If the latter, then Ultramon will allow you to span applications across multiple monitors. Scroll up a bit to my previous post to find a link to it.

I can understand that there is sometimes an advantage to spanning monitors, but there times when having 2 seperate desktops is a plus also.

Judas · Aug 27, 2008, 03:32 PM

i wish ATI provided the ability to span 3-4 monitors using 2 graphics cards..... but *Sigh*... they still don't....

Oct 2, 2006, 01:25 PM	#1
omnialpha DriverHeaven Newbie Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: Brisbane Posts: 1 Rep Power: 0	Dual Monitors on Vista? Anyone have any luck running dual monitors under vista? I have 2 PCIE cards, 1 ATI and 1 Nvidia, and it seems vista will only find one and not both. Any one have any thoughts? Thanks in Advance

Jul 9, 2007, 09:21 AM	#4
zaim HardwareHeaven Senior Member Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: Melbourne, AU Posts: 1,052 Rep Power: 42	i can dual monitor on vista.. but under DUAL mode.. i prefer SPAN. that is the only reason why i haven't moved to vista yet.. because i am unable to SPAN my screen to a 3360x1050 resolution. __________________ زعيم MAIN PC(1)(2)(3):•Q9550•GAP35DS3P• 4GBCrucialPC2-8500BallistixTracerLED•XFX9800GTX•3x146GB CheetahSAS15K.5 Raid0•2x 1TB Raid1•LianLiA10B•2x22"5ms@3360x1050• BEDROOM HTPC(1)(2)(3):E6600•MSI945GM3-F•2048DDR2667•1TB•Samsung26"HDTV•HybridHDTV•5.1• Laptop:•Centrino2 P8400 1066fsb•4GB-DDR2 800•320GBSATA•DVDDL•15.4"WXGA•802.11a/b/g/n• WHServer:•AM2 5200+•2GB DDR2 800•Lots of TB Storage•1GB TCP/IP• www.zaimc.com // myspace/zaimc // zaimm.deviantart BLOG BLOG BLOG BLOG BLOG 16 x 92mm fan + radiator experiment!

Jul 12, 2007, 11:57 PM	#9
OldBuzzard DH's oldest Geek Join Date: May 2003 Location: Oberlin, OH Posts: 2,783 Rep Power: 145 System Specs	You just might be older than I am now before that happens __________________ When looking for a reason as to why things go wrong, never rule out sheer STUPIDITY

Aug 27, 2008, 01:17 PM	#13
OldBuzzard DH's oldest Geek Join Date: May 2003 Location: Oberlin, OH Posts: 2,783 Rep Power: 145 System Specs	Is one big desktop all tht important, or are you more interested in that option for certain applications? If the latter, then Ultramon will allow you to span applications across multiple monitors. Scroll up a bit to my previous post to find a link to it. I can understand that there is sometimes an advantage to spanning monitors, but there times when having 2 seperate desktops is a plus also. __________________ When looking for a reason as to why things go wrong, never rule out sheer STUPIDITY

Jul 16, 2007, 12:22 AM	#10
nevaspb DriverHeaven Newbie Join Date: Jul 2007 Posts: 1 Rep Power: 0	Looking to buy a video card (or two) for a new multimedia PC. I intend on using it for general use and multimedia. It will be connected to a 24" widescreen LCD monitor via DVI and a projector via VGA. The connectors are given by default since i already have a long VGA cable for the projector hook-up installed. I would like to be able to smoothly play a DVD or OTA HDTV from my ATI HDTV tuner card on the projector while browsing the web, doing emails, watching clips on youtube, reading PDF, etc on the LCD monitor. The display will run at 1920x1200 resolution, while the projector will be at 1280x720 (720p). So, it is very important for me to be able to set up resolutions for the two video signal outputs independently, which I was not able to do before with my one old AGP card. I am putting a Intel quad processor in. As far as video card, I am thinking of buying a ATI Radeon HD 2600 XT. Now, the question is...for very smooth performance of the system as described above, should I buy 2 of them or just one would suffice? If two, then should I connect it via crossfire (motherboard supports it) or just set them up independently. Lastly, the reason why I am going with HD2600 is b/c (1) it is affordable, (2) seems to be better for video (esp for BlueRay/HDDVD if and when I get it) than an equivalent NVidia card; and (3) my HDTV tuner card is also by ATI. I have read a ton of reviews but unfortunately all of them look at SLI/CrossFire functionality strictly from a gamers' perspective. And I NEVER PLAY(or intend to) ANY GAMES. Any thoughts/advice are appreciated.

Aug 27, 2008, 07:29 AM	#11
Starlord DriverHeaven Newbie Join Date: Oct 2003 Posts: 5 Rep Power: 0	i just want to know who is responcible for this bug that under Vista is no Dual Span Option.... i worked most the time with that, and all options Vista offers me wont make me happy.. To clarify, I am plugging both monitors via DVI into the same nVidia graphics card. I can extend the desktop (or clone the display) just fine using the built in nVidia tool. What I can't do is "span" the display across two monitors. This is somewhat different than the extended desktop functionality. For example, using horizontal span mode on monitors with native resolution of 1280x1024, I could run a full screen game at 2560x1024 and treat both monitors as essentially one large display. Under XP, this option was available in the nVidia tool, and was called horizontal span mode. I no longer have this option in vista, and it seems that, for some reasons I don't completely understand, this option is no longer available in vista (as indicated by landis). After a lot of googling, I can't find any software based solution to this. So it seems like this is just yet another case of vista somehow providing less functionality than XP, but I'd like to be sure before giving up on it.