I’ve used three monitors for about two years now, and I’d never go back. It all started when I bought a new computer with a video card that had two outputs, digital and analog. I used the digital for my new 17″ LCD, but I wondered if I could get an old monitor going on the analog card. So I set my old 20″ CRT to one side, plugged it in and was amazed at how I could expand my desktop.
Honestly, if you’ve never used a multi monitor setup in Windows, it really does feel like magic. Using the Settings tab of your Display Properties, you can choose to extend your primary desktop onto the other monitor. And then that’s what happens. You have a super big desktop, where if you pick up something, you can drag if from one monitor and drop it onto the other.
The only problem with using two monitors I found was that my neck started hurting from looking only ahead or to the right. I figured if I got a third monitor going on my left hand side, I’d be moving my head around in various directions, avoiding any pain.
The alternative, I suppose, would have been to have had two monitors right next to each other in front of me. But I disliked this idea, because then my main natural viewing area directly ahead would be gone. I’d always be looking slightly to the left or right.
My bright idea meant purchasing two more 17″ LCD monitors plus another video card, so I’d have three outputs in all. It was worth the money. I couldn’t believe how much more productive I was. In my middle screen, I could write. On one of my other screens, I could read about something new happening. And on my third screen, I could test out what was being described. It was fabulous.
I recently graduated to 20″ LCDs for reasons I’ll explain more below (along with twin Nvidia gaming cards, handy if I ever want to link them together and run them as a single super accelerated card for games. I’ll never do that, but it’s nice to know I can). Here’s how the current setup looks:
I quickly found I needed two more purchases to make things fly to really do well with a multimonitor setup. The first was Ultramon, which I’ve written about before. It allows me to have a taskbar for each of my computer screens.
For example, currently on my main central monitor, I have FrontPage open. I also have my Outlook email window open. Both show on my taskbar on the middle screen. If I select one of the applications, I can switch to it.
Without Ultramon, Windows stupidly would put the applications I have open on my left and right monitors also on my main central window’s taskbar (my Outlook Calendar, Firefox, Paint Shop Pro, a few others would all show up). That’s because my other monitors wouldn’t have their own taskbars. Ultramon corrects this. In addition, it makes it easy to shoot any application from one screen to another. For instance, look at this:
See the two buttons to the left of the normal minimize, maximize and close window buttons? If you click on the one with the little arrow, that Choose Monitor window pops up that you can also see. Then click on the monitor you want to send a window to, and it magically moves over there.
The other key element is a good monitor stand. I’m appalled at the state of LCD stands. The new 20″ Dell monitors I bought late last year can’t be elevated to the height to match my eyes for good viewing. My old 17″ LCD monitors were worse. After some searching those years ago, I ended up going for an Ergotron base, a DS100 Triple-monitor Desk Stand. They aren’t cheap.
NOTE: Aside from the Ergotron monitor stand, which I’ll describe further, here are some other stands sold via Amazon (and FYI, if you purchase via these links, I earn a little on the sale. The Ergotron link above also takes you to Amazon)
I love the base except for two key problems. First, there’s no storage on it. Moreover, it’s got this weird peaked shape. If you look at my picture above, you’ll see the junk I’ve piled on it. Each pile leans slightly downhill. I wish they’d just made the thing flat, so my stuff wouldn’t slide off.
More important, the monitors can’t be tilted naturally in the way I’d like. Look at this:
– sorry, the picture’s now gone from the Ergotron site –
OK, that’s from the Ergotron site and shows you how they think the monitors should be set-up. Look nice a pretty, all seamless, right? And I can make my monitors look this way. The problem is, while it looks pretty, it’s uncomfortable to view them. The left and right hand monitors can’t be viewed directly straight on. In other words, I can’t turn my head and be looking straight at one of the side monitors. I literally have to turn in my chair and lean slightly to do this, to get a more comfortable viewing angle.
Here’s a closer up example from my own setup, before adjustment:
You should be able to see what a very slight bend the right monitor is on. It’s not tilted/angled in a way that both your eyes can look at it from exactly the same distance. Trying to look at it just isn’t comfortable. Now the monitors can be adjusted. You can set them up so that you can tilt them inward or outward from you, IE, adjusted horizontally. But look at this picture:
Notice how the top of the monitor leans more forward than the bottom? It’s incredibly annoying. Nor is there any reason for it to happen. These are standard VESA mounts. A monitor on them should be perfectly aligned between the top and the bottom. There should be no lean at all. OK, so why not just tilt the top back a bit. You can’t. The mount can either tilt horizontally or vertically, not both. Here’s an example with the vertical tilt setup:
If you go with this, sure, you can make sure the monitor doesn’t lean forward. However, then you’re back to the original problem of the monitor not being comfortable to view because it’s not tilted properly toward you horizontally.
I contacted Ergotron originally about this, but they were no help. In the end, I figured it must be a problem on my end and solved it by using washers. I shoved a bunch of washers under the bottom part of the mounting plate to help adjust for the bad angle. It works OK, enough that I’ve lived with it.
A few months ago, I upgraded my monitors, as I said. I discovered in doing so that it wasn’t a monitor problem on my end. Once again, the monitors leaned forward. This is just a badly designed mount. I ought to be able to adjust in all directions, horizontal and vertical. At the very least, if the monitors are set up with the sliding-bow pivot you see here, then they certainly shouldn’t be tilting forward as they do.
It’s also not just me. I was visiting a friend in California a few months ago. She had a dual Ergotron mount and her monitors did the same tilting thing as mine, tilting forward at the tops. She was also just as annoyed as me. But also like me, she lived with it because overall the mount is good compared to the relatively few other choices that seem to be out there.
I did contact Ergotron a second time after getting my new monitors in place, but once again, there was no help. I’ve been meaning to write up this up to visually explain it to them, so maybe there will be more luck.
FYI, top of my tech wishlist? I’d like a laptop that has a second screen that you could unfold. Forget tablet PC. Give me a laptop with two monitors, one that you can swing out when you have extra space but fold away when on an airplane. Going back to one screen is so hard — a laptop like that would be awesome.
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Totally agree with the multimonitor recomendation! I’m sitting in front of 2 monitors right now and am dreaming of a third!
I also agree with the UltraMon recommendation. The Smart Taskbar feature alone makes it worthwhile. I also love the keyboard shortcut options that allow you to reposition applications on different monitors without using the mouse. I have to admit though that the nVidia drivers are approaching the level of functionality provided by UltraMon. (At least for my use.) If it wasn’t for the Smart Taskbar feature in UltraMon I’d seriously consider using just the nVidia drivers since they’re free. (Obviously this is only applicable if you use one of their cards.)
Lastly, the reason I made this comment is I wanted to point out a cool looking utility: http://www.maxivista.com/
I haven’t tried it myself yet but it looks like it quite possibly might be a cheap way for me to get that third monitor!
That…is a wicked setup.
Man fate likes to punch me in the stomach sometimes. I literally just ordered a third LCD today, and the only way to fit them all on my desk was with the Ergotron desk stand, the very same model you have. And just like you, I like to tilt my monitors up a bit, but also very much inwards.
Now I have noticed something, I was looking at the technical drawings, and the pivot that attachs to the poll DOES swivel in all directions (correct me if I’m wrong), but I’m pretty sure it does, at least that’s what the diagram seems to suggest here.
Now assuming all your monitors have this lean problem equally, that will tilt them all straight again, but man, what a bitch!
I think I’m going to order it all anyways as I’d love the third monitor… Why they don’t use a ball joint is BEYOND me.
Regards,
Sean Murphy
sean@cerdonis.com (feel free to email me)
I had my laptop hooked up as a second screen but having to unplug it every time I wanted to take it out of the house was a pain so Santa brought me a dual monitor from DoubleSight this Xmas! I noticed TigerDirect has them on sale for $799 – Check it out here
(note: I have no affiliation with any of these products)
Neat setup. I only have two physical displays, but I’ve essentially just doubled that into 8 via virtual desktops.
Went into details here for anyone unfamiliar: http://www.revenuegirl.com/how-to-simulate-multiple-displays-and-dramatically-increase-productivity/
You may find that the ErgoMounts M3 Series Multi-Stand would fit you set up.
http://www.ergomounts.co.uk/product-details.asp?cid=3&scid=6&pid=68
I have an nVidia card with the vga and dvi interface ports, so I can use two LCD screens, but when I connect the third one to my normal intgrated vga port on the dell desktop, nothing happens and looks like the computer does not see the standard vga port (does bios disable the regular port when nVidia is set up?), what did you have to do to get all three to show at the same time, did Ergotron manage it for you ?
Thanks …. Mark
You might need to right click on your desktop, get Display Properties, then in settings see if you see a third screen that’s all grayed out. If so, check the Extend my Windows desktop onto this monitor option.. Otherwise, yes, bios might be disabling it. Ergotron is just a monitor stand — nothing to do with the monitor output.
ATI has very good multidisplay option FireMV
i am using it
I too want to buy a new system which includes a 256MB NVIDIA 8600GT. I want to connect three monitors, 19” flat panels with VGA inputs. The use is strictly business, no gaming. I want all three monitors to operate independently to use different applications, so I am not interested in the third monitor just being a mirror of one of the other two. I have been told I need a second video card to achieve this result. If so, what second card should I get? Also, for my use is the 256MB overkill? Will the 128MB do the job?
I just bought the Stand and 2 monitors with the TripleHead2Go digital addition. I connected everything the way that it told me is suppose to be set up to my laptop. But for some reason only one monitor is turning on like if it was the only one connected directly to the laptop.
Can you help me out? I’m not sure if i did something wrong or still need to purchase something else that i didn’t know about.
Email me at ss_got3nkz@yahoo.com
I work with the military overseas so i might be on at different times.
Thanks Anthony
Hi,
I am in the phase of buying a new laptop and would like to know if there is a possibility of connecting 3 monitors to the laptop. I am currently thinking of buying a Toshiba or a Dell machine. Highly appreciate your views??
Thanks. Tarun
Tarun, see this post that I did, Multiple Monitor Solutions For The MacBook Pro
your 3 monitors are attache’d one to the other one and plug in one to the other one and then separately plug into the wall? do you know where they sell them?
No, the monitors are each separately plugged into the computer. In the setup above, I had a desktop computer. That desktop computer had outputs that ran up to four different monitors.
I’m preparing myself as well to mount a 3 screen monitor setup. The wait is killing me but it’s almost here.
Setting it as 3 24″ LCD’s manufactured by Asus, it’s a dream come true.
I have a ATI HD4870 Video Card with two DVI outputs.I can extend my desktop but what i realy want is the horizontal stretch so it can be for example 2 monitors 1024*768 = 2048*768 desktop so i can play Flight simulator X on both extended.
i’v played FSX on extended mode but it only displays in one monitor and i cant extend the image to 2 monitors , only transfer it from one to the other.
Any clue how to do it??? Basicaly is to do what Matrox Triplehead2Go does.
The solution to your problem with the viewing of the monitors is to replace it with 9X Media Triple Monitor Desktop Stand. As you can see from the animation, you can tilt the screen anyway you want. The monitors can be tilted 360 degrees….heck you can even flip the monitor backwards, spread the system wider or flip the screen to show to a seatmate in an instant without any loosening any bolts of using any tools. They are a bit more expensive because they are made of black annodized aluminum unlike the Ergotron stands which is made of Chinese Steel Tubing. The stand is also a bit heavy for more stability. And because of the ability to “spread” the arms, you can use different size monitors up to 32 inches! Awesome isn’t it?
I just happened to stumble onto your site and I noticed something. The mounts on the back of your screens aren’t all on the same way. I have deployed several of these dual-mounts from Ergotron and they will work out much better if the mount that holds the LCD to the long arm of the ergotron unit is the same on each LCD. If you look at your pictures, one of yours is laid horizontally (bolt going up and down), and the other is vertical (bolt going left to right).
Try moving them all to the same orientation and see if that helps.
Let me know if that doesn’t make sense.
How do you split 4 outputs from one computer? Do you use 2 graphic cards or single graphic card with 4 output?
I had two graphic cards, and each card had two outputs.
Hey, that is pretty awesome. I’m thinking about getting setup like that when I head off to college.
As far as the laptop thing, check out thinkgeek.com. They have a thing where you plug in a usb screen thing that lets you expand it. It even tilts and stuff like an iPhone. I don’t have the time to give you a link, but it shouldn’t be hard to find.
I would really appreciate more information on the multiple video cards. I have been running dual monitors for years and finally see that I want a third one since I have gone to Windows 7 Ultimate and it will let you choose the monitor to output TV to. I am trying 2 video cards, one a PNY dual monitor PCI-E and the other a BFG Tech PCI vga single. I can only get one card to enable at a time, when it is the single PCI vga card, then I only get one monitor with video and it’s not the one attached to that card. The motherboard is an MSI P43 Neo.
Hi,
Thanks for the great post. It inspired me to set up 3 monitors on my Dell Inspiron 530. I have an integrated graphics card that allows for one output, so I bought an MSI R4350 with three outputs (DVI, VGA, and HDMI).
Doesnt seem to like when I plug in one to the integrated and two to the MSI card, (only one or the two others work, but not all three at once)
Is it ok to run all three monitors off one video card? It has only heatsink, no fan – will that risk overheating?
My motherboard only has slot for one video card. Any guidance/advice you can provide will be so helpful.
Many thanks!
Phil, it might be that the DVI and HDMI are effectively the same digital signal, so you get to use only one or the other.
If you could get all three to go, I can’t say on the overheating. But I’d expect them to warn against it, if it was a problem.
Danny,
I came across this post because I was searching for a way to connect 4 LCDs and one monitor to a single computer. My father in law wants to run some ads in his store and control them as needed with the application running on fifth monitor somewhere in the back. I was thinking to buy ATI Sapphire HD4850 X2 with 4 dvi slots and plug the fifth (smaller) lcd to motherboard integrated graphic card. I need all 5 monitors to be independent from each other but i am not sure if it will work as I expect. Also a 4 slot graphic card is little more expensive do you think a two graphic cards (w/ 2 slots each) will do the work as well? Is it even possible to do something like this? Thank you in advance for your reply.
i want to know about connect one pc to multiple monitor. which device is needed for that work.
Hi! I’m also interested with 3 monitor setup. Right now I have a GeForce 8400GS, has 1 x VGA port and 1 x DVI port. If I will connect 1 monitor to the vga port, then connect a 1-dvi input to 2-dvi output (Y-CABLE) and connect the 2nd and 3rd monitor there, will I have 3 independent monitors showing 3 applications or the 2nd and 3rd monitor can show the same applications only?
thanks!
Akhilesh, you need to have a video card that has at least two outputs or two different video cards. That’s the first step.
Miro, if you have 4 different outputs, however you do it, they should work all independently. But you want to ensure you’ve got a good return policy on the off-chance there’s something unexpected that happens.
Clorenz, you have two outputs. If you split one, then you’ll simply mirror what comes off the split. Make sense? Think of it this way. Each hard output is like a different TV channel. If you split an output, you don’t get a different channel. You get the same channel twice.
I have a 36 inch monitor that I would like to have the ability to have it divided into 4 mini windows that are all visible. Is there a virtual desktop program that someone can recommend.
Cheers
heya @DGB, i believe the software you’re looking for to subdivide space on a monitor is MaxTO – http://maxto.net/
I’m just wondering how much would this kind of set up be? Do I need to increase the specs of my CPU to have this kind of set up? What I mean is should I increase the capacity of my RAM and Processor etc. Thanks
I would want to have this kind of set up. By the way nice to know you Danny 
Actually, a DVI or VGA splitter does allow you to get 2 separate signals. I’m using one right now to give me 2 monitor displays – primary and secondary – using the “extended desktop” feature.
I didn’t know it could be done, either, until a couple months ago. I do not know whether you can use a splitter to give you 3 displays, but I do know that if you only have 1 output on your tower, you can use it to give you two individual signals. Windows recognizes it as 2 monitors.
Anyway, thought this might help…
Hey Danny,
Pretty incredible that this thread alone has been running for almost 4 yrs. Anyhow…
I currently have a dell inspiron 537 slim w/2 23″ dell hd monitors hooked up to it. One via the HDMI slot and the other with an HDMI to DVI cable using an ATI Radeon HD 4350 video card. To my surprise, the quality is excellent. Now, I need to order and additional Dell pc for my office. I’m looking to set up 3 of these same monitors but need a little help with the specs. What type of video card would you recommend to handle the 3 monitors? And finally, do you have any suggestions about minimum system requirements to run a set up like this.
Thanks in advance,
BTG
Brett, I recently went looking for a single card that could do three monitors. There are a few, but they’re meant for gamers and expensive. And some modern PCs amazingly don’t seem to have a lot of free slots for a low end card. But that’s really the choice — one card that can do three, or two cards that each can run up to two monitors. However, USB options also work. That’s what I’m doing for my MacBook. See here: My MacBook Pro Goes Multimonitor: 4 Monitors At Once!
seems windows 7 pro won’t work with a mix of pci and pcie cards like xp did so if your boards only got 1 pcie slot youre limited to 2 monitors(or 3 with a hugely expensive game card). my intel board automatically disables onboard when theres something in the pcie slot.
all other cards get shown as a std vga video device that fails to start
I havnt been able to try with both cards from the same manufacturer, anyone else?any thoughts?
Hello
Have you played games on 3 monitors? I’ll realy love to play F1 with 2 additional monitors, I think it would be great.
that looks really good mate of mine has 5 LCD screens all 20″ its amazing
im at work right now and im trying to hook up 2 more screens to make 3. i have my main screen plugged into the graphics chard which only has 1 DVI port and i have a splitter plugged into the onboard VGA, the other two screens appear as extended desktops but they are mirrored. does anyone know how with out downloading any program make it so my 2 extended desktop screens are not mirrored, they are just to seperate exteneded screens.
hi, i have some questions about a triple monitor setup.
i currently have a:
Lenovo Y530
Intel Core Duo 2
Mobile Intel GM45 Express (integrated)
i have a HDMI AND a VGA port
i currently have a HDMI monitor connected to the HDMI port, and i am wondering how i can get a triple monitor set up (including the laptop monitor).
getting a second video card would not be an option, since it’s a laptop. what are my options? replies would be very thankful!
Can you give me some guidance how you actually hooked up the three monitors to your Dell Inspiron 530. I was told by tech support that I would need a new power supply to do this. Is that true?
Absolutely agree with the multi monitor recommendation. I’m currently using dual 22” Acers in Horizontal span mode. Instead of dualview, which grants you only the one taskbar, horizontal span mode gives you one gigantic desktop; basically instead of 2 monitors of independent resolution I have one desktop running at 3360 x 1050, stretched across both monitors. This opens up a whole new world of possibilities- instead of choosing which monitor you want to view something on, you can also choose to view it on both at once! I watch HD movies and play games in Ultra-mega-wide screen!
Naturally, 3 monitors with this setup would make for the best gaming experience currently possible with affordable technology. I’m holding out on that dual SLI setup (and hence, three monitors) until I can afford top of the line cards… you know the feeling.
With horizontal span, there is no longer a need for Ultramon, thanks Nvidia!
I forgot to add… there is some confusion I have seen on various sites regarding dual and triple monitors for gaming…. some less savvy gamers have made the claim that you are not actually seeing more in game, but are instead just widening the existing image.
This is true for older games, before, say, 2003-2005. For newer games, though, once you have your desktop resolution set right (my 3360×1050), you can then choose that resolution in the options of a game, and the game will comply. It does not know you’re using 2 monitors, but the video card does and will do a great job splitting the images.
Just had to get that out there because in one particular case, someone refused to believe there was an advantage to be had.
I have nvidia setup along with vedio cards.
currently using dual display ,both dell monitors are hooked to Laptop docket station.Want to use laptop display as the third one.
What is required?
Thanks in Advance
I have installed the radeon video card with 2 slots and have 2 monitors working on them but now I want a third will it run from the default already there or do I need another card for it
Thanks for the useful post. There actually is a dual-monitor laptop! Your idea about this seemed funny to me at first, but then I came across the post on a site called CTOVision dated August 28, 2009. If you google “Finally: A (real) Dual Monitor Laptop” it should come up. Enjoy!
Hey guys, I’m also going for three monitors – for increased productivity and also gaming (obviously not both at the same time…).
ATI has brought out some new tech with their 5xxx series Radeon cards – it’s called ‘Eyefinity’ and allows you to run three monitors off one card (2 x DVI & 1 x DisplayPort). I’ve seen an online demo and it looks great, really seamless and easy to set up.
Check it out, as these cards should meet most people’s needs for three monitors (apparently they are bringing out a card which will run 6 monitors).
There’s also TripleHead2Go, which is older tech, not sure exactly how it works.
when you 1st got your machine, did it just have onboard graphics? I too have a 530, and just picked up a geforce 210 video card which has 3 locations to plug into, hdmi…dvi…and vga. however, you can only use two at a time. can I use hdmi and dvi from the card, and then vga from the stock graphics??
I have a 32″ 1080 in the middle. a 20″ dell floating to the left of it, and a lonely 20″ waiting for some love on the right side.
to run three displays you have to have two of the same model graphics cards that use the same driver
Check out the Matrox TripleHead2Go. Takes one video input and splits it to 3 outputs. Analog (vga) or Digital (dvi) available.
I’m currently finishing off my new ‘multi monitor’ setup I have 3 Samsung 23″ (SyncMaster 2333sw) monitors and want to add a 4th smaller Samsung (19″) that is more like what my clients would use, not sure yet about video cards to run it all or a bracket to mount them, I think I’m going to get a friend to fabricate something specific to my needs. I’m still looking at video cards but I think tht (2) Asus ENGTS250-DI may do the job
Man I know what you mean about the dual laptop monitor. I stumbled across this concept I think you would like it.
http://www.designlaunches.com/gadgets/prime_gaming_laptop_is_awesome_for_gamers.php
Can you help me with something? I have a radeon 5770 video card that allows me to use three monitors. So I thought but it’s probably just me. Here’s what I want to do. I have one computer, one dvi monitor, one vga and a projector that runs vga. I want to have a main monitor, second to be extended and then the projector to mimic what’s on the second monitor. Reason… I want to be able to do work on the main monitor while a presentation or video is running on the others. Does this make sense. I am in great need of wisdom here. I have ask the geek squad but that has only been a very expensive journey.
Please help!
Does anyone have experience going to three monitors using Window 7?
I have an HP Pavillion (with monitor) and a DS 1900S. I added a video card, PX558-DT (by Jaton) and downloaded the driver from ATI.
Currently am getting two screens (the HP and one of the DS screens). However, neither of these screens are running off of the video card.
The computer doesn’t seem to be recognizing the video card.
Someone (one of the many techs I’ve talked to–can’t remember which one) told me that Windows 7 may not support more than two monitors.
Does anyone know?
Thank you!
from vista onwards as long as the video cards are the same manufacturer driver model it’ll work. xp’s model doesnt check for this.
eg 1 ati and 1 nvidia in xp is fine, windows 7 would need 2 nvidia or 2 ati (or 3, 4, 5, ……)
It seems like from what I’m reading around the net that Windows 7 won’t support 3 monitors using two video cards. Is that true? Anyone have first hand experience with that? I was hoping to set up a Win7 system and hook up 3 monitors.
I’m running Windows 7 off my laptop with four monitors. One is the laptop screen, one using the external VGA port, then I have two Diamond USB cards that run two others. Works great. See my other post about this:
http://daggle.com/macbook-pro-multimonitor-4-monitors-at-once-1577
While I wrote that about the Mac, it works now for me on Windows 7.
hi guys,im just wondering instead of 3 monitors can we use 3 tvs,im planning to use this system as a shop menu.thanks!
10 years ago with crt tv’s i’d say not without a lot of difficulty now with lcd’s in ever shop its easy – xp will run 256 lcd’s if you can find the hardware. not sure if 7 has a limit.
btw esp for brian as he didnt understad joe
vista and 7 will support hundreds of monitors as long as eth graphics card chips are teh same manufacturer and series
eg you could put 8 nvidia 8400′s in one machine and run 16 monitors. (if you can find a board with enough slots)
Ok, thanks for the clarification. I was hoping to follow the method above for WinXP where I had say an Nvidia 7950GT in PCIe running monitors #1 and #2 and some other lesser Nvidia regular PCI card to run monitor #3 but it sounds like from what you’re saying I need to find a motherboard with 2 PCIe slots and use the exact same card twice. Thanks again for the info.
XP will allow any mix
7 and Vista require the same
hope this helps
I have just installed Vista 64 with 3 monitors, the two main ones running on GEforce8400 and the third one on a GE 6200. (all Nvidia).
Everything is fine but I would like the mouse pointer to move to the left of the main monitor as well as to the right. Main is in the centre, the one on the 6200 on the left and the second on the right.
Is this possible?
If I only have the main and the one on the 6200 card then the mouse pointer travels both ways.
Would Ultramon help in this situation?
Thanks
Re. my last post, no Ultramon doesn’t do what I want either, downloaded the trial version, it’s a very good utility, unfortunately it is not what I want.
If you can help me with the mouse pointer problem, I’d appriciate.
Thanks
go into display settings and drag the monitors to how they are arranged on your desk – same as xp – use identify to make sure, if they are different hights drag that way too – job done no need for 3rd party stuff.
the times are a changing March 25, 2010 at 8:34 am
go into display settings and drag the monitors to how they are arranged on your desk – same as xp – use identify to make sure, if they are different hights drag that way too
—————————————————————————-
Sorry doesn’t work for me.
I can rearrange the monitors or plug them in into different cards, which I don’t want anyway, but the mouse pointer simply will only move from to the left only to the right from the main monitor, and then move back to the left, once it reached monitor 3.
I’m using the latest Nvidia drivers, for Vista 64.
Under XP I only ever had two monitors so it wasnt a problem.
Thanks for your help.
I have an had a duel screen setup for about two years now with 17 inch laptop and a 19 HP screen I have been using for website design. Now that I’m doing video projects as well, I’m going to design and whole new computer system with three screens. Also going to build a home network in the house as well.
Update,
played around with the display drivers, and there must be a bug in the latest Nvidia64 driver, because going back to the previous one, works!
Shifting the No. 3 monitor to the left of the main one, now I can move the pointer to the left as well as to the right.
Great!
Only problem is, that now I had to download a third party utility to get the 1650*1050 resolution for my main monitor. No big deal.
Thanks again, very helpful forum.
There is hardware stuf, to connect 4 monitors without adding aditional graphic cards.100e or 130$ per monitor…as many monitors as you prefer..
I did not solve problem of vertical spliting…so my monitors are in line.
Profesional devices for vertical rearanging cost 1000e.
In my neighbourhood there is seller of this stuf devices, 500mb ram per monitor (to be without gliches)…but my expirience is half of it…250mb.0 if you will use it for office apps.
Video cards are 300$ or more…and there is problem with old pcs, without pcie slots.(ati supported vga+dvi and dvi+dvi v cards).
Maybe i will find soft for easy vertical manipulation in prefered configuration of multi monitors.
Interesting article. You mention that you can link your Nvidia cards together (SLI) if you want to. I have almost the exact same setup and I must report that SLIing two identical cards together became a nightmare. I don’t even think it works unless they are both the same model of card.
I kind of feel like SLI is a cheap, perhaps cynical, ruse to sell video cards.
I have 3 monitors set up….1 32″ LCD TV through an RGB connection, and then 2 monitors on two additional video cards. However, only the TV and one of the 2 monitors come up, the third is not detected. Is there something that I have to activate under settings?
Please tell me about complete Setup this session … tq
I have windows vista os installed with nvidia geforce 7300 display card. I added two acer G195HQL monitors.. I am using a dvi-i-male-to-vga-female-converter-adapter to connect the other monitor.. My system often crashes due to display driver.. Any suggestions how to overcome this.
which video card did you use
I use NVidia GeForce 7300 video card.. I have already mentioned this..
The second monitor is identified as Analog only.. It is identifying one monitor as Acer G195HQL and the other as Analog Monitor..
I have no issues about this.. but, The system crashes often due to blue screen referring some nvv******. That is the pain.. Dont know how to solve this..
Keeping aside the system crashing issue, Suppose If I use Two Nvidia Geforce Videocards in the same computer, Will I be able to connect 4 monitors or “n” number of monitors depending on the output ports availabe in the video cards?
Kindly suggest for the above two queries..
Hi John,
if you have one card and having problems with two monitors, it’s most likely that your video driver is conflicting with something, or out of date. Try to update the driver.
Under Vista you HAVE to have cards of the same manufacture at least, and not far apart in drivers.
When I first installed Vista I could not get three monitors working on different brand cards.
Installed GEforce8400 and GE 6200. (all Nvidia). and have no problem
Hope it helps
Cheers
Thanks Mark for the reply..
I checked the driver version and found a new one released last week by nvidia 197.45.. I will update it tonight and check the same..
Can you suggest for me for a 4 monitor setup.. what graphics card I should select.. for a trouble free system..
My hardware configuration is as follows..
Acer Monitors G195HQL, Viewsonic 22″ and samsung 22″.
OS : Windows Vista Business 32bit SP2.
Currently I have One GEForce 7300LE Graphics Card installed in the system. (Which additional card I should purchase in addition to this or replace this with a completely different one)..
Original Intel Board : DG33BU
Processor : Quad Core 2.4GHz
Memory : 2GB
Thanks in Advance..
Hello everybody,
My client wants to setup the LCDs on the airport to advertize the Ads,
he wants to maintain remotely 24hours,so can anybody help me out ,how to configure the LCDS through windows server,and what are the requirements.
Really appreciate for your help
Thanks
http://www.elitezoom.com/ibm-thinkpad-w700-dual-screen-laptop.html
I just bought the new eyefinity card and am using 3 23 inch widescreen acer monitors with this stand I bought from
Triple Monitor Mount
They also had some other good multi monitor mounts from Chief
http://www.mountedconcepts.com/monitor-en-2/multi-monitor-mounts-en-2/
i need help…i have a laptop…with an extra vga output, on whick i could connect one monitor…but i would like to use a vga splitter on that output so i could have three monitors…is that possible ? and could i set my monitors in a order…those two monitors that i would add i want to make one left, and one right…and use the laptop monitor as the monitor in the middle…please help…:)
Allen, the VGA output will only power one external monitor. You can’t add an unpowered splitter and drive more than that — not if you want different images on the different monitors. Instead, you need a USB card for a monitor. See my other post, My MacBook Pro Goes Multimonitor: 4 Monitors At Once! for more about this. Even though it talks about the MacBook, the same USB adapter described will work for a PC laptop. In particular, look at the Diamond BVU195 or Diamond BVU160 adapters.
@Ethan
Ethan you are referring to a propriety port, that is not DVI that looks very similar. It has a single or double splitter that can be used as two separate signals, and comes as one or two, DVI or VGA ends. These are made by both nvidia and ati. We have 1,2,3 and 4 monitor set-ups here, all 30 inches on a trade floor, and use about 20 different models of video card.
Danny is correct in saying that splitting dvi or vga is just a duplicate image
I have gotten hold of a Radeon HD4870 (1 Gb, 2 x HDMI + 1 x S-Video) and I wan’t to know if there is any way I can connect my 2 BenQ T221WA monitors and my TV at the same time, under Windows 7 or by using Ultramon or the likes? I can live with a multiple display profile setup, where either the 2 monitors or one monitor and the TV is “active” and I can switch between the profiles without plugging/unplugging cables and restarting and so on..
Of course I would prefer both monitors and the TV utilized at once, but I can live with the aforementioned setup. Does anyone have any experiences with this combination?
ok, I have my laptop.. with a Y shaped cable with VGA plugins, i have 3 screens all up, but my laptop isnt picking up the 3rd monitor, so the 2nd and 3rd screens are clone, how do i stop this, ultramon doesn’t work for me :/ help please.
A non technical Query.. We all discuss about multimonitor setup.. I have a three monitor setup.. But, of late I have eye irritations and headache with three monitors.. I have set up the refresh rate at 75mhz..which is the max for my Acer 18.5 screens.. It was worst when I used samsung 22″ (SyncMaster 2233) which had a fixed 60 Hz refresh rate..
Any suggestions on how to avoid eye irritations and headaches.. what are your experiences in this aspect.. how do you tackle.. both technically and ergonomically..
Suggestions are welcome..
John.
John June 26, 2010 at 8:20 am
re. I have eye irritations and headache
Do you or did you have the same problem with one monitor or two only?
If not try to eliminate the cause by turning off monitors one by one for a time and see if the problem persists.
Some monitors are better than others in this respect, not only the refresh rate but the resolution matters.
Unfortunately some people are prone to this, and even fluorescent light will make them ill.
Good luck
I’m in need of a 3 screen setup for trading and a dell sales rep recommended nVidia quadro NVS420 or the ati firepro v3750. Im buying the system new so i am starting clean slate. What are the best option for 2 monitors and a HDTV and possibly a 4th monitor in the future? Thanks guys!
hey guys,
I have two Sony SDM-P234 23″ Wide Screen LCD Monitors and a 50 ich samsung led tv. I run windows7 with a nvidea 8800 gtx graphics card.
i like to play my movies on my tv with a cool app called XBMC player which give you a real nice media player feel.
To do this i have to go around the back of my computer and change one of my dvi wires to a dvi to HDMI SO I CAN OUT PUT ON MY TV.
I this is a pain in the butt as it requires me to shut down and restart! so I brought a dvi switcher hoping that i could just switch between both signals.
(http://www.netgadgets.co.uk/products/computer-accessories/sg04-konig-2-port-dvi-kvm-computer-switch.html)
this did not work! can any ont help me figure this shit out?
hi
this threee/four monitor set is much easier than people are making out (wood for tree)
i’ve used it for a while now on two pc’s
1st onboard gpu with a 6600gt pcie card aswell, that gave three dvi outputs
2nd two 4650′s to give four dvi outputs
just plug all the monitors in and windows (via display settings)will sort everything out
the really hard bit is to get a game to play on all three screens at once
playing a game on one, internet on the second and a movie on the third just works
Muito legal sua dica do ultraMon, valeu mesmo meus parabens
Hi,
I’ve been running three monitors for a while now using two cards, GEforce8400 and GE 6200. (all Nvidia).
The main monitor set to 1680*1050 the second to 1024*768 both on the GE8400
and the third one set to 1280*1024
Had no problem setting the different resolutions and the monitors worked fine.
———————————————————–
My problem now is that I bought a new 24″ monitor with a 1920*1050 native resolution.
Try as I might, I’m unable to set different resolutions and get a full screen.
If I set both the 22″ (native 1680*1050) and the new 24″ (native 1920*1050) to 1680*1050 then I get a full screen on both.
If I set 1920*1050 on the 24″ then I get an over sized image on the 22″ monitor, if I set both to native resolutions I get an under sized image on the 24″ monitor despite the resolution showing 1920*1050.
I’m at my wits end, can’t find an answer.
Anyone has an idea?
Ignore my last post if you didn’t already.
If I set my new monitor as the “MAIN” or primary monitor, every other monitor falls in line and displays the appropriate native or manually set resolution.
Unfortunately this not what I wanted but I can live with it.
I just shifted the taskbar onto the second monitor so when I’m watching TV on the big one I can still control the PC.
Cheers
this did not work! can any ont help me figure this shit out?
abi
You had the right idea, and it should work, but you have the same problem as I did when trying to switch monitors between computers with a KVM switch.
You see KVM switches are designed to use one keyboard “K” and one mouse “M” to control two computers not just monitors or TVs as in your case.
Most are electrically controlled switches that derive their power from either the keyboard or mouse input.
You either have to use a mechanical switch (good luck finding one these days) or find one like I did with an USB input that you can power from an external power pack.
Might be able to connect it to one of the USB ports as well for power, not sure?
I used an external USB hub with a power supply and hooked up the switch with a simple USB cable from the hub for power.
Not at all elegant but it worked.
Now I have a 24″ TV-monitor so I don’t have to use a second computer with a TV card as a TV.
Incidentally I used Synergy software application to control the second computer instead of a KVM switch but still needed to switch one of my monitors because Synergy does not switch monitors only controls keyboard mouse and copy/paste.
I hope you got the gist of what I’m on about.
Good luck with it, what you want to do is simple but we make things far to complicated.
Thanks for the advice, i still not sure :
usb hub -Ac power > usb wire > switcher ( what switcher ) > TV dvi 2 hdmi > TV
and synergy deals with cross over?
I am thinking of buy a nvidea 480 which has 2 dvi outs and a mini hdmi, do you think that will solve it?
abi
Sorry i was rambling on and made it sound more complicated than I should have.
Basically what you want to do is to redirect one of your DVI outputs from your card to either a monitor or to the TV.
What you have to do is connect the output, by looking at the picture I think it’s at the back of the KVM switch, to the DVI on your PC, and then connect the monitor to one of side connector and the TV to the other.
It looks to me like the box has a mechanical push button, if it is then it just should work.
In case it is controlled electronically inside the box then you have to supply power to it somehow, I could tell you how if I had your set up in front of me, but I do not.
Does it have an LED light to indicate which monitor is on? Or just the position of the switch?
Connect it up first the way I told you, and see.
Good luck
Hello,
Wish to convert my two monitor system to a four monitor one. currently having a Quad core Q6600 @2.4GHz processor and on Nvidia 9500 GT graphics card. .
suggest a good motherboard having two slots for Graphic cards, which will support the above Quad core processor and DDR2 memory.
hi
i have been running 2, 3 and 4 monitor systems for years (about 7 really)
to answer your question i have to assume you are not a hard core gamer, (nvidia )9500. so the easiest ( and cheapest) way wold be to get a motherboard with on board graphics. run two of the nvidia and the rest of the motherboard . just set the bios to use the onboard gpu by default. that doesn’t mean that your games will run of the motherboard, they will still run of the nvidia, just make sure the screen you want to run games is pluged into the nvidia.
If you want to splash out then you really want another 9500gt (identical if possible) so you only have to install one set of drivers, and as you have a nvidia card any crossfire board will do, just don’t link them together. its not magic and i don’t see why all these people are having problems as i said before “some people can’t see the wood for the trees”
p.s. my p.c. antec 300 case/ xilence 600watt psu/dfi lanparty motherboard/ q9500/ 4 gb ram/ 2 x 500 sata2 hard drives in raid 0/ 2 x ati 4650 gpu’s / 3x 22″ monitors
any problems just ask
p.s. dfi may be hard to get but anyone knows that they are, and have been the best for years and years and years and years………
Thanks for the reply.. The setup is not for gaming. It is a Trading Setup. I want to reduce the cost of upgradation by cannibalising my current system.
my current pc is DG33BU MOTHERBOARD/Quad core Q6600 @2.4GHz processor / 4 GB DDR2 RAM/ XFX NVIDIA 9500GT/ 2 x ACER 15′ MONITORS.
what I am thinking is by changing the motherboard to one which will support two graphics cards ( I can buy one more nvidia graphics card) this quadcore processor and DDR2 ram..
I am not a computer hardware expert,..so looking for ideas from users who can suggest me a specific motherboard that can be used by cannibalising my present system components to achieve least cost of upgrading to a four monitor system.
hi
in that case you don’t need a motherboard that will support two cards, just get one that has onboard graphics that your cpu and ram willl fit.
my previous system had an asrock m/b and a nvidia 6600gt gpu
you should be fine like that.
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