Adding a second monitor.

M-Vickers

I'm considering adding a second monitor to my PC. Not for dual-screening on games, but I really like having a second screen handy, as I often find myself consulting Youtube and other websites while playing MMOs and some other games.

My question is - does have a second screen running with a web browser open add much to the graphics card load, and windows in general ?

I have a GTX 680 for graphics, 8GB of ram and a 6 core 3,5Ghz AMD processor.

Would I see a drop in framerate if I play a game while having something running on the second screen ?

Thanks

Alecthar

It depends on how graphically intensive the tasks on the other screen are, and what resolution the screens are. For dual 1080p screens, with a web browser on the other while gaming, there's very little strain, even though your video card is rendering on two screens. Watching full screen video would be more demanding, but if you're talking 1080p, and you've got a 680, I doubt you'll need to worry much about that. Generally speaking, it can handle fullscreen gaming on nearly twice as many pixels as a single 1080p screen provides, so a second one without much going on is unlikely to stress it too hard.

Still, you'd likely see a drop in framerates. I doubt it would be a meaningful one in general, but one would exist.

M-Vickers

Thanks for the reply - I'll think about it a bit more.

I might also wait for the Black Friday deals - I'd happily settle for a 22" as a second screen if it was cheap enough.

Dhalphir

you also cant interact with the other monitor while a game is running unless you alt tab, even when running in windowed fullscreen mode, and not every game plays nicely with that

M-Vickers

Dhalphir wrote: »

you also cant interact with the other monitor while a game is running unless you alt tab, even when running in windowed fullscreen mode, and not every game plays nicely with that

Ah, I didn't know this. This is pretty much the reason I wanted a second screen.

I guess I'll stick with the iPad for now.

I can spend my money on a second SSD instead. :-)

Le_Goat

Dhalphir wrote: »

you also cant interact with the other monitor while a game is running unless you alt tab, even when running in windowed fullscreen mode, and not every game plays nicely with that

There kind of is a way to do it depending on the game. You can put the game in windowed mode, which makes the transition between game and other applications a lot smoother, but still not as perfect as you'd hope.

If you know someone who games and has dual monitors, ask if you can poke around to get a feel for it.

Capsaicin

Le_Goat wrote: »

Dhalphir wrote: »

you also cant interact with the other monitor while a game is running unless you alt tab, even when running in windowed fullscreen mode, and not every game plays nicely with that

There kind of is a way to do it depending on the game. You can put the game in windowed mode, which makes the transition between game and other applications a lot smoother, but still not as perfect as you'd hope.

If you know someone who games and has dual monitors, ask if you can poke around to get a feel for it.

Alt+Enter cycles in and out of Windowed mode.

davidsdurions

M-Vickers wrote: »

Dhalphir wrote: »

you also cant interact with the other monitor while a game is running unless you alt tab, even when running in windowed fullscreen mode, and not every game plays nicely with that

Ah, I didn't know this. This is pretty much the reason I wanted a second screen.

I guess I'll stick with the iPad for now.

I can spend my money on a second SSD instead. :-)

If DOTA 2 is one of the games, I can attest that "Windowless Fullscreen" mode works perfectly for me on my dual monitor setup, and I'm running only a nVidia 560 but with a more intense monitor situation of my main being 2560 x 1600 and my second monitor is 1920 x 1200 (which I run in portrait mode for productivity purposes).

So, if dota, you're good to go. But yeah, some other games are finicky with it. In my case, I just run those pesky games at a lower than 1600 resolution, windowed and that takes care of that almost universally.

hsu

I do exactly what davidsdurions does. Windowless full screen nearly all the time, and windowed full screen for those rare games that balk.

In the second monitor vs second SSD debate, I would say that a second monitor is a much, much larger upgrade than a second SSD. Once you go to a dual monitor set up, you will never go back to just one monitor. I use three monitors at work, and I've been tempted multiple times to go with three at home.

exis

I ran two monitors at 1080p with my HD4850 for years without any significant problems, usually playing something on one with a web browser/iTunes visible on the other. I did run into issues when gaming on one and watching 1080p video on the second - but your 680 would be more than enough for that.

If you're using Windows, I'd suggest something like UltraMon (that's the best I've found but there may be comparable free alternatives). IMO having a Windows task bar for each monitor is absolutely mandatory for window management - and you don't get it for free with Win7.

M-Vickers

Well, crap - looks like the second monitor is back on the table

I'll see how the money situation is when payday gets closer. If I have the money, I think I'll go for it.