# How to go dual monitor



## Adamhumbug

I would like to have two monitors running side by side but displaying different things. I want them to runn almost like having two seperate computers so that i can do one thing on one and one thing on another. What do i need inorder to set this up. My monitor will accept HDMI and VGA and the other monitor will only accept VGA.


----------



## blackduck30

well it is really pretty easy if you have all that is needed.

first you will need a video card that has 2 outputs. You will have to look and see what they are, be it 2 DVI outputs or a VGA and a DVI.

if it has a DVI and a VGA you will have to just get a HDMI to DVI adaptor and then use the VGA plug on your other monitor for the 2nd connection

If you then go into your display settings you will notice 2 boxes labeled 1 and 2 with #1 outlined in blue, this indicates which monitor is selected. Click on the grey'd out #2 box and under that you will see" Extend the desktop onto this monitor" , tick this box and adjust the resolution to suit the native resolution of that monitor.

You will then have o go into your video card utility and change the settings so that the monitors can show different things.

If you use a Nvidia card there will be a section to "setup multiple displays", in there you have to select " Configure independantly from each other" ( Dualview ) 

That should be it, you may have to reboot for the settings to take full effect.

If you get the situation were you have to go out the right side of your right monitor and come in the left side of your left monitor ( with your mouse pointer ) you can just drag the #2 box in the display settings to the left side of #1, then you should be able to go out the right side of the left monitor into the right monitor and vice versa


----------



## Adamhumbug

Please can you be very basic about the hardware that i need as i am a begginner. I only have one output from my computer at the minute which is vga to vga. I have a intel Q963 chipset. What can i purchase in order to do this.


----------



## blackduck30

Ok, I had a look at your chipset and it seems it does not support the newer video interface ( PCI-E ) soproviding your motherboard has a AGP 8X expansion slot you will be able to buy a video card like this one

*ASUS N7600GS SILENT/HTD/256M GeForce 7600GS 256MB 128-bit GDDR2 AGP 4X/8X Video Card - Retail $85*

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814121064

this will have the added bonus of giving you far better video performance than your onboard video and will also lessen the strain on your system and RAM so you will see a slight performance boost overall, no just in video.

Ok so once you have a video card with 2 outlets you will have to either get an adaptor like this

*SYBA SD-HMF-DVM HDMI To DVI Adapter - Retail $9
*
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16812186016

this will change your HDMI output so that it will plug into the DVI output on the video card.

the other option is to use one of these adaptors

*ATEN DVI to VGA adapter for Twin-View video cards Model DVI-2-VGA - OEM $3
*
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814999201

This will allow you to use your VGA connection instead of the HDMI. The adaptor plugs into the DVI output on the video card giving you 2 X VGA.

But before we get to far ahead we need to find out if you have an AGP slot to put a video card in. 

you can look inside or if you can tell us what type of computer you have I may be able to find out. I basically need the make model of the computer if it is a prebuilt system.

I will have to double check the adaptorsto make sure they are correct but will do so at a later date. There is also the option of a cable that has DVI one end and HDMI the other


----------



## Adamhumbug

The motherboard is an intel DQ963FX does this help


----------



## blackduck30

Yes that will help heaps, i'll do a search and see what I can come up with and get back to you.


----------



## blackduck30

Ok from what I can see here you do not have an AGP or PCI-E slot for video expansion, this presents a problem unless you really want to go and use a PCI video card like this

*PNY VCGFX522PPB GeForce FX 5200 256MB 128-bit DDR PCI Video Card - Retail $60
*
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814133007

This should still be better than onboard video but it won't be any major gaming machine with or without onboard video.

That card also has 2 VGA connections so you should be able to just plug both your monitors straight in

*here is the link to your motherboard specs
*
http://www.intel.com/design/motherbd/fx/fx_available.htm

The other thing we need to consider is your case , do you have a tower case or a desktop case as this can influence your choice also


----------

