Multiple Monitor Support

[paco joe]

I'm about to get a new computer. At first I was considering just getting rid of my current old CRT monitor, but I've been thinking it might be cool if I can use it as a dual monitor for the new computer.

The new computer I'm looking at comes with a GeForce 6100 graphics card, which I believe supports multiple displays (correct me if I'm wrong).

I read an article about this (albeit from 2004) that said that the best program to use for multiple-monitor support is something called Ultramon, which allows you to set different configurations and hotkeys and such. Is Ultramon still the best? Will I really need it if the new PC has Vista Home Premium?

Please tell me if there's anything else about this that I should know. As you might have guessed, I'm not very tech-savvy.

 

[joshd]

the nV drivers should handle it fine. ultramon is mainly useful for making the GUI better, such as having a second task bar on the other screen, and buttons to make applications jump to the other monitor.

as far as I can see, the 6100 is a integrated chip, so it wouldnt be able to do multiple monitors.

 

[b1gapl]

You don't need Ultramon, to run dual monitors. Just plug in the two monitors, and set it to dual view or horizontal span, through the nview display manager. Like joshd said, the 6100 is an integrated graphics chip, and won't be able to do dual monitors. Although I have a computer with an integrated 6100 graphics, and it does support two monitors. Some motherboards with the 6100 do. If your motherboard has two display ports, then you can do a dual monitor setup. If not, then you would have to buy a graphic card that has two display ports.

 

[Trotter]

Like Josh said, the 6100 is an integrated chipset. I sincerely doubt that the motherboard has two outputs.

The 6100 supports PCI-E graphics, though. You can get a cheap GFX card (any of the 6xxx line will be an improvement over the integrated) and have two monitor output as long as the card has two outputs.

 

[joshd]

Newegg.com - SAPPHIRE 100945L-BK Radeon 7000 64MB 64-bit DDR PCI Video Card - Retail

that'd do you nicely, provided you plan on playing no games AT ALL.


if you do want to play the occasional game on low graphics:

Newegg.com - EVGA 128-TC-2N27-S2 GeForce 6200 LE TC Supporting 512MB (On board 128MB) 64-bit GDDR2 PCI Express x16 Video Card - Retail

or maybe try and get yourself a 6600GT cheaply from ebay