chile Posted November 6, 2014 Share Posted November 6, 2014 Has anyone got any pointers on how to dual screen? I'm looking to set it up with my Nvidia Geforce GTX670, for using with cubase. I've found how to do it once the hardware is all plugged up, but am a bit stumped with the connections I need to hook everything up as they don't use VGA. From what I've looked up so far, I need a DVI DL to VGA converter/cable, but there seem to be a few types of that cable so not entirely sure. The graphics card also has HDMI.. Are there any issues with using one DVI port and HDMI (my other monitor is only VGA but i saw VGA to HDMI converters exist) for the other monitor display? Also do both of the monitors have to be the same resolution? I've also seen that you can use VGA cable splitters with 2 female VGA ports to 1 male port.. I have a VGA to DVI convertor that came with the graphics card.. recon that would work? new technology is cool but can be confusing Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chile Posted November 6, 2014 Author Share Posted November 6, 2014 so i found a thread saying 2 VGA monitors won't work.. http://www.tomshardware.co.uk/forum/371378-33-gettings-monitors-work seems to be a lot more complicated than i thought too.. just reading through this article and it mentions that although the resolution can be different in each monitor, the sync polarities have to be the same (i have no idea what sync polarities are and what my current monitor polarity is) http://www.cclonline.com/article/1193/Guide/Graphics-Cards/Configuring-Multiple-Monitors-NVIDIA-Surround-Single-GPU-/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve Posted November 6, 2014 Share Posted November 6, 2014 I would use separate cables for each monitor rather than using a splitter. The latter can be problematic and with certain connection types it simply doesn't work at all - with VGA, for example, you would just get 1 screen duplicated on 2 monitors. Both monitors don't need to be the same resolution. The only real issue with that is if you move something from one screen to the other, as obviously the size of things will change with the resolution as each screen has a different amount of real estate. Once you've got everything hooked up, right-click a blank area of the desktop, select NVIDIA Control Panel from the menu that pops up, then click on "Set up multiple displays" under the Display branch on the left-hand side. It's easy from there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve Posted November 6, 2014 Share Posted November 6, 2014 I'm not 100% sure, but I think sync polarity is only an issue if you want to treat the screens like one big display. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chile Posted November 6, 2014 Author Share Posted November 6, 2014 Ah fair, yeah after reading about nvidia surround it seems like it might be more of a gaming feature, which im not bothered about.. Im just after another window to display some static vst plugins. i guess i'll have to get another monitor then before i can dual screen since 2 VGA doesnt seem to work. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve Posted November 6, 2014 Share Posted November 6, 2014 You should be able to do it with the monitors you have now. The GTX 670 has a DVI-I socket which outputs digital and analogue signals. You can use the DVI to VGA adapter you already have to connect up the old monitor, then use one of the other digital-only ports to hook up the newer monitor. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chile Posted November 6, 2014 Author Share Posted November 6, 2014 the newer monitor is VGA only too though, doesnt have hdmi or DVI i guess thats why it was a pretty nice price when i bought it.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frost Posted November 6, 2014 Share Posted November 6, 2014 In the past I've had: Monitor 1 VGA-VGAMonitor 2 DVI-DVI Using adaptors between any of these should work fine. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest rasteri Posted November 6, 2014 Share Posted November 6, 2014 You'll need an active digital (DVI-D) to analogue (VGA) converter. Something like this : http://cpc.farnell.com/1/1/114935-adapter-active-dvi-d-vga-hd-startech-dvi2vgae-startech.html 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest rasteri Posted November 6, 2014 Share Posted November 6, 2014 Or if your monitor only does 1920x1080 then here's one for a tenner : http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/M-F-DVI-D-24-1-to-VGA-Monitor-HDTV-Active-Adapter-Cable-DVI2VGA-Lead-for-PC-/201208073301 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chile Posted November 6, 2014 Author Share Posted November 6, 2014 nice one, a mate of mines gonna bring round a few DVI converters to see if one will work.. if not i'll prolly buy that converter, cheers ras Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve Posted November 6, 2014 Share Posted November 6, 2014 A regular DVI adapter won't work. Only the DVI-I output from the graphics card is capable of outputting an analogue signal, so you can only hook up 1 monitor that way. The other outputs are all digital. The adapter that rasteri posted would work, assuming it supports DVI-D, although if you buy one of those then get it from Amazon as the same one is under 10 quid on there. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chile Posted November 21, 2014 Author Share Posted November 21, 2014 i got one of the converters and just hooked it up now..The second screen comes on for a second then the screen goes black.. I added additional power to it via mini usb and it hasnt changed the behaviour.. itll flicker on then off every now and then.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chile Posted November 21, 2014 Author Share Posted November 21, 2014 ah ok, after a restart it seems to be working now, thanks for the help guys! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chile Posted November 21, 2014 Author Share Posted November 21, 2014 bit cramped for space now but it works how i want it to with cubase gonna have to have a day of cable management soon as its getting ridiculous Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve Posted November 21, 2014 Share Posted November 21, 2014 Nice! And yes, you definitely need to do some cable management work. I like this sort of stuff for cable management: - http://www.amazon.co.uk/Philex-27450R-Deluxe-Meters-Sheaths/dp/B001GXQUKO/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1416610324&sr=8-1&keywords=cable+zip It's dead easy to apply/remove and you can cut it to whatever length you need. Cheap too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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