Why will I want two monitors?

leaforte

I have several computers, and I now have the opportunity to add a screen to my main desk top, and main PC. Why do I want to do that? I work my photo's with PS3 and bridge, currently, and I can't seem to find the need for a second screen. I work with Huey Pro for calibration, and have the speed for a second screen, but how would I actually use it on a pro level?

ChrisJ

Real Estate. I find it hard to work on only one monitor now. Since you have a Huey Pro, you can easily calibrate both. Even if you just stick a web browser/e-mail client on one side, and Photoshop on the other, it saves clicks.

Cameron

leaforte wrote:

I have several computers, and I now have the opportunity to add a screen to my main desk top, and main PC. Why do I want to do that? I work my photo's with PS3 and bridge, currently, and I can't seem to find the need for a second screen. I work with Huey Pro for calibration, and have the speed for a second screen, but how would I actually use it on a pro level?

You can put all your photoshop toolbars/panels on one screen and the image on the other.... email always open on one screen... edit photos on one screen, browse DGrin on the other..

I used a dual display setup for years when I worked as a programmer and have been itching for it at home for some time. Once you get used to it you'll never want to go back... unless you just get a 30" screen instead.

pathfinder

With monitors smaller than 23 inches or so, two separate screens are very nice indeed. Separate screens for brushes, palette wells, email, other web pages. I did that in the Windows world for years.

With larger monitors today, 24 inches and greater, one monitor seems to offer enough screen real estate by itself.

colourbox

Oh so many uses.

Monitor 1: Photoshop image full screen
Monitor 2: Photoshop palettes and dialog boxes, never blocking the image

Monitor 1: Photoshop
Monitor 2: Bridge so you can quickly locate other images to open in Photoshop, or to see your work in the context of your other images in a project. Can also put Camera Raw on Monitor 2 if it's also calibrated

Monitor 1: The main application (such as Photoshop), full screen and unblocked
Monitor 2: Miscellany and communications such as email, chat, iTunes, web browser, etc. so you don't have to keep putting Photoshop in the background

I do agree that if you have a 30" monitor, you may only need one.
Of course, if you're Al Gore, you don't wonder if you can find a use for a second monitor. You find a use for three.

KED

colourbox wrote:

Of course, if you're Al Gore, you don't wonder if you can find a use for a second monitor. You find a use for three.

Did you expect anything less from the guy who invented the internet? He needs a third monitor just to make sure his invention is working properly! The rest of us, comfortably assuming Al is on the case, just continue to make do with one or two monitors!

CAFields

3 4 Me
I use 3 monitors, and couldn't live without them (well, maybe....).

Right now, I have DGrin on my left monitor, PSCS3 on my main (center) monitor, and FastStone Image Viewer on my right.

I browse my photos on the right with FastStone, select them and load them into CS3 for PP. The Faststone program displays the thumbnail image that I see on my right monitor in the full screen on my left.

As my photo is processing (waiting time...) I'll check something on the web or my email on my left monitor.

Also, CS3 is configured so that the photo is the only thing I see on the main monitor and the toolbars and pallets are on my right. I have History & Actions, Layers-Channels-Paths, and Histogram-Info in full windows stretched accross the right monitor.

When using Lightroom, I expand Lightroom across all 3 monitors so that the photo is full screen on the main monitor and the other 2 side panels are streched onto the left and right monitors.

The good thing for me was that all 3 monitors were free. The 20" Dell CRT (main) was abandoned when the owner bought an LCD. The two other monitors are HP 17" that were free after rebate.

If you have the opportunity to utilize 2 or more monitors, I would recommend that you give it a try, and I don't think you'll go back.

dmmattix

Three CRT's???

Wow you must either have one hell of a cooling bill or just like to sweat. Two computers and one CRT just about did me in a couple of years ago. LCDs are much cooler...

CAFields

dmmattix wrote:

Three CRT's???

Wow you must either have one hell of a cooling bill or just like to sweat. Two computers and one CRT just about did me in a couple of years ago. LCDs are much cooler...

Right now with 6 inches of snow on the ground and below freezing outside, it's kind of cozy in here...

dogwood

Another use-- one monitor for landscape orientation, the other for portrait. Yeah-- it's not too difficult to rotate monitors these days (least my viewsonics-- you apple cinema display folks may find it a bit of a challenge ) but it's even easier having two. My main monitor is a portrait orientated 20", the second is a 19" landscape. It speeds everything up-- the portrait monitor makes less scrolling on websites and I rarely run out of real estate.

leaforte

Happy screen, and a scroll screen stage left? (Right, even)

paulbrock

Another vote for 2 monitors!

I was going to sell my old monitor when I upgraded..but had a quick go and putting them together and it's great!

(admittedly, I tend to use 1 mostly for the TV card output, or Media center)

But I can also have Photoshop on one window and web browser in the other; makes multi-tasking much much easier and I'd struggle to go back to 1 monitor now.

zacker

im getting ready to hook up my old 17 LCD alongside the 20 inch wide so i can work on photos in the 20" and keep bridge open in the 17... thish should work...no?

RogersDA

Two monitors are great - lots of real estate. Though 1 very large one would (IMO) be better. This shows a live video conference, live slide show sharing window, a chat window, 4 call/IM windows.

This is my home office machine - not my photo-editing machine, but still relevant.

BradfordBenn

Two monitors are very cool and functional. For me I have found that having them in the same plane much more intuitive for me to use then when I had them slightly askew of each other "wrapped around" so to speak.

I also have found that for the occidental user having the primary screen on the left side works better.

I like having the tool bars on the left hand screen and the main image drug over to the right screen. Also for that other stuff, I like having Word on one screen and Excel on the other.

And for testing web development, IE on one screen and Firefox on the other. It starts to become a very powerful tool.

Dogdots

I have a question which will show my lack of knowledge.....but how do you run two monitors on one machine. How does the stuff get from one monitor to the other?

My cousin says he drags what ever is open from his laptop to his tv....is this the same with two monitors?

leaforte

I'm sold. Two monitors seems convenient. Thanks for the replies.

SloYerRoll

Dogdots wrote:

I have a question which will show my lack of knowledge.....but how do you run two monitors on one machine. How does the stuff get from one monitor to the other?

My cousin says he drags what ever is open from his laptop to his tv....is this the same with two monitors?

Essentially, Yes.
Your computer treats it like one really wide monitor (or whatever you tell it to think).

So right now I'm researching WordPress and checking out dgrin w/o minimizing any windows.

Very handy especially when I have Ps or another design app open w/ multiple palettes.

BradfordBenn

Dogdots wrote:

I have a question which will show my lack of knowledge.....but how do you run two monitors on one machine. How does the stuff get from one monitor to the other?

My cousin says he drags what ever is open from his laptop to his tv....is this the same with two monitors?

On WIndows XP, one connects both monitors to the video connections on the computer, yup it has to be able to support multiple monitors. Then in the Control Panel Displays (or right click on the desktop and select Display settings) the dialog box will appear that asks about the resolution. Click on the second monitor that is detected and then select "extend desktop onto this monitor" and then drag the monitors around to match.

I am doing this from memory on my Mac, so the exact verbiage might be off.

jdryan3

Dogdots wrote:

I have a question which will show my lack of knowledge.....but how do you run two monitors on one machine. How does the stuff get from one monitor to the other?

You have to have a video card that supports 2 monitors. My MBP has a DVI connection besides the laptop screen. When my 24" wide screen is connected and on, the Mac senses that other monitor. There are Display settings that determine right/left or top/bottom relationship of the monitors.

I upgraded my Sony Vaio (Win XP) several years ago with an nVidia GeForce card, and it was about $110. One thing you have to be aware of is that some cards allow only 1 monitor profile to be loaded at a time. Same one is used for both monitors. Others allow you to load a profile for each monitor.

Even goofier? Some profiling software only allows you to load one profile. I think you have to get the Spyder Pro, for instance, not the Spyder.

Dogdots

Thank you all for the information...I'm going to have to check now to see if the new computer I ordered can do this......I sure hope it can.

SloYerRoll

If you have trouble figuring it out. Place a link here and we can tell you. We can also tell you if you need any adapters and where to get them as well

Dogdots

SloYerRoll wrote:

If you have trouble figuring it out. Place a link here and we can tell you. We can also tell you if you need any adapters and where to get them as well

I was just going to call Dell about my computer I ordered when you mentioned adapters.....so if my computer doesn't come set up for this I can do it all with adapters? Thats great...I will post if I can't figure this bugger out. Hope to have the new computer tomorrow

SloYerRoll

so if my computer doesn't come set up for this I can do it all with adapters?

STOP, NO!

A majority of video cards come with two "video out" ports.

One of the ports is standard "VGA" and the other is usually "DVI" what you need is a DVI to VGA adapter so you can use two vga monitors.

Look at the picture below. It shows the two different connector types. Both of these can go to a typical VGA monitor. It jsut needs an adapter so you can plug the second port in.

Make sense?

Just call Dell and ask them if your computer is capable of "Dual Video Display". If they say yes. Just come back to use and we'll get you sorted out. DON'T let them sell you an adapter. They will rip you off. Just find that out and we'll go from there.

Cheers,
-Jon

colourbox

Dogdots wrote:

Thank you all for the information...I'm going to have to check now to see if the new computer I ordered can do this......I sure hope it can.

Just to clarify for other readers too, any recent Windows or Mac computer can do this, because both operating systems are mature in this area. (On the Mac, multiple monitors were introduced almost exactly 20 years ago, with the 6-slot Mac II desktop.)

On a Windows or Mac desktop, you may only be limited by the number of video cards you can install. If your desktop computer has 4 card slots and you install 4 video cards with 2 video ports each, you might be able to create a giant desktop out of 8 monitors. Most people never get past 2 monitors, though. The cool thing is that you can do 2 monitors with most computers now. For example, even the cheapest MacBook or the iMac, which do not have card slots, do have video-out ports that can extend your desktop across a second monitor. Many Windows laptops I've seen can do the same.

Dogdots

I stopped....didn't call them yet, but will check on what it has. Then I will get back to all of you on what to do.

I wouldn't buy it from Dell....they are tooooo spendie on things. But the computer was reasonable in price...if one can be

Sapose to be here on Thursday Everyone have a good day.......

jdryan3

Dogdots wrote:

I was just going to call Dell about my computer I ordered when you mentioned adapters.....so if my computer doesn't come set up for this I can do it all with adapters? Thats great...I will post if I can't figure this bugger out. Hope to have the new computer tomorrow

I'm not sure if you got a monitor or only the PC. But Dell ships the DVI/VGA adapters with the monitors for those monitors with only a DVI input. Otherwise they ship both cables. As Slo said, wait until all your stuff gets here, then sort it out.

Dogdots

I didn't get a monitor. Thought I would pick one up later as the one I have now works fine....its a Sony flat 19". But would really like two monitors going. I will patiently wait for my box to arrive

I don't know if patience is a word associated with me