Twin screens - two questions

[sebhaque]

Hope somebody caught my cheesy simile.

I've got a pair of Viewsonic VA1703wb 17" widey monitors - great bits of kit. Running them through an ATi HD 5870 on Windows Vista 32 (yes, it's being upgraded very soon to W7 64-bit), on a i7 950 (3GHz quad) - here are my q's. Any answers greatly appreciated.

1) Since I've splashed out on a new comp with a HD graphics card, is there a HD monitor or something I can use to enhance my graphics? Crysis looks ridiculously good but I'm wondering whether it's worth changing - especially as I'm running both (VGA) screens through VGA-DVI converters. What's the best thing to do - grab a pair of new screens and relegate these screens (about 3 years old now) to the other computer? My budget is about £300.

2) Anybody got any good dualscreen wallpapers? Currently using two pics of my car, but this is what I had for a good year or so: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/6e...

[strudel]

What you want is three screens

[Skier]

I have never played a computer game so can't comment from a gaming perspective but think of it this way. Your interface with your computer is through your mouse, keyboard and monitors. You're clearly spending good hard earned cash on a new system so don't skip those elements that really make a difference.

I use two Dell 2408WFP monitors and whilst not cheap they are superb. I assume you're using one of either Ultramon or DisplayFusion? If not look them up and use one or other; they both offer 30-day trials.

Skier

[bonsai]

You have the 2nd best graphics card available, it deserves more than some 17" screens.

You can get 2 of these - http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prod... for only £20 over budget.

[Vixpy1]

strudel said:

What you want is three screens

Pah, I'm running one 28, 2 dell 24's and a 19 for msn

[twister]

bonsai said:

You can get 2 of these - http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prod... for only £20 over budget.

"Yes it isnt a brand like samsung or benq"... Not being too familiar with Iiyama LCDs, is this comment from the reviews a sign of how the mighty have fallen (it wasn't THAT long ago Iiyama was a name anyone in the know would have loved to have had printed on their monitor bezel), or a comment from someone who just doesn't know any better?

[eps]

Have just installed multimon, the freeware version... So far so good, will take a bit of getting used to

[KaraK]

twister said:

bonsai said:

You can get 2 of these - http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prod... for only £20 over budget.

"Yes it isnt a brand like samsung or benq"... Not being too familiar with Iiyama LCDs, is this comment from the reviews a sign of how the mighty have fallen (it wasn't THAT long ago Iiyama was a name anyone in the know would have loved to have had printed on their monitor bezel), or a comment from someone who just doesn't know any better?

I've never used an Iiyama TFT but my main monitor at home is still a 21" Iiyama CRT and 8 years on it still kicks ass. The main reason I haven't gone TFT at home is that to ensure I'm taking a step up in quality will need a substantial budget!

[sebhaque]

Cheers for the support folks. I've got a decent Logitech wireless desktop set - but the main usage of the comp was just to handle everything I throw at it - video editing, a high-end game every now and then, and generally fannying about not doing much.

I'll look into those Iiyamas, as I traditionally watch TV or a DVD etc through the comp while I'm doing something else - for example, I'm browsing PH on one screen and watching Top Gear on the other at the moment.

Those wallpapers look really good too, will definitely investigate. Nice one!

I'll keep you updated with what I do and try and post some pics when I get it all sorted out.

[WelshBoyo]

Get a pair of Monitors with DVI inputs featuring HDCP so you can watch Blu-Ray/HD-DVD disc on the computer. I find DVI so much better quality than VGA.