Multiple monitors make a huge difference in productivity and gaming. Two or even three screens give you a lot more room to work, but you need to know how to set up multiple monitors. In this guide, we’ll show you how.
Before you begin, keep in mind that all screens are different, so you may need to troubleshoot them individually. Setting up multiple monitors for PC gaming is usually a matter of simply plugging everything in, but there are a few key settings you need to change before that.
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Check all your monitors
We will not list them required monitor for this multiscreen project, but we’ll point out the obvious: try to choose newer monitors that are all the same model.
Ensuring that the monitors are of the same model makes it easier to measure and plan them, as well as to properly set them up and maintain them. Without the right height adjustments, you may also struggle with placing different monitors exactly parallel to each other. At the very least, it’s nice to have monitors that all have similar ports. These days, that probably means all your monitors should have either HDMI or DisplayPort ports (yes, there’s DVI, but that’s less likely).
You also want all your monitors to support the same features, such as graphics synchronization. Your game could look really weird if your monitors have different display features and support options.
Finally, you should make sure that your graphics card has enough ports for your monitors. For example, if you are using three 4K monitors, you should make sure your GPU has three HDMI ports to use.
If necessary, you can combine ports – say, two HDMIs and a DisplayPort – but again, it’s much easier if you only have a few of the same monitor model. If you don’t have a dedicated (non-integrated) graphics card or don’t know anything about one, that should probably be your first step before setting up your monitor set. A dedicated graphics card is basically a must for most multi-monitor setups.
Note: There are splitters you can use if you have a great GPU but only one or two compatible ports. This is not exactly optimal, but it is often the case.
Nvidia
Check your graphics card
There’s some good news here — today’s GPUs are usually built with the understanding that some people will want multiple monitors, so if you recently bought a GPU, support is included right away. This makes things much easier than in the old days. However, if you are buying a graphics card specifically for this project, you can additionally check that it has the right type and number of ports. You should also confirm certain multi-screen features (see directly below):
AMD: AMD’s graphics cards have supported multiple monitors for several generations, and even started with Eyefinity multi-monitor technology, which featured support for up to three simultaneous monitors on a single GPU. Eyefinity ensures proper image distribution across all connected displays and ensures that bezels don’t obscure important details. It’s a very efficient setup that’s essential for a quality gaming experience. Note that Eyefinity is friendly to DisplayPort connections, so these are the ports you should look for in your monitors.
Nvidia: Nvidia’s solution is called Surround and your Nvidia GPU must have it. Like Eyefinity, Surround supports multiple monitors as well as 3D gaming. Surround works with all standard monitor connections. You don’t know need However, surround for using multiple monitors with an Nvidia graphics card.
If you’re stuck with your current GPU and it’s not quite what you’d hoped, there are technology adapters like Eyefinity that can help you MacGyver a solution together.
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Connect everything and turn on
Step 1: Plug everything in first, double-check your connections to make sure they’re all right, then turn it on. You’ll only need to use one setup screen, so don’t worry about how the other screens look right now.
Step 2: At this point, you may encounter some issues, such as the second screen not connecting properly, or you have very obvious visual issues that make it unusable. That is OK! We suggest you take a look at our multi-monitor setup troubleshooting guide to check what’s wrong and how to fix it again. Sometimes it’s just a matter of finding the right cable or updating some drivers.
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Change the settings if necessary
The best place to start tweaking your gaming settings is in the GPU control panel. It’s time to take advantage of that powerful graphics processor, which means skipping all the operating system settings.
Most major graphics chipset manufacturers, including AMD and Nvidia, have custom control panels that will allow you to set up multiple monitors as well as a variety of other settings.
For AMD, here’s how to go into settings and check if Eyefinity is set up correctly.
And here’s how to get started with Nvidia chips. If you notice low frames per second, aliasing, or any other anomalies during gameplay, return to the GPU control panel and make additional adjustments as needed.
Important note: game compatibility
Most modern games are well suited to multi-monitor gaming, but this is not so the case with classic titles.
There are many up-to-date lists of multi-monitor games online that include almost every currently popular game, as well as a surprising number of titles dating back a decade or more. This is because game designers are still way ahead of graphics card manufacturers, so you can run many older games on your new multi-monitor system. Playing your old games on a dual screen setup can finally be more than a dream. Note that support is not universal and varies by title, especially for indie and some older games.
Online lists of games that are compatible with multi-monitor features are updated regularly. If you look at the list, you’ll see that it includes a mix of the latest games and quite a few from the past decade. In fact, games have probably progressed in this capacity more than graphics cards in the past. So, there is a high probability that you will be lucky and find your favorite game in the list of compatible titles. Just remember that not all indie or older games have full multi-monitor support.
Questions
- How many monitors can you use?
This depends on the graphics chip that powers your computer. If you’re using integrated graphics with an Intel or AMD CPU, you’ll likely be limited to only two monitors at a time. However, if you have a discrete Nvidia graphics card, you can run four monitors at once, and AMD graphics cards of the last decade were mostly capable of supporting six monitors at the same time.
You might not be able to run all those monitors at native resolution and refresh rate if your GPU isn’t that powerful, but for high-end cards you can have multiple displays running at the same time.
- Do you have to use two of the same monitors?
No, but it helps. You’re more likely to run into issues with multiple monitors with two or more displays of different types, and you may have difficulty setting them up so there isn’t a big drop or gap between your monitors. The different shapes and sizes of the bezels can also get in the way during use – although you’ll probably get used to it over time.
However, you can run different monitors at different resolutions and refresh rates, with completely different frames. The writer of this article, Jon Martindale, still uses a 15 year old Dell monitor next to his more modern gaming monitor and they work great together to increase productivity.
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Source: newstars.edu.vn