Second screen?

[lots]

Yes you can have different sized screens. You can also have different sized resolutions.

[mstieber]

Sure you can. Just make sure your graphic card can output to 2 monitors.

[Shogmaster]

With Windows XP, 2 monitors with 2 different resolutions are no problem (I believe 2000 will demand one big spanned resolution). And if your main vid card lacks dual head capabilities, just add a PCI card for the second monitor and you're set.

The only problem with 2 independant resolutions per screen might be that some programs might wig out with you span it across both monitors (such as Painter 7, 8 and possibly 9).

Obcourse if you manage to set both monitors to share the same resolution, then that problem becomes moot.

[brzilian]

With Windows XP, 2 monitors with 2 different resolutions are no problem (I believe 2000 will demand one big spanned resolution).
Not true. Windows has supported independant video resolutions since Windows 98.


The only problem with 2 independant resolutions per screen might be that some programs might wig out with you span it across both monitors (such as Painter 7, 8 and possibly 9).

That is not what happens - you will be limited by the resolution of the smaller monitor and scale your program window on the larger monitor accordingly.

The bigger problem with different size monitors running at different resolutions+refresh rates is interference between the two. Usually you will get slow crawling lines across one or both monitors when running them at different refresh rates if they are not well shielded.

[kex]

if you get a 17 inch tft itl give you the same viewing area as a 19 inch crt so it may be cost effective to mix crt and tft

but tfts are going down in price a lot lately 17 inchs have fallen from £300 to £150 in the past year or so

[Shogmaster]

Not true. Windows has supported independant video resolutions since Windows 98.
Well yes, but IIRC, that requires two video cards. With dual head single cards, Win2K only allows for spanning while XP allows independant res no prob. Haven't used 98/ME in forever so I don't know how they'd react with a dual head single card.

That is not what happens - you will be limited by the resolution of the smaller monitor and scale your program window on the larger monitor accordingly.
Well, Painter don't like that much and crashes alot when you take an object and drag it from one mon to the other. :D

[dvornik]

With dual head single cards, Win2K only allows for spanning while XP allows independant res no prob. Nope. Nvidia, Matrox and I believe ATI (don't know about others) allow both ways of dual monitors management by creating a virtual adapter. It took them some time to make it work and there are differeces in terminology though.

[Shogmaster]

Nope. Nvidia, Matrox and I believe ATI (don't know about others) allow both ways of dual monitors management by creating a virtual adapter. It took them some time to make it work and there are differeces in terminology though.
Nice! Obcourse it would happen after I stopped using dual monitors, LOL.

[ya3]

if you get a 17 inch tft itl give you the same viewing area as a 19 inch crt so it may be cost effective to mix crt and tft
nope. i wouldn't do that if i were you. i tried using a 17" sony crt along with my 15" tft laptop screen, and the differences in brightness, colour and sharpness gave me a headache in a matter of moments O.o

the sizes, however, were fine. as you know, a 17" crt usually only has about 16" viewable, whereas a 17" LCD actually has 17" viewable.

EDIT: btw, CRTs & LCDs also refresh differently. the latter has a much more smooth easy-on-the-eyes refresh (thus the 'ghosting'), but CRTs refresh in solid horizontal bars.

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