VGA Splitter, Can I have 2 Different monitors?

I just bought a new monitor.
I also bought a VGA splitter.
I connected my old and new monitors to the VGA splitter.
As of now, my computer is having the monitors show the same exact thing at all times.
My computer only seems to recognize "default monitor."
When I click identify in the display properties, both screens show a giant 1
Is there any way to make this work so I can have Monitor 1 and a monitor 2?
Thank you

 

That's not the same as having 2 video cards or a dual-headed video card. Both monitors are getting output from a single video interface, and will always behave as they do now-- to Windows, you have only one monitor.

 

I heard something about a PCI card that you can buy that allows you to run another monitor. What is it called, where can i get one, and for how much?

 

Any video card that will fit in one of your computer's expansion slots will do. For example, my PC has an AGP video card. I could add a regular PCI video card in a PCI slot and Windows would accept both. Similarly, if you have video built onto your motherboard you could add a video card-- how basic or fancy is up to you. If all you want to do is expand your desktop real estate, nothing fancy is really necessary.

 

This site says I can buy a "monitor switch box"
http://www.ehow.com/how_13829_connect-two-monitors.html
Where might i buy one of these? How much?

 

http://pcworld.pricegrabber.com/search_getprod.php?masterid=3808283
This thing should work too, but its $70.
Anything cheaper?

 

A 128MB PCI SVGA card, probably. You might even find a dual output one for under $70.

 

Can anyone else give me a few more options?
I'd just like to know all the options.

 

If you let us know the specs of your system we would be able to offer more helpful solutions.

 

Matrox has lots of Dual Output options. They even have a little device that spilts a super-wide resolution into 2 signals to allow to be to spread across 2 monitors. http://www.matrox.com/graphics/offhome/dh2go/home.cfm

They also make video cards that are designed for that, you can check their site. www.matrox.com

 

In response to Wyatt, my computer specs are:
2.2 Ghz AMD Athalon 64 X2 Dual Core Processor 4200
AGP X800 Radeon (256 MB)
1 gig ram
Both my monitors are VGA (maybe SVGA)
If you want any more info, ask me.
And about the matrox thing. Its too expensive.

 

im surprised that your x800 doesnt already have dvi and vga out already.

 

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ShowI...GTO+256MB+GDDR3+AGP+4X/8X+Video+Card+-+Retail
My card has the same outputs as this one.

 

You need to go into your display properties for ATI and set up your dual monitors, because if i remember right, there is an option in there to mirror your first desktop. That might be your problem. If not, it was a good try at least.

 

The VGA splitter will not work, because the computer only reads one monitor with the VGA splitter.

 

You don't need a VGA splitter. Your card already supports dual monitors. All you need to do is hook one monitor up to the DVI port and one monitor to the VGA port. If you need 2 15-pin VGA outputs, then all you need is a DVI to VGA converter. They are very cheap, and you probably should have gotten one with your video card.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16814999201

 

Wow, I'm surprised no one provided the best, least cost, solution. Both your monitors use VGA connections, right? And, your card has 1 VGA and 1 DVI port. Right? So, all you need is a VGA ADAPTER LINKDEPOT DVI-AVGA-ADPT. Attach it to the DVI port on your video card, then attach one of your VGA monitors to it.

I have this same adapter. Bought it to connect a VGA monitor (for dual monitors) to my nVidia GeForce4 Ti4200 card, which has 1 VGA and 1 DVI port.

 

Will that split my graphics card processing equally between the two monitors?

 

Because I would rather have one monitor with high graphics capability, and another for work and stuff.

 

I'm not absolutely sure, but I believe the card distributes the workload as needed, rather than a straight even split. With the 256MB card you have, I suggest getting the adapter and trying it. You can do some testing if you want by disabling/disconnecting one monitor and doing a heavy duty task, then re-connecting and enabling the second monitor, doing different things on both, and see whether you notice any degradation of performance on the display you're doing to most demanding task(s) on. I think you're not going to notice any difference if you're doing fairly undemanding tasks such as word processing, email, etc. on the secondary monitor.

If you conclude otherwise, you're not out much money for the adapter you decide not to use.

I doubt that I do the heavy duty work you're talking about ("high graphics capability"), but I've also run my two monitors with one connected to the aforementioned card and the second monitor attached to a PCI video card, and I can't tell any significant difference for the things I do.

 

Can anyone who has experience running 2 monitors from one card explain this to me?

 

WHAT??? Did you read my posts? In my first post, I said: "I have this same adapter. Bought it to connect a VGA monitor (for dual monitors) to my nVidia GeForce4 Ti4200 card, which has 1 VGA and 1 DVI port."

I AM running two VGA monitors off one card which has one VGA port and one DVI port, using an adapter on the DVI port. You can do the same thing. What part of this do you not understand?

OK, maybe my original post was not perfectly clear. But, again, I running two monitors off one card, with full dual monitor functionality. This isn't just cloning.

 

Yeah, I fully understand you. My question was more about the quality of each screen. Does the computer shunt 50% of the graphics power to each monitor, or does it flex how much is on each screen. My basic question is, can I still play high quality games on one monitor, without graphics loss, as the other screen is doing word editing or something. Are there settings that you can change dealing with this?

Sorry that I didnt make my question clear.

 

Ah, well i just found an adapter that came with my graphics card. I'll try it out

 

I've got them both working, and now I am going to test out the video card stuff

 

I was playing Prey on one monitor, while viewing web pages on the other. Success! THanks guys.
Does anyone know of any good programs that they use to tweak with the two monitoers?
Thanks again

 

One more question. If I am running a game on full screen mode on my primary display, it does not allow me to move the mouse over to the other screen. Is there any way to solve this problem other than funning the game in window mode?
Thanks

 

I also want to add the taskbar on both monitors. I dont know how.

 

I am testing out ATI's Hydravision software
http://www.ati.com/products/Hydravision/index.html

 

I don't know how to resolve that. Anyone else?

That only happens with that game, right?

 

Hydravision is outdated.

 

If want a taskbar on both monitors, you need to get Ultramon.

 

I have tried 5 games so far, each of them running at full screen. THe mouse does not go over to the next screen as it should.

 

Thanks for the tip. I am trying it now

 

"The mouse does not go over to the next screen as it should."

It won't work, the second monitor is still just part of the desktop. When you're running in full screen, the mouse will only work in the game. You'll need to Alt+Tab out to get back to the desktop.

 

Ok, thank you.
Is there any way to have the start menu on both computer screens?