| T O P I C R E V I E W |
| Spanky |
Posted - 11/17/2011 : 2:48:36 PM
Hi all,
I just bought a 20" LCD monitor to use as a second display for my DAW.
It works great with my laptop which is a newer machine than my desktop.
I want to utilize it with my desktop however which is an older HP Pavillion a1644x. There is only one VGA display port on this desktop. It has an "integrated graphics card"... not sure what that means but from my reading, it looks like I'll need to install a new video card with two ports to employ the dual monitor system.
I have also heard that some computer's will allow you to use a "splitter" type of adapter that will send the display out of one VGA port to two monitors. I haven't found any info on this configuration or if my HP desktop is capable of doing this.
Any thoughts?
If I indeed need to install a video card, I'm not sure what requirements are needed for Sonar X1 or any of the digital audio software for that matter. Do I need all the bells and whistles that come on the expensive video cards or can I get by with a simple card with two display ports?
Ports: My new monitor has both VGA and DVI. I assume the DVI is the latest technology for display purposes therefore a card with that type of connection would be best suited for my needs. ???
Thanx,
S~ |
| 6 L A T E S T R E P L I E S (Newest First) |
| garrigus |
Posted - 12/04/2011 : 10:15:31 AM
Not sure about the brick wall thing, but you can't move the Track view. That has to stay within the SONAR workspace. You should be able to float the Console view though. Which version of SONAR are you using?
Scott
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| Spanky |
Posted - 12/04/2011 : 12:00:24 AM
Okay, I have the new monitor hooked up to the desktop with a new graphics card. It all works... both monitors. I can drag things from one to the other. I can't figure out why I cannot dock the track view in one monitor and open the console view and drag it to the monitor no. 2. I've tried clicking on the little icon in the upper left corner and enabling floating which is supposed to allow the windows to become independent. I can drag other windows such as the synth rack and the transport bar but cannot open two views (console and track views) simultaneously.
Another weird instance... after messing around with dragging stuff back and forth between monitors, all of a sudden nothing moves... it's like the view hits a brick wall when I try to drag it over. Very strange.
????
S~ |
| Spanky |
Posted - 11/20/2011 : 1:12:01 PM
Thanks for the heads up, guys.
My laptop is running Win 7 and I have Sonar X1 and an ancient V.6 on there. I'm also playing around with Presonus' Studio One. No problems on that machine.
My desktop is the one I need the card for and it's XP serv. pac 2 so I think things should work out okay.
S~ |
| garrigus |
Posted - 11/20/2011 : 09:57:55 AM
Yeah, my older DAW PC is still running XP and I stayed away from SP3 for those same reasons. Some legacy software doesn't run well (or at all) with it. XP SP2 does a great job with remaining compatible with older software. After that version though, Windows pretty much gave up supporting older apps.
My newer DAW PC runs Vista and 7, but I only put new stuff on there. That way I have the best of both worlds, which is nice. But I know not everyone can do that.
That's the price we pay for progress, I guess. 
Scott
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| dirtysteve |
Posted - 11/19/2011 : 6:10:55 PM
quote:
Originally posted by garrigus
No, you don't need a super-expensive card. Just make sure it supports the maximum (or higher) resolution of your monitor.
Scott
Also, make sure your version of windows is supported. I had to buy a simple video card almost a year ago when both of my Princeton monitors went out at relatively the same time (within days of each other) to support the new one I'd bought to replace them. My previous monitors were normal LCD screens but the new one was wide screen. The new video card required me to update windows XP (SP2) to SP3. The update to SP3 screwed up the compatibility with some of my other software, plugins, and drivers (including some ASIO stuff). What a freakin' mess man.
This new situation left me in a position where I needed to either update my OS and motherboard or stay where I was and suck it up on "doing without" certain newer devices. well, I'm not the guy that goes out and spends hundreds of dollars updating stuff so I went back to recording at 16 bits and simplifying my recording path. By finding ways to compensate for less headroom than what you get with 24 bits I've been super happy.
So, anyway, the moral of the story is...be careful. A new monitor and simple video card can take you down a path that ends up being a PITA with a domino effect.  |
| garrigus |
Posted - 11/18/2011 : 10:08:27 AM
Hey Spanky,
Those video signal splitters do exist but it won't help you if you want to use the second monitor to display different content. All it will do is split the one signal coming from your PC and display that same signal on both monitors, so you'll see the same thing on both monitors.
What you need is a new video card that provides dual-monitor support. You can use either VGA or DVI, it's up to you, but yes DVI is newer and may provide a crisper picture.
No, you don't need a super-expensive card. Just make sure it supports the maximum (or higher) resolution of your monitor.
Scott
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