[SOLVED] Are 2 different monitors fine?

[SaarVFX]

Hey everyone

So I bought my first real editing computer with a Samsung 4K 28” screen.
I then saw that there might be a problem to add a same screen on my workstation because the lack of space..
So I thought maybe I would buy a new 24” screen with a 144 HZ but without 4K like my Samsung one.. also the Samsung is 60 HZ so I can enjoy one from the 4K quality and the other from the fast refresh rate..?

Thanks in advance for any help!

 

[Math Geek]

i run a 144 hz screen and a 60 hz one as well. no problems using them both together.

its no issue using both with a game running but i normally turn off the second screen while gaming. i don't need it and it's just using gpu resources. it'll work fine for you but i'd suggest doing the same when gaming just to save those resources

keep in mind though you won't be gaming on dual monitors unless you're happy with it at the slowest speed as it has to match on both monitors

 

[SaarVFX]

Thank you!
a friend of mine told me that he had 2 different screens and he had some problems with the colors he told me it’s freaked him out because the differences in the colors..?
What do you mean by slowest speed?
When it have to match on both monitors it’s automatically become slower? Is it really noticeable for the average gamer?
Most of the time I don’t really play.. I only do editing but I for sure want the option to play when I want to

 

[Math Geek]

if you try to use BOTH monitors for the game, you know across both screens at once, then they have to be in sync at the same refresh rate. since one is only 60 hz, it obviously can't match the 144hz screen. so the faster screen (at 144 hz) will have to slow down to match he 60 hz screen.

if you are only wanting to see the game on a single screen, then of course the faster screen (again the 144 hz one) would be able to run at its full speed (assuming your gpu can provide all those frames). what i am saying is that leaving that second screen turned on and doing nothing still uses some gpu resources to keep it going. so turn it off when playing the game so the gpu only has to keep the single fast screen going and thus better performance. this won't be a massive increase, but you'll def see the difference.

for me, i can usually tell right away if i forget to turn off the second screen. it's just a noticeable difference right away to me in how it feels. i am also not running a top end gpu so i'm sure that makes a difference.

so when cranking up that game, turn off the second monitor. when doing anything else, leave both going as it won't make any difference. i often run 3 monitors with virtual machines full screen on 2 of them and a ton of stuff open on the main 3rd monitor. even my 1650 super has no problem with that. but if i turn a game on and forget to turn off the others, i'd obvious right away. i just disable the others and let my 144hz screen do its thing and all is well.

 

[SaarVFX]

if you try to use BOTH monitors for the game, you know across both screens at once, then they have to be in sync at the same refresh rate. since one is only 60 hz, it obviously can't match the 144hz screen. so the faster screen (at 144 hz) will have to slow down to match he 60 hz screen.

if you are only wanting to see the game on a single screen, then of course the faster screen (again the 144 hz one) would be able to run at its full speed (assuming your gpu can provide all those frames). what i am saying is that leaving that second screen turned on and doing nothing still uses some gpu resources to keep it going. so turn it off when playing the game so the gpu only has to keep the single fast screen going and thus better performance. this won't be a massive increase, but you'll def see the difference.

for me, i can usually tell right away if i forget to turn off the second screen. it's just a noticeable difference right away to me in how it feels. i am also not running a top end gpu so i'm sure that makes a difference.

so when cranking up that game, turn off the second monitor. when doing anything else, leave both going as it won't make any difference. i often run 3 monitors with virtual machines full screen on 2 of them and a ton of stuff open on the main 3rd monitor. even my 1650 super has no problem with that. but if i turn a game on and forget to turn off the others, i'd obvious right away. i just disable the others and let my 144hz screen do its thing and all is well.

Is it possible to play on the 144hz one. And do other things on the 60 one?
will it also be slower?

 

[Math Geek]

you can do other things on it no problem. but realize that the gpu has to draw whatever is on that screen as well as the game on the other screen. at 4k, the gpu is working as hard as it possibly can so anything diverting gpu power will of course effect the overall performance.

get that second screen and do some testing to see what happens. will be easy to play a game with only the one main screen and then turn on the second one with your chat/monitoring/whatever running on it and see what happens. might be minimal impact but it might be noticeable. it's up to you and what you are willing to accept. 144 hz at 4k is the top end of the gpu market and it's not gonna be easy to maintain anyway without a second monitor taking some cycles to draw whatever is on that second screen.

i'm not saying the second screen is a bad idea. just noting that when gaming it might be benefitial to you to only run the single fast monitor for maximum results in game.

 

[SaarVFX]

you can do other things on it no problem. but realize that the gpu has to draw whatever is on that screen as well as the game on the other screen. at 4k, the gpu is working as hard as it possibly can so anything diverting gpu power will of course effect the overall performance.

get that second screen and do some testing to see what happens. will be easy to play a game with only the one main screen and then turn on the second one with your chat/monitoring/whatever running on it and see what happens. might be minimal impact but it might be noticeable. it's up to you and what you are willing to accept. 144 hz at 4k is the top end of the gpu market and it's not gonna be easy to maintain anyway without a second monitor taking some cycles to draw whatever is on that second screen.

i'm not saying the second screen is a bad idea. just noting that when gaming it might be benefitial to you to only run the single fast monitor for maximum results in game.

Thanks, and if the purpose of the second screen is more for editing, will it make any "problems" too ?

 

[Math Geek]

it does not matter what you are doing on the screen. what matters is that it is turned on. the gpu has to draw what is on the screen no matter whether it is a static picture or a movie or a word doc or whatever. the fact that the screen is on, means the gpu is using resources to maintain it.

test it out however you were planning on using it and then try it again with only the main monitor turned on and see how that goes. if it makes a difference,then decide what you want to do. if it does not make any difference then you're good to go. it's really that simple. test it out and see what kind of performance hit you take and if it is acceptable to you or not. it's not really a problem, but just something to be aware of.

 

[SaarVFX]

it does not matter what you are doing on the screen. what matters is that it is turned on. the gpu has to draw what is on the screen no matter whether it is a static picture or a movie or a word doc or whatever. the fact that the screen is on, means the gpu is using resources to maintain it.

test it out however you were planning on using it and then try it again with only the main monitor turned on and see how that goes. if it makes a difference,then decide what you want to do. if it does not make any difference then you're good to go. it's really that simple. test it out and see what kind of performance hit you take and if it is acceptable to you or not. it's not really a problem, but just something to be aware of.

Thanks, so it should happen with every 2 screens? (For gaming for example) ..
I mean if I had 2 screens that are the same , will turning off one of them may be the better way to go?
Also, does using a stronger GPU can help?
I want to remaind that I’m using one screen 4K 60Hz and second one 144hz

 

[Math Geek]

a stronger gpu will always help. and if you are trying 4k gaming i hope you already have a strong gpu.

anytime you use 2 screens it takes more resources than only 1 screen. a game running at 100 fps is of course going to use more resources than a screen simply showing a word document. it won't be split evenly. the only time it is even is if you run the game itself across both screens. they will sync up to the same speed but it will be a lot less performance than a single screen. it is twice the pixels to draw quickly so of course it is harder on the gpu.

seems like i am repeating myself now. hook up the second monitor, fire up the game on one screen and whatever else on the second and see what happens. at this point the answer you seek is found that way. if it's working for you, then leave it be. if it seems like your gpu can't keep up, then turn off the second screen. it's that simple really.

as i noted above i use 3 screens very often so its not a matter of it not working. even the built in gpu of an intel chip can handle 4 screens with basic stuff on them. i am only talking specifically about the case where you have a game running. that is the time when the gpu is working its hardest and any wasted resources can effect your experience. again test it out yourself and see what difference it makes. all this may be for nothing if you're hapy with how it works with both running.