Dual monitor: 120Hz + 120Hz?

[Aegis159]

I'm currently running dual monitors, one 120hz and one 60hz without any issues (other than when I want to watch 3D content but that's a different animal ) on a GTX 470. Just recently I was able to pick up a 2nd 120hz monitor for a really nice price.

I plugged in the 2nd 120hx monitor in place of the 60hz one and it immediately made my Windows UI change from the Aero theme to the Win7 Basic theme and created extreme lag in any movements on the screen.

I'm running DVI cables on both monitors (although I don't know if they're dual link or not), and simply unplugging the 2nd 120hz monitor immediately fixes the Aero and lag issues on the screen.

So is it the DVI cable I need to change out or is my GTX470 not able to handle 2 120hz monitors??

 

[wanderer11]

What exact card do you have? I have a feeling you have 1 dual link dvi and 1 single link dvi port, meaning you can only get 1 monitor up to 120 Hz. As far as the lag goes, I'm not too sure. What were you doing at that moment? Just at the desktop?

 

[ubercake]

Inconsistencies in the refresh rates can do this. You can check that this is the issue by switching the refresh rate of both monitors to 60Hz. You probably rid yourself of the lag.

The DVI cables should both be dual-link in order to get 120Hz across both monitors and get rid of that performance issue. When you're using dual-link on both, you can set the monitors to 120Hz.

 

[Aegis159]

Thanks all,

How do you tell if the DVI cables are dual or single link?
EDIT: Scratch that question, a simple google search answered that for me.

wanderer this is the card I have...
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130549

It has dual DVI outputs and the mini HDMI, but I don't know any specifics for the ports themselves.

I was just on the desktop, I wasn't going to try doing anything beyond there until it was all straightened out, hehe.

Thanks again for the help with this!

 

[wanderer11]

Hm it doesn't say if the ports are SL or DL. I think uber is right about the different refresh rates.

 

[Aegis159]

Yeah the first thing I'm going to do is make sure they're both on Dual Link cables. If that doesn't fix the issue then onto the next possibility.

EDIT: Ah, I finally found the answer to the ports on Nvidia's site, says they're both dual link ports
http://www.geforce.com/hardware/desktop-gpus/geforce-gtx-470/specifications

Thanks again both of you!!

 

[ubercake]

Just make sure you're using two dual-links or set both monitors to 60Hz.