Things I should know when using a dual monitor setup?

[arthurjoshua]

Hi guys! I have an extra monitor and i'm currently running a dual monitor setup (1440p and 1080p)
I have an i7 4790 and a gtx 1080 with 12gb of ram. I noticed that my pc generally runs hotter with a dual monitor setup, and I was just wondering if that was normal? Also, I'd appreciate if you guys could let me know what I could be losing out on if I use a dual monitor setup (I mean fps and stuff like that) If it's of any importance I just use the other monitor for social media while playing on the other one. Thanks in advance for all your help!

 

[guanyu210379]

You can game best only on 1 monitor.
Imagine the center of the game is right between the 2 monitors...where the bezzels are.

If you game only on 1 monitor, there should be no issue at all.

 

[InvalidError]

Refreshing the 1080p takes ~500MB/s out of the available memory bandwidth for refreshing the display and that can increase the GPU's power draw by 5-10W at idle. Performance-wise, 500MB/s is not even 1% of available memory bandwidth so the impact should be error margin stuff.

 

[jay.wooster]

Are you actually playing games that display across both screens in extension or just playing on one with your desktop displaying social media updates on the other ? If the latter, the draw down on the second monitor is next to nothing if it is in idle or near idle. Common sense means that the impact will be relative to what you have running on the second monitor. I wouldnt play two games at once on the two monitors but what your doing will have next to no impact bud.

I run two monitors and dont change the settings at all when ive got my second one up and running and dont notice any FPS drop at all.

If your running the game across both screens it's a different story but i dont think you are.

 

[13thmonkey]

It used to be, and might still be that Nvidia (and possibly AMD) would have their cards running at full 3d clocks, as opposed to idle clocks, when powering more than 1 screen. This may no longer be an issue, it'll be in the driver release notes, however it is still an issue that 144hz requires full 3d clocks in windows, whereas 120hz can be driven by idle clocks.

 

[arthurjoshua]

Are you actually playing games that display across both screens in extension or just playing on one with your desktop displaying social media updates on the other ? If the latter, the draw down on the second monitor is next to nothing if it is in idle or near idle. Common sense means that the impact will be relative to what you have running on the second monitor. I wouldnt play two games at once on the two monitors but what your doing will have next to no impact bud.

I run two monitors and dont change the settings at all when ive got my second one up and running and dont notice any FPS drop at all.

If your running the game across both screens it's a different story but i dont think you are.

I just use 1 monitor for gaming and the other for other stuff. what worried me was the temps of my gpu running hotter while on idle. I wasn't sure if it was just a coincidence, or if running a dual monitor setup really makes your gpu run hotter than normal.

 

[13thmonkey]

personally i'd run the gaming monitor off the GPU (obviously), and the monitoring monitor off the iGPU, but I'm also running G-Sync and I seem to recall issues with them running at different frequencies, 120hz and 60Hz.

 

[arthurjoshua]

It used to be, and might still be that Nvidia (and possibly AMD) would have their cards running at full 3d clocks, as opposed to idle clocks, when powering more than 1 screen. This may no longer be an issue, it'll be in the driver release notes, however it is still an issue that 144hz requires full 3d clocks in windows, whereas 120hz can be driven by idle clocks.

i read somewhere that it could be because my 2 monitors have different refresh rates? well, one of them has 144hz and the other is at 60hz only. Is there any way I can work around this?

 

[arthurjoshua]

You can game best only on 1 monitor.
Imagine the center of the game is right between the 2 monitors...where the bezzels are.

If you game only on 1 monitor, there should be no issue at all.

I'm only gaming on one monitor. The other one, I use for social media. My primary concern is that my gpu runs hotter on idle for some reason

 

[13thmonkey]

personally i'd run the gaming monitor off the GPU (obviously), and the monitoring monitor off the iGPU, but I'm also running G-Sync and I seem to recall issues with them running at different frequencies, 120hz and 60Hz.

It used to be, and might still be that Nvidia (and possibly AMD) would have their cards running at full 3d clocks, as opposed to idle clocks, when powering more than 1 screen. This may no longer be an issue, it'll be in the driver release notes, however it is still an issue that 144hz requires full 3d clocks in windows, whereas 120hz can be driven by idle clocks.

i read somewhere that it could be because my 2 monitors have different refresh rates? well, one of them has 144hz and the other is at 60hz only. Is there any way I can work around this?

See above, if one is at 144 then drop it to 120, and or split them between GPU and iGPU

 

[arthurjoshua]

Refreshing the 1080p takes ~500MB/s out of the available memory bandwidth for refreshing the display and that can increase the GPU's power draw by 5-10W at idle. Performance-wise, 500MB/s is not even 1% of available memory bandwidth so the impact should be error margin stuff.

yeah, i noticed my frames were fine while playing on AAA games. what got me concerned was my temps when idling. some say it's because nvidia cards do not idle when having 2 monitors with different refresh rates? if that's true, is there a way around it?

 

[arthurjoshua]

personally i'd run the gaming monitor off the GPU (obviously), and the monitoring monitor off the iGPU, but I'm also running G-Sync and I seem to recall issues with them running at different frequencies, 120hz and 60Hz.

How do I do that? I tried plugging my other monitor into the vga slot of my mobo and then my main monitor was plugged into my gpu, but the monitor plugged to my mobo wouldnt work. sorry, im a bit new to this

 

[InvalidError]

My primary concern is that my gpu runs hotter on idle for some reason

The "some reason" is simple: the GPU needs to run at higher clocks to handle the extra bandwidth needed to refresh multiple displays and that uses more power. Under load where the memory controller and GPU are already at full power, the difference is less,

My GTX1050 runs at 850-970MHz core and 1.75GHz memory to drive my triple-display setup, which is almost full clocks despite being at only 2% memory controller and 1% core load. I have to unplug both of my other displays before the GPU will clock down to 200MHz memory and 140MHz core.

Not having some intermediate idle clocks to handle multi-display is disappointing but that's how it works.

 

[13thmonkey]

personally i'd run the gaming monitor off the GPU (obviously), and the monitoring monitor off the iGPU, but I'm also running G-Sync and I seem to recall issues with them running at different frequencies, 120hz and 60Hz.

How do I do that? I tried plugging my other monitor into the vga slot of my mobo and then my main monitor was plugged into my gpu, but the monitor plugged to my mobo wouldnt work. sorry, im a bit new to this

You may need to enable the iGPU in the bios.

 

[arthurjoshua]

personally i'd run the gaming monitor off the GPU (obviously), and the monitoring monitor off the iGPU, but I'm also running G-Sync and I seem to recall issues with them running at different frequencies, 120hz and 60Hz.

How do I do that? I tried plugging my other monitor into the vga slot of my mobo and then my main monitor was plugged into my gpu, but the monitor plugged to my mobo wouldnt work. sorry, im a bit new to this

You may need to enable the iGPU in the bios.

this worked perfectly. thanks!