Dual monitors are used in computers to expand a computer’s display. One of the reasons the use of dual monitors is gaining popularity is because the prices of monitors have been on the decline, making it far cheaper to use two inexpensive monitors rather than go in for a large-sized monitor, which is bound to be hugely expensive.
All of Microsoft’s and Apple’s operating system versions released these days support the use of dual monitors. Using dual monitors, the user is able to ‘extend’ the display on one desktop onto the second display device. This means that when the different display devices are positioned next to each other, it provides the user with the illusion of being logically contiguous.
Depending on one’s luck, setting up dual monitors can be as simple as adding an extra video card and monitor and restarting the computer or turn out to be a task that makes the user want to pull out great tufts of hair in sheer frustration.
The first thing that will have to be done is the installation of a second video card, the one that is meant to support the extra monitor. This requires the computer’s motherboard to have an extra expansion slot, the availability of which can be determined by opening up the tower and checking. If available, the extra video card will have to be manually inserted into the slot. The monitor will then have to be plugged into this video card, and the computer should be restarted.
Depending on the card, drivers may or may not have to be manually installed by the user, since Windows has built-in drivers that support certain video cards. Once the drivers have been installed, there are settings that have to be adjusted to enable display on the second monitor. This is done in the Display Properties window, under the Settings tab.
There are a variety of dual monitor cards available on the market, with prices usually starting at around $100. Dual monitor users swear by the fact that once a person uses a dual monitor system; they will never revert back to a single monitor, no matter what the case.
