Dual-Monitors on a GeForce 4 MX440 with DUAL VGA...

[RetroUO]

With a GeForce 4 MX440 with DUAL VGA using the Nview software and the DualView display mode with 2 monitors, how independently will the two desktops operate? Will I be able to play a full screen game on one (this game freezes if I try alt+tab or ctrl+esc to get to the desktop) and have my desktop with like ICQ and web browing on the other? If I maximize a window on one will it cover both or just that one monitor? Can it be set up so a key combo switches my mouse between each monitor instead of just wraping over? Would this slow my computer down in any way?

I asked a friend and his answers were:

"1. If you tell windows to expand desktop then you will have additional room to put apps. If not it will only mirror the two.

2. If you have a full screen game, you can have open windows on the other monitor, but you you wont be able to use it, if you do it will minimize the full screengame."


So answer 1 is what I expected, but on answer 2... Can anyone confirm or deny that? I'm hoping deny cause thats one of the main 'selling' points I was looking for. Is there a way to get aroudn the number 2? Like to be able to run a full screen game on one monitor and use apps on the other? Maybe if I had 2 vid cards instead of a dual VGA? If there's a way please tell me.

Thx

 

[quegyboe]

If you want to run a game and a program at the same time, you will have to alt+tab your game to use the other program(s)...that's just the way Windows works....

 

[RetroUO]

The game I play right now is NWN and when I ALT+TAB it freezes...
Know how to fix this?

 

[HotKoala]

2 is correct too.

Think of it this way, saaay games that lock your mouse as the camera. You wiggle your mouse around to look. There's no way the game would work if your cursor could just scroll to another screen.

When a game freezes when you alt tab it's probably either because you don't have enough system ram or the game simply doesn't like it.

 

[RetroUO]

I have 384MB RAM... I have a hard time believing thats it. And some of my friends say it doesn't freeze up when they ALT+TAB, anything else that could cause it? Possibly something that can be fixed?

 

[james.miller]

is it really that important - i mean, its only alt+tab. if you really want to run a game AND windows, its so impposibly slow that its just not worth it

trust me - dont bother with it.

 

[HotKoala]

384MB is not much for NWN. Remember, you gotta run the game and windows at the same time without swapping. If you're running WinXP with only 384MB don't expect much.

Of course..if the game is poorly coded, you could always bring up the task manager, click on the game, select "switch to" and that should work. If it doesn't, you're probably out of luck.

The game should freeze if there is not enough memory but it should not lock up. If it locks up you most likely need to wait on a patch that addresses this issue. Go to the forum(Bioware?) and report the bug. If they are any bit decent they will have a forum for bug reports.

 

[RetroUO]

Thanks for the help, I'll send a bug report to bioware. And it locks up my whole system when I alt+tab and then try to go back to it... Thx though