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dual monitors??

522 views 23 replies 11 participants last post by  centexchick 
#1 ·
Stupid question or 2 or 3....

Does anyone run AutoCad here? and if so, do you have dual monitors?

How did you set it up? What is required?

I am trying to make my drafting business more efficient and all that jazz.

Any information would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks,
 
#2 ·
I don't do AutoCAD but I do use dual monitors at work. IMO, it works well if you normally have to have multiple windows/programs. At work I usually have Outlook and IE on one monitor and on the other our Job Scheduling software. It helps allot when you can look at one monitor for information, and work on the other without having to minimize and maximize windows all the time.

As far as what is required, I am using the on-board video card, and an add-on video card. The monitors are two Dell 1905fp's.
 
#3 ·
Thanks, I figured it was two video cards but wanted to make sure.

It would be helpful, especially for all the tool bars and palettes that I have open. along with all the other crap that goes with this.....
 
#4 ·
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You should be able to run dual monitors easily as long as your video card supports it. Most video cards nowadays support dual monitors. Just go into the display properties and enable the second monitor. There is nothing special you have to do. Once you use multiple monitors, you won't want to go back.
 
#5 ·
line-em-up said:
You should be able to run dual monitors easily as long as your video card supports it. Just go into the diplay properties and enable the second monitor. There is nothing special you have to do.
I think my problem will be that my card can not handle it. Autocad takes a lot (so I have been told.)

my system is a Dell Dim9100 Intel/Pentium 4 cpu 3.00GHz 2.99 GHz, 512 MB of Ram (about 3 years old)

trying to figure out what the video card is
 
#6 ·
centexchick said:
I think my problem will be that my card can not handle it. Autocad takes a lot (so I have been told.)

my system is a Dell Dim9100 Intel/Pentium 4 cpu 3.00GHz 2.99 GHz, 512 MB of Ram (about 3 years old)

trying to figure out what the video card is
Onboard video I am sure... get a cheap $59 video card that has dual monitor support and you will be good to go. unless you are all into LCD's I have both a 19" and a 21" CRT monitor I will practically give you.
 
#8 ·
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centexchick said:
I think my problem will be that my card can not handle it. Autocad takes a lot (so I have been told.)

my system is a Dell Dim9100 Intel/Pentium 4 cpu 3.00GHz 2.99 GHz, 512 MB of Ram (about 3 years old)

trying to figure out what the video card is
That's true. I picked up a nVidia Gt8800 after rebate a month ago. It was about $150 and will anything you throw at it. You should also think about upgrading you ram to at least 2GB for autocad. I assume you have XP. If you don't have 64bit XP, then it will only see about 3GB of ram.
 
#10 ·
line-em-up said:
That's true. I picked up a nVidia Gt8800 after rebate a month ago. It was about $150 and will anything you throw at it. You should also think about upgrading you ram to at least 2GB for autocad. I assume you have XP. If you don't have 64bit XP, then it will only see about 3GB of ram.
XP pro 32bit can see up to 4GB RAM. 2GB for User mode memory, 2GB for kernal mode memory.

XP home can only see 2gb but that can be hacked.

A 3GB limitation would be motherboard based, not OS based. For instance, many laptops can only address 3GBs.

http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/aa366778.aspx#physical_memory_limits_windows_xp

Putting that aside, I agree with your suggestion of putting at least 2GB of RAM in that box for AutoCAD. It is a memory eating machine. A lot of video card memory (non shared) would be very advisable too. At least 512MB.
 
#12 ·
Sgt Beavis said:
XP pro 32bit can see up to 4GB RAM. 2GB for User mode memory, 2GB for kernal mode memory.

XP home can only see 2gb but that can be hacked.

A 3GB limitation would be motherboard based, not OS based. For instance, many laptops can only address 3GBs.


Putting that aside, I agree with your suggestion of putting at least 2GB of RAM in that box for AutoCAD. It is a memory eating machine. A lot of video card memory (non shared) would be very advisable too. At least 512MB.
When we got a new batch of Dell machines in, we had ordered them with 64bit XP Pro and 4 GB od RAM. After we determined it was a real headache with 64 bit drivers and software, we rolled them back to 32 bit XP Pro, at which point XP would only see about 3GB. I dug around and, even though 32 bit XP Pro can see 4GB in theory, in reality it has to be tweaked. At least that is what my experience has been.
 
#13 ·
I support AutoCAD for a large design firm as part of our contract.

I'll tell you what works best for these guys... Video memory, video memory, video memory. They also use Google Sketchup, Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign as well. Most of them are running multiprocessor Precision Workstations with 512-1GB of video memory.

Get a good dual head video card with at least 512MB

Also, get 1 BIG monitor for your AutoCAD monitor, and use a smaller one for your normal desktop operations. These designers have 24 inch widescreens, and still complain about needing bigger monitors.
 
#14 · (Edited)
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The Big Matt said:
I support AutoCAD for a large design firm as part of our contract.

I'll tell you what works best for these guys... Video memory, video memory, video memory. They also use Google Sketchup, Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign as well. Most of them are running multiprocessor Precision Workstations with 512-1GB of video memory.

Get a good dual head video card with at least 512MB

Also, get 1 BIG monitor for your AutoCAD monitor, and use a smaller one for your normal desktop operations. These designers have 24 inch widescreens, and still complain about needing bigger monitors.
For the most part, it's hard to tell the difference between 1 or 2 GB of RAM under normal conditions. One of my Mac users with 1 GB RAM was complaining of Photoshop running slow, so we slapped another Gig of ram in that thing. One little step he was doing in PS went from taking 45 secs to about 5 secs. RAM makes a BIG difference when you are rendering.
 
#15 ·
Why do you want 2 separate monitors?

I work alot with ProE and actually like having 1 really big monitor much better. You can still have multiple windows open, but also have the ability to see larger scale with more of the design on your screen at the same time.

Now 2 - 24" monitors wouldn't be bad...haha
 
#17 ·
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ruffdaddy said:
Why do you want 2 separate monitors?

I work alot with ProE and actually like having 1 really big monitor much better. You can still have multiple windows open, but also have the ability to see larger scale with more of the design on your screen at the same time.

Now 2 - 24" monitors wouldn't be bad...haha
I recently switched from having 2 20" to one 24". It drove me crazy because I got tired of resizing and moving my screeens around to make them fit. I like having 2 screens so I can hit the expand button and not have to play with it. I switched back to 2 separate screens.
 
#18 ·
ruffdaddy said:
Why do you want 2 separate monitors?

I work alot with ProE and actually like having 1 really big monitor much better. You can still have multiple windows open, but also have the ability to see larger scale with more of the design on your screen at the same time.

Now 2 - 24" monitors wouldn't be bad...haha
Awesome! Thank you guys. This is the information I was looking for! I have never had to worry about this on my own, having always worked for someone else. All I had to do was let the IT guy's know what was going on. Now, don't get me wrong, I am cabable of doing things on my own, it is just nice to have some good insight before I tear into something.

The bigger the better! I hate zooming in and out all the time. It would be nice to have a huge screen, but two will do.

I don't do much 3D. Not a big requirement for my projects. Switching between drawings sucks. That and going between accounting programs, DFW, school, email, etc. is a pain.

Now off to make the bucks to improve my system....
 
#20 ·
centexchick said:
Awesome! Thank you guys. This is the information I was looking for! I have never had to worry about this on my own, having always worked for someone else. All I had to do was let the IT guy's know what was going on. Now, don't get me wrong, I am cabable of doing things on my own, it is just nice to have some good insight before I tear into something.

The bigger the better! I hate zooming in and out all the time. It would be nice to have a huge screen, but two will do.

I don't do much 3D. Not a big requirement for my projects. Switching between drawings sucks. That and going between accounting programs, DFW, school, email, etc. is a pain.

Now off to make the bucks to improve my system....
Another thing I forgot to mention when tring to decide on monitors. You can buy 2 20" monitors for about the same price as 1 24", but you get a lot more space with the 2 20's.

3200x1200 vs 1920x1200
 
#21 ·
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bcoop said:
LMFAO!

I got a dollar that says WhiteOut knows more about CAD than anyone on the board.


He knows what CAD is. And not all CAD users, do 3D rendering. Which is why he asked what type of CAD work she does. ;) Just sayin...
I bet he does, but if she is using that type of program, then she is likely going to be doing rendering at some point. Besides, she asked a general question, not how to use Autocad. I couldn't begin to tell her how to do that.
 
#24 ·
bcoop said:
Nah. I bet not even half of CAD users will ever need to use 3D rendering.
I have a sub-contractor that does the 3d stuff for me. It is just not something that I have gotten into.

Is it something that I should do ...yes. There are many of the stone fabrication companies that I do work for that use cnc machines. It would be easier on them if I did the drawings in 3d so that they can transfer the production tickets easily.

Right now though, it is not something that I am willing to do. I have been doing this since '94. I figure that if I have gotten along this long without it, then it will all come out in the wash.
 
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