SU and Dual Monitors - Worth the Trouble?

hellnbak · 30 Jan 2011, 04:30

I'm thinking about setting up dual monitors to use with SU. I have searched the forums on this but haven't really come up with anything solid enuf to base a decision on. Someone mentioned a problem with anti-aliasing using dual monitors, someone else talked about problems getting the toolbars to stay put, several people state that SU just flat-out doesn't seem to play well with dual monitors, etc, etc. But for the most part these issues do not seem to get solidly resolved.

I want to set it up so that my main monitor would contain nothing but the model, and maybe a few chosen tools. Is this possible, to have a completely blank screen except for the model? I'm not talking about just having my toolbars and menus on the second monitor, I want everything but the model over there. Do you just scroll the cursor over to the second monitor as is they were just one extended monitor?

I already have all the hardware, it's just a question of setting it up. Would the benefits outweigh potential headaches? Keep in mind that for me putting mayo on my bologna sandwich is too much trouble (heck, sometimes putting the bologna on bread is too much trouble) .

Here's my setup:

ASUS M4A89GTD PRO/USB3 Motherboard

AMD Phenom II 955 Black Edition Quad-Core AM3 CPU 3.20GHz, Socket AM3, 6MB Cache, 2000MHz (4000 MT/s) FSB,

8 Gigs Crucial Ram, Non-ECC, Unbuffered, 1333MHz

Ultra X4 750-Watt Modular Power Supply

EVGA GeForce GTX 460 SuperClocked Video Card - 1024MB GDDR5, PCI-Express 2.0, Dual DVI, Mini HDMI, SLI, DirectX 11, Fermi (if necessary I could get a 2nd graphics card)

(probably more info than needed, but better too much than too little}

I would be using a 27 and A 24 inch LCD monitor

I know there must be a good number of people out there using more than one monitor with SU, and I would really appreciate any input as far as their experiences/problems encountered/how they resolved those problems, advice in general.

Thanks in advance.

Khai · 30 Jan 2011, 04:49

I'm running SU7free on a Geforce 9500GT 1024mb Ram running 2 17" LCD's at 1280x1024 each. and not had any problems with running SU with menus and rubies on the right hand monitor at all. was just a case of pull and drop...

honoluludesktop · 30 Jan 2011, 08:54

For me, the primary benefit with a oversize (or dual) monitor is the ability to open more then one window at a time. I often have a word processor, Cad, and IE open at once in order to reference, or cut and paste as I work.

Dave R · 30 Jan 2011, 11:36

I don't think you can put the menus on the second monitor but you could put all the toolbars and browsers over there.

I have, as my primary monitor, a 25" screen with a 16:9 format. I've set up SketchUp so the drawing window is roughly the proportions of a sheet of typing paper. Toolbars are included there but the browsers are all stacked on the right outside the drawing space. This works nicely for me and I rarely need all the drawing window width I have anyway. The second monitor is my 21" Cintiq. Like HD, I use it to display reference material and of course image editing. I thought about moving toolbars and browsers over to the Cintiq but I think it's too far to go for the tools.

I believe there are quite a few people who do put their tools and browsers on the second monitor and are happy with it. If I were you, I would try it and find out what you think.

Rich O Brien · 30 Jan 2011, 12:12

I hook my laptop up to a 8' x 6' projector and play shadow puppets. Never encountered any issues

thomthom · 30 Jan 2011, 13:10

Got dual monitors at home and at work. Never had any issues.

nVidia GeForce 8800GT and nVidia Quadro FX 3800

I find dual monitors a must for my work.

hellnbak · 30 Jan 2011, 17:53

Well, I gave it a try, but quickly decided this would work a lot better with smaller monitors, and I don't like small monitors. With large monitors there's too much head turning and too far to go with the mouse. Just too distracting from the work. Not to mention the huge amount of desktop real estate eaten up. Well, now I know.
Thanks for everyone's input.

dtrarch · 30 Jan 2011, 23:54

hellnback

Dual monitors are a must.
I have a 26 inch for modeling and a 22 for other apps that are running and SU menus.
Any of the items listed in the SU [Windows]from Model info to and including Instructor can be opened and dragged to the second monitor if it is setup as a "dual view" (nvidia)
One can open and close as needed and both screen setups will stick on re-open of SU.
Use the second screen full screen and you can also stick the menus at the top of the screen and they will stay put.
Some will stack and others will just overlay.
Just save as the default untitled.skp or better yet as your default template.

Hope this helps with the real estate.

dtr

tim · 31 Jan 2011, 07:18

I use a 24" iMac and 20" second screen with no problems. I keep the tool palettes etc on the secondary screen, along with my various communications apps like iChat/skype/MSN etc. So basically, a 3520x1200 screen

I'm hoping to upgrade to a 27" octo-core iMac + second 27" display later this year - ie 5120x1440 screen.

liam887 · 31 Jan 2011, 11:49

I use a 17" mac book pro connected to a 15" LCD screen to keep all my toolbars, shadow settings etc (I find the smaller screen size helps keep system resources down for the laptop)

putnik · 11 Feb 2011, 04:23

I'm running Windows7 Pro, my card is Quadro 600, 2 monitors. I can't seem to run more than 1 instance of SketchUp (8 Pro). If I attempt to run a second instance, the first one crashes every time. Has anyone come across this issue?

Dave R · 11 Feb 2011, 11:05

That's very strange. I will frequently have three or four instances of SketchUp open at once. I'm running XP Pro but I would think Windows7 should be able to handle that, too. Have you looked at the computer's performance graph in the Task Manager (I assume that's still available in Windows 7) when you are running SketchUp and open the second session?

tpstigers · 11 Feb 2011, 18:58

@dave r said:

That's very strange. I will frequently have three or four instances of SketchUp open at once. I'm running XP Pro but I would think Windows7 should be able to handle that, too. Have you looked at the computer's performance graph in the Task Manager (I assume that's still available in Windows 7) when you are running SketchUp and open the second session?

I'm running Windows 7 Ultimate, and I've never had a problem running multiple instances of SketchUp (7 or 8).

And yes, Win7 still has the Task Manager, and it still allows you to get at it the easy way (Ctrl/Shift/Esc).

pmolson · 12 Feb 2011, 00:40

Do it.
Now!

p

pmolson · 12 Feb 2011, 00:41

Do it.
Now!

p

hellnbak · 12 Feb 2011, 01:11

I really can't justify having to use smaller monitors just to get this setup to work. I buy large monitors because I don't like small monitors, and having to force myself to look at two small monitors all day just to make a dual screen setup function is simply not worth it. To me.

Dave R · 12 Feb 2011, 01:29

So, HNB, here's just a FWIW. I made a screen shot of my SketchUp setup. This is on a 25" monitor. the drawing window is about 1600 pixels wide and 1015 high. I think there's plenty of room for drawing and for the stuff I've put on the side. I don't think you'll have a problem with that sort of layout. I rarely ever find any need for a wider view when I'm working in SketchUp. It's slightly wider (longer) than a standard sheet of paper which is usually what I need to fit my images to anyway.

If you add a second screen, you can use it for references while you draw on your main screen.

tpstigers · 12 Feb 2011, 02:55

I have a dual monitor setup - sort of. My primary monitor plugs into my main computer. My secondary monitor plugs into a four-channel KVM. My main computer uses one of the four channels, the other three go to other machines. While I will often use the secondary monitor as a reference, I usually do so through a separate machine (so as to conserve resources on my primary computer). As time has gone on, I have found that I rarely use my dual monitor setup in a 'true' fashion (both monitors driven by one machine).

At the end of the day, though, I feel that this is all just a matter of personal preference. Some people have a workflow that demands dual monitors. Some prefer to work with one monitor and multiple windows. I think the best idea is the one you explored earlier - try it out in a variety of ways and see which one works for you.

Anaardvark · 10 Mar 2011, 10:35

I couldn't possibly go back to a single monitor again. Both at home and at work, I use a dual 24" monitor setup. 1920x1080 at work, 1920x1200 at home.

It allows you to full screen one app and use another thing such as a web browser on the 2nd. I can also drag my materials box and anything else over there so it's out of the way of my main window.

Only problem is now that when I use my laptop, I find it really hard to adjust back to the single screen.

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designerstuart · 10 Mar 2011, 11:13

if you can't scroll all that way (!) back and forth between monitors...... sounds like you need to use shortcuts!

dual screens is waaaaay better (for me) i do it just the way you mention - one clear screen with just model and everything else in the other. oh and i have a keyboard and mouse on my desk.