dual monitors or a large one large one

[james78]

is there many users out there whom have a dual monitor set up,
I have just added a second so i have two 19" monitors Solidworks is spread over both with the user interface on the left along with tool bars and the whole of the screen on the right display solely the model.
Is this the preferred method?

James

 

[bvanhiel]

I had dual 19's before I went to a single 24". For most work I prefer the single screen. Dual screens worked well when using reference materials that can be on one monitor while I work on the other. It boils down to personal preference.

-b

 

[JMirisola]

Like bvanhiel said, it's a matter of personal preference. I use dual 21" monitors and wouldn't have it any other way. It allows me to view the old AutoCAD drawing while recreating the part in SolidWorks. I can also have to rev's of the same part up to check for differences, or have my "to do" list on one screen while working on another, etc. I've never used both screens solely for SolidWorks, but I imagine the split in the middle would drive me insane.
Just my 2 cents...

Jeff Mirisola, CSWP
CAD Administrator
SW '07 SP2.0, Dell M90, Intel 2 Duo Core, 2GB RAM, nVidia 2500M

http://designsmarter.typepad.com/jeffs_blog

 

[ctopher]

If you can afford dual monitors, and have the room on your desk, it would work nice. I use dual monitors. But, I prefer one 24" wide screen.

Chris
SolidWorks 07 3.0/PDMWorks 07
AutoCAD 06
ctopher's home (updated 04-21-07)

 

[macduff]

Dual monitors my vote. I have a 24" as the main and a 17" as a secondary which works great for my MS Office products. Just enough room on my desk.

Best,

Macduff
Colin Fitzpatrick
Mechanical Design Engineer
Solidworks 2007 SP 2.2
Dell 390 XP Pro SP 2
nVida Quadro FX 3450/4000

 

[TateJ]

Dual monitors kick a~~!

But... If you go with one...
I suggest a wide-screen width to height ratio... since the Command Manager & File Explorer tend to claim the left & right vertical edges of my screen.

I tried spanning both monitors & disliked it substantially.

Right-click. It's friggin' magic!

FAQ376
Windows XP / Microsoft Wireless Optical Mouse 5000 / SolidWorks 2007 SP2.2 / SpaceBall 5000

http://www.Tate3d.com

 

[fcsuper]

Why not have dual huge monitors?

Matt
CAD Engineer/ECN Analyst
Silicon Valley, CA
sw.fcsuper.com
Co-moderator of Solidworks Yahoo! Group

 

[keepinitcool]

Yes, using 21" + 17". It's good to start out with the main screen as a large one, and best to have a same size monitor (or at least same resolution) as the 2nd one since spanning across two monitors seems to set the vertical dimension of Solidworks to be the same. Works okay with two different sizes, a little odd though.

I like to look at reference info on the second monitor. I also sometimes put the drawing file on the 2nd while working on the part or assembly on the main screen and I can watch the drawing update.

It's also nice to just throw files onto the other screen to drag in for assembly on the other screen.

 

[rollinhultz]

If money were not an object I think I would prefer a good projector and a 12' x 10' screen, but in reality a single 21' monitor seems to work OK at the office ad I am uually quite satified at home using a laptop on a T.V. tray as my remote desktop and media control center.

 

[chancey]

I use two monitor but it's mostly for reference on the other screen. Now if you could move a window onto the other desktop - that would be hella kewl.

 

[cstline]

With my aging eyes and all of the multi-tasking, switching between windows, it would be nice to TRY 2 - 30 inchers. Something like the Dell or HP.

What graphics cards are dual monitor folks using?

 

[chancey]

NVIDIA Quadro FX 3450/4000 SDI

 

[TateJ]

I just added my graphics card specs to my profile sig below...

Right-click. It's friggin' magic!

FAQ376
Windows XP ~ NVIDIA Quatro FX 3450/4000 SDI ~ Microsoft Wireless Optical Mouse 5000 ~ SolidWorks 2007 SP2.2 ~ SpaceBall 5000

http://www.Tate3d.com

 

[gwubs]

I use a triple 19" screen display on Matrox TripleHead2Go. More screen is great. I often have 2 parts + an assembly open, each on their own screen. BTW the second head of the video card is still free. I actually had 4 panels until my son needed a panel for his machine...

 

[fcsuper]

gwubs, I think I saw your compute in the movie Swordfish.

Matt
CAD Engineer/ECN Analyst
Silicon Valley, CA
sw.fcsuper.com
Co-moderator of Solidworks Yahoo! Group

 

[ppersiani]

Just got a new machine with dual monitors. I am trying to move one open file to one monitor while opening another on the other. I do alot of reference work that this would be handy for. Are there any settings within SolidWorks to allow this to happen, because I have been unable to get it to work so far. Or do I have to stretch SW accross both screens and alter the size of the open files? Any help would be appreciated.

 

[handleman]

You can't have two instances of SolidWorks open at the same time and expect them to play nice together. Each one has its own data in RAM, and neither can access the other's. You have to use your graphics card's multiple monitor management software. Most are quite good, but you might have to go download it and install it. There are usually different settings, sometimes even application-specific, that allow an application to span both displays, but just maximize open documents to one display or the other. I have one instance of SolidWorks open that is maximized to fill both displays. Individual SW documents that are open will maximize to one display or the other. I can throw them back and forth from screen to screen very easily. Makes for very easy drag-n-drop of parts into assemblies.