1 CPU, 2 channels, 2 monitors, 2 applications, is it possible? How?

Question

For day trading I would like to be able to watch my stocks and make trades on one channel and monitor and watch streaming financial news on the other channel and monitor. Is this possible and if so what would I need to make it happen?

Answer 1

You need a "Dual head" video card - one with 2 VGA monitor connectors. They are very affordable, shouldn't set you back too much. If you're only reading static-type stuff (not playing high-end games) and have an i-net connection for the streaming quotes, then a card with 128MB of graphics memory should be just fine.

-best luck

Answer 2

Sure, I'm not exactly sure what you mean by "channels", but your computer can obviously run more than one program at a time. You just need a video card that supports dual monitors. Having a second monitor in essence expands your desktop wider so that you can place one Windows application on one monitor and drag the second application to the other.

You could alternatively get one big wide screen LCD monitor which would give you enough room to place two applications next to each other on one screen and keep them big enough for both of them to be big and easy to use. You can get a large 23 inch widescreen monitor at Costco for under $300, or you can go even bigger.

The third solution might be to use a USB to VGA adapter which also allows you to connect a 2nd monitor to your computer, offering functionality similar to a dual monitor video card.

Lastly, just about any laptop offers the ability to attach an external monitor to it, so that you can use the external monitor as a 2nd monitor in addition to the built-in monitor. There is an option to either have the external monitor to mirror what is on the laptop, or use the external monitor as a 2nd monitor next to the laptop monitor, to widen your desktop.

Answer 3

I can't absolutely answer yes, but it sounds practical,( TO ME).
I'm going to base this on that I use two monitor's in Photoshop. However it is a single application, haven't tried opening two windows while on the net, and operating in one, while viewing the other. I open Photoshop, and open two images,(windows), one on one monitor, one on the other. Something tells me that if it's not a dual core processor that you might not have the speed to do those trades in the timely manner you need. Pose this question to the forums at Extremetech.com, Sysopt.com, and Tomshardware.com In the meantime I'll tell you how I run my setup. I run a CRT,(VGA), monitor,(21" Dell,[Trinitron], and a 19' Gateway TFT, (flat screen). My ATI Radeon X600XT graphics card has dual monitor capabilities, so I just run the crt off of the VGA port, and the TFT off of the digital port, on the Ati card. Control Panel, Appearance and Themes, Display, Settings tab, click on the 2 for second monitor, and check the Extend my windows desktop onto this monitor,( down below). Once the application is open I minimize it, and drag the edge of the screen over to the other monitor. Then I open one image on the main monitor, open a second image, and drag the second one over to the other screen. Gamer's do this all the time, haven't heard about the web on this one yet. Will check it out, interesting question, thanks!

Answer 4

just add a video card with dual monitor capabilities, and then you can open more than one window at the time

that is all you need to do, that is what I have and do all the time.

of course your program should be multi-instance capable. like Internet Explorer. meaning... you can open more than one instance of the same program. Unlike Windows Media player that you can only open one.