I'm a born again Linux newbie in that I've installed Linux distros a number of times over the last decade, used them for a month or two, and then gone back to Windows ... primarily because 1) I am (was?) a fairly hardcore PC gamer, 2) Have had a Lexmark printer that has (historically) had terrible Linux support, 3) Am a student and are often forced to use the latest MS Office documents which have not always been easily readable in Linux. So while I've used Linux before, I wouldn't say I'm much more than a newbie.
I'm due for a new go-around, and I'm going to try to make it work this time because I'm not nearly the gamer I used to be, and can work around school, etc. I'm still running Windows 7 on my primary HDD, but have put Maverick Meerkat on the secondary HDD all by itself while I see if I can make the conversion. I just finished setting up my dual monitors (GTX 285 support a 24" BenQ (1920x1200) and a 20" ViewSonic (1680x1050)) which was actually a bit of a PITA as the 20" isn't sending/has corrupted EDID. But, I managed to extract the EDID from the Windows registry and set up the monitor is CustomEDID. Anyway, they're working now, but set up with Twinview and a metamode of 3,600x1200, so there is 150 pixels of dead space in the vertical region.
Now, that dead space really annoys me as Windows has no problem using 2 monitors with independent resolutions and spanning them. However, I understand the only way to have individual resolutions for each specific monitor in Linux is to set up a separate X server for each monitor (which is NOT Twinview) and this will not allow windows to be drug across. I also understand that this problem can be fixed with Xinerama, which would allow a separate X for each monitor (so no dead space like I currently have) AND allow dragging across the monitors - BUT the catch here is that 3D acceleration occurs on only one of the monitors so no Compiz-Fusion on both, essentially?
I've done a bunch of google/forum searching, but I only seem to find articles that are 2-4 years old, so what I'm wondering now is what is the current state of dual monitor support. Is there any way (hopefully stable) that I can have 2 monitors, each with an individual resolution (therefore no dead space), the ability to drag windows across from one monitor to the other, AND use Compiz-Fusion (or whatever the current eye candy manager is)? Or am I just dreaming?
Thanks in advance guys, can't beat the Linux community for support help!
I'm due for a new go-around, and I'm going to try to make it work this time because I'm not nearly the gamer I used to be, and can work around school, etc. I'm still running Windows 7 on my primary HDD, but have put Maverick Meerkat on the secondary HDD all by itself while I see if I can make the conversion. I just finished setting up my dual monitors (GTX 285 support a 24" BenQ (1920x1200) and a 20" ViewSonic (1680x1050)) which was actually a bit of a PITA as the 20" isn't sending/has corrupted EDID. But, I managed to extract the EDID from the Windows registry and set up the monitor is CustomEDID. Anyway, they're working now, but set up with Twinview and a metamode of 3,600x1200, so there is 150 pixels of dead space in the vertical region.
Now, that dead space really annoys me as Windows has no problem using 2 monitors with independent resolutions and spanning them. However, I understand the only way to have individual resolutions for each specific monitor in Linux is to set up a separate X server for each monitor (which is NOT Twinview) and this will not allow windows to be drug across. I also understand that this problem can be fixed with Xinerama, which would allow a separate X for each monitor (so no dead space like I currently have) AND allow dragging across the monitors - BUT the catch here is that 3D acceleration occurs on only one of the monitors so no Compiz-Fusion on both, essentially?
I've done a bunch of google/forum searching, but I only seem to find articles that are 2-4 years old, so what I'm wondering now is what is the current state of dual monitor support. Is there any way (hopefully stable) that I can have 2 monitors, each with an individual resolution (therefore no dead space), the ability to drag windows across from one monitor to the other, AND use Compiz-Fusion (or whatever the current eye candy manager is)? Or am I just dreaming?
Thanks in advance guys, can't beat the Linux community for support help!
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