NeoTicker Blog

One of the strength of NeoTicker is it works really well with multiple monitors. As a trader, sooner or later you will wish you have more screen real estate. In fact, we have never meet anyone who switches back to using single monitor once they have tried multiple monitors.

Setting up your computer to use multiple monitor is actually very easy with Windows XP. All you need is to figure out what hardware to buy, plug it in and you are all set. You will need new video card and monitors. For the monitor, you should get one that is similar to your current one in terms of size and technology (LCD, CRT).

Getting the video card will depend on your computer’s current configurations. I’ve worked out some different scenarios for you here.

Scenario 1: You have AGP port or PCI Express port in your computer

If you have a mid range or high level PC, chances are you have an AGP or PCI Express port in your PC.

In this case, the easiest way to go is to purchase an AGP or PCI Express card that supports multiple monitors. Dual monitor cards are cheap and easy to find. Expect to spend around $50 to $100 dollar for such a card. There’s really no need to spend more for a video card for running NeoTicker. There are also three/four monitor cards by speciality manufacturers such as Matrox and Colorgraphic.

Once you get the video card, follow the card manufacturer’s installation instructions.

Scenario 2: You do not have an AGP port or PCI Express port in your computer

In this case, you have to get a PCI graphics card.

Most computers have one or more spare PCI slot you can put a video card in. If you run out of PCI slots, consider replacing the hardware that is currently occupying a PCI slot with an USB equivalent. Most hardware these days have USB versions, but not video cards.

With an added PCI card, multiple monitor management is handled by Windows. Once you installed the PCI card, in Windows, choose Start>Settings>Control Panel. Double click on the Display icon to open Display Properties. Under the Settings tab, you should see two (or more) monitors shown. You will need to enable the monitor by right clicking on the icon and attach the card. Once that is done, you should see your desktop span over the monitors.

Scenario 3: You do not want to replace your AGP or PCI Express card
Same as Scenario 2. Get a PCI card. Put it in addition to your current AGP/PCI Express card.

VGA or DVI

Video terminal and cable come in two favors – VGA and DVI.

If your current monitor does not have a DVI port, try to find cards that support VGA ports. Although you may be able to use a DVI-to-VGA converter to connect a DVI port to a VGA monitor, it is possible to have compatibility problems.