I just got another CPU from a friend. Custom Job for my writing and Cad needs. The main one I am running off now is mainly for play and work i.e It has all the grades, papers, projects, etc…etc… from all my students for the past 6 years. I like my 21 inch screen, I do not want to buy another for the other CPU. Can I somehow plug both CPU’s into the one monitor. Or am I S.O.L. ???
You can look into buying a “KVM switch,” which connects your keyboard/video/mouse to multiple computers. You then switch between consoles.
Many modern monitors have two inputs, one D-sub connector and one set of BNC (coaxial) connectors. If your monitor is like that, you can buy a converter cable so you can connect one of the computers to the BNC input.
If not, get a switch as suggested by troub.
What is the brand and model # of your monitor? As SCR indicated at least 50% or more of the 21 inchers have dual VGA/VGA or VGA/BNC inputs that can be swirtched from the front monitor panel.
Astro I have a Samsung SyncMaster 21.3" TFT-LCD Flat-Panel Monitor. And how much are those switches? Do I need one?
What ever you do, you can only use the monitor on one PC at a time. The switch just saves you the hassle of moving the cable. A switch should cost less than $50. I don’t know for sure how much in the US because I’ve never bought one there.
Well, that ought to teach me to google first and then flap my lips.
If you have a Syncmaster 210T, then you’ve got a digital and an analog input. According to the samsung page http://www.gotocol.com/samsung210t.html , you can connect them both and get some kind of a split screen display with both signals shown simultaneously.
Wow! Nice unit!
Here are your specs
http://www.shopmiracle.com/210t.html
Your switchable inputs are standard analog VGA and a digital video DVI input. If once of the PC’s video card has a DVI output (still fairly rare except on higher end video cards) then you can simply attach and switch both as needed. If both your outputs are analog 15 pin VGA outputs (likely) you wil need a video switch.
FWIW, supposedly using a good DVI compatible card with a nice DVI capable monitor like yours will result in the sharpest and clearest picture currently available from a monitor.
So your choices are:
1: Get a dual ouptput VGA /DVI card video card like this one one sale or this Radeon 9700 if you really want to tear it up. Using this card on one of the PCs you can input to both the DVI and VGA inputs and use the monitor front panel controls to switch off.
2: Get a VGA video output switch
Most of the posts are about using multiple monitors with a single CPU. To accomplish what you want to do, you do, indeed, need a KVM switch.
This allows you to use a single keyboard, mouse and monitor with multiple CPUs with a simple switch back and forth.
Take into consideration the various plugs which connect the keyboard and mouse with each CPU (for instance the keyboard on a given CPU may use a USB port, while the other uses a standard PS2 port). You want to get a KVM switch which accomodates the various inputs, but these are made.
Good luck,
Bob
…but these are made=…but these are available
Best Buy or CompUSA should have these in stock.
??? Huh? … every single post that I can see in this thread before yours specifically addresses switching 2 computers outputs to one monitor input which is what the OP is asking.
Did anybody see the TechTV bit back a few months ago where the guy threw two hard drives into a rack and was able to run a MAC OS window inside his PC window on the same monitor? He basically had another computer running in his main window, which was cool.
It required some hardware with which I’m not familiar…I think it was a special monitor??
What you could do is buy something like PCAnywhere and set it up on your other cpu and network your two computers together. Hook up your monitor to your “main” cpu and run the PCAnywhere-type program when you want to work on your other cpu.
Wow! Thank you Astro I appreciate it. Couple Questions still if you will:
I called the guys down at digitech - local computer guru store - and they have 4 in stock of the Radeon 9700. So when my wife get’s home we are going to go and get one. Do I need two, one for both machines? Or just put one in my main machine. Which is a homegrown 2.4 gig 512k ram 30 gig hardrive monster my friend built for me.
And are they easy to put in? Should I bring it with and have the guys there do it, or is it easy?
I am not an end user per se, but when it comes to hardware my knowledge rally’s a garden slug. I work mainly in cad programs for home design and grading papers 
You’ll want the Radeon in your monster computer - and hook it up using the DVI cable. Installing the card is no problem if you’ve ever installed any kind of card - or maybe get your friend to help you with it.
To be on the safe side, you should start your PC in safe mode and uninstall the driver for the graphic card you’ve got in it now. Install the new card, and fire it up. Install the new drivers as the install guide says, and you’re in business. Some manufacturers give you a special setup program, and others tell you to use the standard Windows hardware setup mechanism. I don’t know which route ATI takes. I’ve got Linux and an NVIDIA card, so I’m probably not to much help in that direction.
Forgot to mention:
I am in fits of envy over here. The man has an 14 inch concrete cutter and a 21 inch LCD monitor. Sometimes size IS important.
What Mort Furd said. Simply put the Radeon in the computer where display quality is the most critical (assumedly the “custom job”) and you’re ready to go. You will probably also need a DVI cable to go from the card to the LCD monitor’s DVI input.
Please let us know how it works out. With that cutting edge Radeon and the very nice monitor you have the picture should be about as perfect as can be achieved with current technology.
Wow thanks! I’m very excited… My friend who built my computer just asked: is it pci or agp?
Not knowing what that means I thought I’d ask you guys?
He’s coming over this afternoon to put it in.
If both computers have network cards you could hook one up to the monitor, then remote control the other in a window.
Windows terminal service is good or try this free software:
PCI and AGP are two different kinds of slots in the main computer circuit board that video cards can plug into. Your computer has several PCI slots, but if it has an AGP slot, that’s better for video. If it’s a reasonably modern (last 3 years or so) computer, it will have an AGP slot, and given the specs you mentioned, I would assume it has an AGP slot.
But I’m wondering why you really need two computers and all this hassle. Maybe I’m missing something, but why not just move all the paper grading files and other stuff onto your main machine, and use it for everything.
Your friend who built it should be able to just whip the hard drive out of the second machine and into the main machine, making all the files available on the main machine.
Ok good I have an AGP slot.
Why go through the hassle?
Oh just because. I like the tower I have now and I like the other one as well. I’m just going to stack them…Aesthetic reasons I guess.
I psyched to see a difference in picture like Astro was saying.