W7J External display question + gfx / cs

hi guys...

pretty set on getting an asus W7J this weekend...

quick question regarding the use of an external panel...

i thought all laptops allowed u to switch from notebook lcd to external display on bootup/dos mode/linux etc...

guess i was wrong... purchased a sony vaio and the Fn/hotkeys seem to be software driven...

i hook my laptop up to a 32" lcd tv panel... so i need to be able to boot up onto screen from the get go...

does the Asus W7J (or all asus) notebook boot up onto an external panel...

my previous fujitsu did and allowed me to change monitor preference in bios...
i dont see an option in the asus hence i'm aprehensive after getting the sony

(which i will take back tomorrow)

also... for gaming...

(not huge gaming but netherthe less)

will CS source run smoothy on it?

remember i'm on a 32" lcd tv so resolution will not be super high...

Thanks guys

 

Why can't you send the resolution in widows? I don't' know of many machines that can set the resolution in the bios. What ever you do, remember to get the 9x or 100.x series nforce drivers. I am running an external display pf 1900 x 1200 perfectly with video on the external monitor at full screen. Not a problem. This is why the discreet graphics is a plus. Can't do that with an intel =p

 

You can set it once you boot up Windows, all your need to do is make sure your notebook detects the other potential screen, and the hard part is to tinker around with your settings, via your driver client. The FN+F8 command should toggle between LCD/CRT/TV - depending on what it detects.

 

yes... but my question is can i do it without windows...

ie. on bootup

my fujitsu did no problems...

my sony doesnt...

hence i am returning it with the hope of getting the asus (if it does)

this is because I still use DOS and linux... and i need it to work without being software dependant

 

I'm sorry to say but you won't find laptops like that now a days. They'll assume you got windows on by default.

 

is this from opinion or have you physically tried?

seems like a step back...

i called asus aus and they said yeah... laptop will pick up the monitor if you plugged it in prior to boot up and will use it...

so yeah...

can someone just plug it in and try so i know for sure???

i'll be getting a W3J imported now...

 

Yeah, I boot up the computer and the display is mirrored by default. Resolution, unknown. Looks to be very low. Once windows starts up, I loose display on the secondary monitor and i guess driver takes over at this point.

 

cool cool...

as long as something pops up i'm happy...

thanks for answering my question goldserve

 

I have a question on this.

What you described also happened to me. When I boot up, plug in the KVM switch monitor to the laptop, both display showed, but when it got to user logon window, only the laptop screen remain, the external monitor went blank.

What do I need to do in order to use the External Monitor?

Thanks!

 

i can tell you how its with linux. when you boot it, the (vesa) bios has control over the gpu and by default puts the same image on all outputs. so you will see the boot screen and initial os loading.
when the x server is loaded, it uses its own driver (that would be the nvida proprietary module, if you choose to use that), which will be configured in xorg.conf. There you can specify which output(s) will be used. i have my doubts whether the fn key can switch displays on the fly, but if it works, i'd like to hear about it.

 

Thanks for your reply.

So can I manually edit that xorg.conf to set the external monitor as default?

Where can I do that?

Thanks!

 

/etc/X11/xorg.conf

Section "Device"
Driver "nvidia"
Option "UseDisplayDevice" "DFP-0"
Option "ConnectedMonitor" "DFP-0, CRT-0"

as an example. you will have to play with the values. check the nvidia faq or the help files or use google for more info.

 

Sorry, so where is the /etc/X11/xorg.conf?

Do I need to install nvidia driver? I went to this page:
http://www.nvidia.com/content/drivers/drivers.asp

And I am not sure which one to choose in Start Here selections...

Thanks!

 

are we on the same page here? i guess you overlooked the fact that i was referring to linux and not explicitly replying to you. i'm sorry if this was confusing.
i have no idea how to do this in windows, unfortunately.

 

no, we are on different pages. I've figured it out:

See here:
http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?p=2092348#post2092348

Thanks again for your kind help.