External monitor for gaming - taxing on the ENVY 14 video card?

I'm considering picking up a second monitor for both gaming and to reduce neck tension and hunching while using my Envy 14. I'm looking at the Dell U2311H but the only thing keeping me from pulling the trigger is the possible tax two monitors might put on the video card while gaming.

Is it possible to disable the laptop display while using the monitor? Will negate any any additional stress on the card by running both displays in mirror (as opposed to running with dual monitors)? Thanks in advance.

 

I'll bet it is. My old Dell's 8600M GT which I used to run on an external monitor with a higher resolution started lagging in in some games after a year and a half of moderate gameplay.

 

I had the same question when I was interested in getting a 32 inch LG TV. you'll notice that on your keyboard there is a hotkey with f4, this enables you to disable the laptop screen to use only the external display, which is a very handy tool, I use it whenever I'm interested in gaming.

The one thing I didn't realize though is just how much more taxing 1080p is on your video card. if you actually multiple out the pixels, 1366x768 (default resolution) = 1,049,088 pixels your video card has to process. Now plug in 1920x1080 = 2,073,600. this means that 1080p places TWICE the workload on your video card over 720p.

So if you get the display, don't be disappointed when you can't play Bad Company 2 at 1080p on medium settings. I have to play it at 1600x900 at medium. what I tend to do on games is go ahead and put the res. on 720p if I have to, then raise the Anti Aliasing to 4x, this usually solves the rough edges that result in the lower resolution.

Hope that was some help

 

when i plug my envy14 on a 1920x1080 monitor I run my games at 1280x768 or 1600x900 depending on how demanding the game is.

If you want to play games on a high res monitor, buy a desktop or a high end expensive laptop.
For less than $500 you can have a desktop that runs all current games on high (provided you build it yourself)

 

I'll be spending more than $500 for a desktop that'll last 5 years or so. Looking into making a rig with at least 2 PCI-E slots that'll allow me to install one more GPU when requirements rise.

 

adamkost: I do have the Dell 2311 external monitor. I think it does tax the graphics more. I bought the monitor for playing movies and video games. When I play Battlefield 2, I play at Medium resolution.

Besides games. Sometimes I have issues with watching videos on it, but only temporary. like at the beginning for a minute or so. then it goes away even if I have 1080p movie.

I think the quality of the Dell monitor is excellent. However, the others might be right. You might need a higher end laptop to handle video/gaming better.

I bought the monitor so I can extend my desktop. I like to work on 2 screens. Best of luck.