Need advice moving to external monitor + keyboard

Hi guys,

I'm gonna get a 23" dell monitor for my birthday (yay!!! ) and I wanted to get some advice / ask some questions.

1. My M860TU will handle the 2048 x 1152 resolution fine, right?
2. My DVI port is permanently connected to a VGA adapter wired to my old TV, will I be able to have my external monitor hooked to the HDMI port without having to disconnect the DVI port?
3. When my monitor will be connected via HDMI, will I still be able to output sound to my sound system via SPIDF?
4. I noticed that when I extend my display to my TV via DVI (dual display), the video card locks itself to max clock and idles 10C warmer, will it be the same with my HDMI monitor? If I single-display to my HDMI monitor, will powermizer work properly?
5. Any comments about the 4xUSB hub and webcam on this monitor? Do they work properly? Have you heard any bad comments about them?

I'm planning to move my laptop to the corner of my desk and get an external keyboard. I want it to be slim, slick design, responsive, and low profile keys. I play shooters on occasion so i want the keyboard to be able to respond to multi strokes like a+w+space.

6. What's your opinion on bluetooth keyboard? They wont work until the OS has started right (cant access bios)?
7. Any recommendations on going for or avoiding 2.4ghz wireless keyboards?
8. Any brands/models to recommend? Since I'll be asking one as a gift my budget is pretty high. I was looking at this Enermax, the Logitech K340, and this Logitech diNovo

I know there's a lot of questions, feel free to post whatever piece of info you can provide! Thanks!

 

1) You should be fine, 260M supports a higher resolution and I can't imagine the motherboard limiting that

 

i did some more shopping and i think i've settled for the Logitech Illuminated Keyboard. I've read a lot of reviews in which people say they've used it for gaming and havent notice any ghosting... a few people did though. But to me the slim design and laptop keyboard feeling is more important than 1 billion programmable keys and anti-ghosting technology. Let me know if you have info that could influence my choice!

 

I use an external hdmi monitor, and my powermizer only downclocks from 4-3, but when i switch to my laptop screen it goes 4-3-2-1. Its weird that it doesnt go all the way down, and it frustrates me.

 

All nVidia GPUs (and I think ATIs too) will lock to high performance when running dual screens.

 

Mine doesnt lock to high performance, it does down clock from 4-3. And my laptop screen is off, so I'm not running duel screens. My laptop is closed just acting as my desktop

 

I would stay away from bluetooth, they tend to have lag that is noticeable. I just got out of a bluetooth mouse that seemed pretty good for the two years I used it, but I went with a Logitech anywhere mouse MX, and I was blown away at how much more responsive the mouse is now.

If you get a Logitech keyboard they come with a unifying mini dongle, so if you were to get a Logitech mouse you would only need to use one dongle. Also the dongle is very small and unobtrusive.

The build quality of Logitech stuff is actually pretty good. A good part of what Logitech does is keyboards and mice, so you can count on them knowing what they are doing.

 

hmmm that's a real bummer have you tried bugging nvidia about it? is is a bug or just the way it was meant to be?

thanks for everyone's input, much appreciated. I got the logitech illuminated keyboard from newegg, it should come in today (next business day, these guys are fast!)

expected delivery for the Dell monitor is april 19th... is that a joke or something? how can one company deliver goods next business day and the other one take over a month to do so? i got so excited by the price on this monitor i forgot how bad a company Dell was

 

Yeh, ive bugged nvidia and also on their forums for laptops having some issues w/ their drivers. They need to get their crap together for the most part

 

damn... same bug with dvi output?

 

yeh, i mean at least its not running full clocks all the time it downclocks once, i just wish it would downclock all the way.. bah