Setting dual monitor game machine, 1 CRT and 1 LCD - how to

[Nikoh77]

From my experience the best desktop environment to use is LXDE. This can be installed on any Linux distro.

Yes, i know, i can install it beside mate and start lightdm with this

You’ll need to make sure duel display is setup and working properly,

OK, do you know if is it possible to set dual monitor, 1 CRT 15Khz and 1 standard lcd?

[Alphanu]

Yes, I have had this setup during testing stages.

Steps.

1. Setup both screens using your prefered method. I use Arand and copy the samed output into my .xprofile located in my home folder.

2. type the following in terminal " xrandr | grep " connected" | awk ‘{print$1}’ " the order that the outputs appear should be the index.

So, if VGA-1 is the second in your list ensure that the VGA output is set to display 2. Then set the monitor index in RetroArch to index 2. It may take a little bit of playing around to get it working. However, it is defiantly possible.

[Nikoh77]

Many thanks my friend. CRTSwitchres is a fantastic and very usefull feature

[Nikoh77]

Hi my friend, at the end my RGB (vg2scart) cable is arrived; i just plugged it but nothing appear on tv (black screen)… This is arand screenshot

I configured RA to start games on monitor id “2” and i activated CRTSwitchres (at 15khz) but still nothing appear; the game start (i can listen). Can you help me please???

[Alphanu]

Can you run " xrandr " in terminal and paste the output here?

[Nikoh77]

Hi, this is xradr output:

Screen 0: minimum 8 x 8, current 3584 x 1440, maximum 16384 x 16384 DVI-I-0 disconnected (normal left inverted right x axis y axis) DVI-I-1 disconnected (normal left inverted right x axis y axis) DP-0 disconnected (normal left inverted right x axis y axis) DP-1 connected primary 2560x1440+0+0 (normal left inverted right x axis y axis) 553mm x 311mm 2560x1440 59.95*+ 2048x1152 60.00
1920x1200 59.88
1920x1080 60.00 59.94 50.00 29.97 25.00 23.98
1680x1050 59.95
1600x1200 60.00
1280x1024 75.02 60.02
1280x720 60.00 59.94 50.00
1200x960 59.90
1152x864 75.00
1024x768 75.03 60.00
800x600 75.00 60.32
720x576 50.00
720x480 59.94
640x480 75.00 59.94 59.93
VGA-1-1 connected 1024x576+2560+0 (normal left inverted right x axis y axis) 0mm x 0mm 1024x576x24.96 49.92* 800x576x24.96 49.92
720x576x25.00 50.00
PAL 768x288 (50Hz) 50.00
PAL 720x288 (50Hz) 50.00
NTSC 720x240 (60Hz) 59.94
NTSC 640x240 (60Hz) 59.94
512x288_50,0Hz 15,7KHz (60Hz) 50.00
HDMI-1-1 disconnected (normal left inverted right x axis y axis) HDMI-1-2 disconnected (normal left inverted right x axis y axis) 700x480_59.94 (0x29d) 13.850MHz -HSync -VSync Interlace h: width 700 start 742 end 801 total 867 skew 0 clock 15.97KHz v: height 480 start 490 end 496 total 533 clock 59.94Hz CRT6_2560x224_50.00 (0x2a6) 49.767MHz -HSync -VSync h: width 2560 start 2666 end 2859 total 3180 skew 0 clock 15.65KHz v: height 224 start 260 end 263 total 313 clock 50.00Hz CRT7_2560x480_60.00 (0x2a7) 50.848MHz -HSync -VSync Interlace h: width 2560 start 2666 end 2859 total 3180 skew 0 clock 15.99KHz v: height 480 start 490 end 496 total 533 clock 60.00Hz CRT8_2560x240_60.00 (0x2a8) 49.799MHz -HSync -VSync h: width 2560 start 2666 end 2859 total 3180 skew 0 clock 15.66KHz v: height 240 start 242 end 245 total 261 clock 60.00Hz CRT13_2560x240_60.00 (0x2af) 49.799MHz -HSync -VSync h: width 2560 start 2666 end 2859 total 3180 skew 0 clock 15.66KHz v: height 240 start 242 end 245 total 261 clock 60.00Hz CRT3_2560x240_60.00 (0x2b8) 49.799MHz -HSync -VSync h: width 2560 start 2666 end 2859 total 3180 skew 0 clock 15.66KHz v: height 240 start 242 end 245 total 261 clock 60.00Hz

Now I did some tests, i have installed some modelines and now i can see the desktop on my CRT but whe i start RA refresh rate change on the fly but not resolution… For example, if i set an interlaced resolution and i launch a game (any game) the resolution dont change…

[Nikoh77]

@Alphanu still append modelines on HDMI-1-2 disconnected (CRT27, CRT25, CRT24 etc. etc.) is RA that wrong output?

Screen 0: minimum 8 x 8, current 3328 x 1440, maximum 16384 x 16384 DVI-I-0 disconnected (normal left inverted right x axis y axis) DVI-I-1 disconnected (normal left inverted right x axis y axis) DP-0 disconnected (normal left inverted right x axis y axis) DP-1 connected primary 2560x1440+0+0 (normal left inverted right x axis y axis) 553mm x 311mm 2560x1440 59.95*+ 2048x1152 60.00
1920x1200 59.88
1920x1080 60.00 59.94 50.00 29.97 25.00 23.98
1680x1050 59.95
1600x1200 60.00
1280x1024 75.02 60.02
1280x720 60.00 59.94 50.00
1200x960 59.90
1152x864 75.00
1024x768 75.03 60.00
800x600 75.00 60.32
720x576 50.00
720x480 59.94
640x480 75.00 59.94 59.93
VGA-1-1 connected 768x288+2560+0 (normal left inverted right x axis y axis) 0mm x 0mm 1024x576x24.96 49.92
800x576x24.96 49.92
720x576x25.00 50.00
PAL 768x288 (50Hz) 50.00* PAL 720x288 (50Hz) 50.00
NTSC 720x240 (60Hz) 59.94
NTSC 640x240 (60Hz) 59.94
512x288_50,0Hz 15,7KHz (60Hz) 50.00
HDMI-1-1 disconnected (normal left inverted right x axis y axis)

HDMI-1-2 disconnected (normal left inverted right x axis y axis) 700x480_59.94 (0x29d) 13.850MHz -HSync -VSync Interlace h: width 700 start 742 end 801 total 867 skew 0 clock 15.97KHz v: height 480 start 490 end 496 total 533 clock 59.94Hz CRT6_2560x224_50.00 (0x2a6) 49.767MHz -HSync -VSync h: width 2560 start 2666 end 2859 total 3180 skew 0 clock 15.65KHz v: height 224 start 260 end 263 total 313 clock 50.00Hz CRT7_2560x480_60.00 (0x2a7) 50.848MHz -HSync -VSync Interlace h: width 2560 start 2666 end 2859 total 3180 skew 0 clock 15.99KHz v: height 480 start 490 end 496 total 533 clock 60.00Hz CRT8_2560x240_60.00 (0x2a8) 49.799MHz -HSync -VSync h: width 2560 start 2666 end 2859 total 3180 skew 0 clock 15.66KHz v: height 240 start 242 end 245 total 261 clock 60.00Hz CRT13_2560x240_60.00 (0x2af) 49.799MHz -HSync -VSync h: width 2560 start 2666 end 2859 total 3180 skew 0 clock 15.66KHz v: height 240 start 242 end 245 total 261 clock 60.00Hz CRT3_2560x240_60.00 (0x2b8) 49.799MHz -HSync -VSync h: width 2560 start 2666 end 2859 total 3180 skew 0 clock 15.66KHz v: height 240 start 242 end 245 total 261 clock 60.00Hz CRT1_2560x240_60.00 (0x2bd) 49.799MHz -HSync -VSync h: width 2560 start 2666 end 2859 total 3180 skew 0 clock 15.66KHz v: height 240 start 242 end 245 total 261 clock 60.00Hz CRT2_2560x240_60.00 (0x2be) 49.799MHz -HSync -VSync h: width 2560 start 2666 end 2851 total 3180 skew 0 clock 15.66KHz v: height 240 start 242 end 245 total 261 clock 60.00Hz CRT4_2560x240_60.00 (0x2bf) 49.799MHz -HSync -VSync h: width 2560 start 2666 end 2835 total 3180 skew 0 clock 15.66KHz v: height 240 start 242 end 245 total 261 clock 60.00Hz CRT5_2560x240_60.00 (0x2c0) 49.799MHz -HSync -VSync h: width 2560 start 2666 end 2827 total 3180 skew 0 clock 15.66KHz v: height 240 start 242 end 245 total 261 clock 60.00Hz CRT6_2560x240_60.00 (0x2c1) 49.799MHz -HSync -VSync h: width 2560 start 2666 end 2883 total 3180 skew 0 clock 15.66KHz v: height 240 start 242 end 245 total 261 clock 60.00Hz CRT7_2560x240_60.00 (0x2c2) 49.799MHz -HSync -VSync h: width 2560 start 2666 end 2875 total 3180 skew 0 clock 15.66KHz v: height 240 start 242 end 245 total 261 clock 60.00Hz CRT9_2560x240_60.00 (0x2c3) 49.799MHz -HSync -VSync h: width 2560 start 2666 end 2859 total 3180 skew 0 clock 15.66KHz v: height 240 start 242 end 245 total 261 clock 60.00Hz CRT10_2560x240_60.00 (0x2c4) 49.799MHz -HSync -VSync h: width 2560 start 2666 end 2851 total 3180 skew 0 clock 15.66KHz v: height 240 start 242 end 245 total 261 clock 60.00Hz CRT11_2560x240_60.00 (0x2c5) 49.799MHz -HSync -VSync h: width 2560 start 2666 end 2843 total 3180 skew 0 clock 15.66KHz v: height 240 start 242 end 245 total 261 clock 60.00Hz CRT12_2560x240_60.00 (0x2c6) 49.799MHz -HSync -VSync h: width 2560 start 2666 end 2835 total 3180 skew 0 clock 15.66KHz v: height 240 start 242 end 245 total 261 clock 60.00Hz CRT14_2560x240_60.00 (0x2c7) 49.799MHz -HSync -VSync h: width 2560 start 2666 end 2883 total 3180 skew 0 clock 15.66KHz v: height 240 start 242 end 245 total 261 clock 60.00Hz CRT15_2560x240_60.00 (0x2c8) 49.799MHz -HSync -VSync h: width 2560 start 2666 end 2827 total 3180 skew 0 clock 15.66KHz v: height 240 start 242 end 245 total 261 clock 60.00Hz CRT16_2560x240_60.00 (0x2c9) 49.799MHz -HSync -VSync h: width 2560 start 2666 end 2835 total 3180 skew 0 clock 15.66KHz v: height 240 start 242 end 245 total 261 clock 60.00Hz CRT17_2560x240_60.00 (0x2ca) 49.799MHz -HSync -VSync h: width 2560 start 2666 end 2843 total 3180 skew 0 clock 15.66KHz v: height 240 start 242 end 245 total 261 clock 60.00Hz CRT18_2560x240_60.00 (0x2cb) 49.799MHz -HSync -VSync h: width 2560 start 2666 end 2851 total 3180 skew 0 clock 15.66KHz v: height 240 start 242 end 245 total 261 clock 60.00Hz CRT19_2560x240_60.00 (0x2cc) 49.799MHz -HSync -VSync h: width 2560 start 2666 end 2859 total 3180 skew 0 clock 15.66KHz v: height 240 start 242 end 245 total 261 clock 60.00Hz CRT20_2560x240_60.00 (0x2cd) 49.799MHz -HSync -VSync h: width 2560 start 2666 end 2867 total 3180 skew 0 clock 15.66KHz v: height 240 start 242 end 245 total 261 clock 60.00Hz CRT21_2560x240_60.00 (0x2ce) 49.799MHz -HSync -VSync h: width 2560 start 2666 end 2875 total 3180 skew 0 clock 15.66KHz v: height 240 start 242 end 245 total 261 clock 60.00Hz CRT22_2560x240_60.00 (0x2cf) 49.799MHz -HSync -VSync h: width 2560 start 2666 end 2883 total 3180 skew 0 clock 15.66KHz v: height 240 start 242 end 245 total 261 clock 60.00Hz CRT23_2560x240_60.00 (0x2d0) 49.799MHz -HSync -VSync h: width 2560 start 2666 end 2827 total 3180 skew 0 clock 15.66KHz v: height 240 start 242 end 245 total 261 clock 60.00Hz CRT24_2560x240_60.00 (0x2d1) 49.799MHz -HSync -VSync h: width 2560 start 2666 end 2835 total 3180 skew 0 clock 15.66KHz v: height 240 start 242 end 245 total 261 clock 60.00Hz CRT25_2560x240_60.00 (0x2d2) 49.799MHz -HSync -VSync h: width 2560 start 2666 end 2843 total 3180 skew 0 clock 15.66KHz v: height 240 start 242 end 245 total 261 clock 60.00Hz CRT27_2560x240_60.00 (0x2d4) 49.799MHz -HSync -VSync h: width 2560 start 2666 end 2859 total 3180 skew 0 clock 15.66KHz v: height 240 start 242 end 245 total 261 clock 60.00Hz

[Nikoh77]

And this is my xorg configuration file:

https://pastebin.com/JJckFpnj

[Nikoh77]

And this is debug in when i run RA from terminal: https://pastebin.com/dreLEdFQ Firs error fixed by install xfonts-100dpi & 75dpi but others??? Thanks.

[Alphanu]

Yes this is an issue with the monitor index in RetroArch looking at you Xrandr output your monitor index for your CRT is index 4. If you have tried this, you make need to setup fake resolutions for outputs 1 and 2 (DVI-I-0 and DVI-I-1) so that your Video card out put is that same as the virtual index, index 4.

I hope this helps

[Nikoh77]

To solve the problem i need to understand more…

Wy my VGA is index 4? On my xrandr, before VGA there is:

DVI-I-0 (one), DVI-I-1(two), DP-0(three), DP-1(four), so VGA-1-1 is five?!?!

The physical ports on my pc are:

• 1 DVI + 1 DP on my nvidia video card
• 1DVI + 1HDMI + 1 D-SUB on my embedded intel video card

Primary monitor is connected on DP and CRT on D-SUB

I have also tried with .xprofile conf file (following your instructions) but same errors/problem

Please help me to understand the workaround…

Many thanks

P.S. Why refresh rate switch on the fly but not resolution (if RA wrong monitor index)?

[Nikoh77]

still the same error in terminal: https://pastebin.com/Sp6uWeDB

The modelines are created on the fly, i can see at the bottom of my xrandr output but not applied… https://pastebin.com/arbj05qV

[Alphanu]

Leave your monitor index on 0. this will change the resolution of all connected displays. Does this work?

[Nikoh77]

Yes, you can see here: https://www.dropbox.com/s/xedoazekj7sbdju/2019-12-10%2015.59.44.mp4?dl=0

[Alphanu]

Leave it on Auto, Then go through each index until RetroArch arrears on your CRT. Once this happens this is the index you need to set you CRT too using Arandr.

[Nikoh77]

@Alphanu sorry, really sorry but i still don’t understand… When i set index 2 on RA it switch on my crt, but we already knew this.

Once this happens this is the index you need to set you CRT too using Arandr.

so what should I do?

With Arandr a can arrange monitors, change resolution, orientation, set primary but not change or manipolate index…

[Alphanu]

you will need to reorder your outputs using the following xrandr --output VGA-1-1 --mode 1024x768 --left-of DVI-I-1 or xrandr --output VGA-1-1 --mode 1024x768 --right-of DVI-I-0

Using any resolution you want. Place this in your .xprofile it should then place your VGA-1-1 as the second output.

[Nikoh77]

Done, but same errors on verbose… the resolution don’change, is fixed desktop resolution, only the refresh change, i can see on screen…

You can see: https://www.dropbox.com/s/h8ibhhk5n2nnqg3/2019-12-10%2018.43.58.mp4?dl=0

[Alphanu]

Ah yes that does lock the desktop res. Try to position the others instead.

xrandr --output DVI-I-1 --mode 1024x768 --right-of VGA-1-1

xrandr --output DP1 --mode 1024x768 --right-of DVI-I-1

xrandr --output HDMI-1-1 --mode 1024x768 --right-of DP-1

xrandr --output HDMI-1-2 --mode 1024x768 --right-of HDMI-1-1

This should move everything to the right of VGA-1-1 except DVI-I-0 making it output 2.

Let me know if this works for you.

[Nikoh77]

Done, nothing change… here RA verbose on terminal: https://pastebin.com/E6PNcRv1

here my .xprofile: https://pastebin.com/RJ7Fe8AY

and here xrandrr output: https://pastebin.com/gb2pgX2Y

As you can see, "xrandr: cannot find mode “CRT1_2560x240_59.63"” is due to this resolution is created “under” HDMI-1-2, not “under” VGA-1-1

But this is just my idea…

what do you think?