ATI retained the integrated TMDS controller for digital flat panel support, while adding a separate CRT controller and DAC to create an exceptionally cost effective dual monitor chip. Any two connectors can operate simultaneously, but there's no way to run two digital displays with the Radeon VE at the same time. Rather than writing its own dual monitor utilities, ATI licensed software from workstation veteran Appian Graphics. You set resolution, color depth, and refresh rate using the Windows display properties screen, fine-tuning the results in an ATI specific advanced tab. Once in dual monitor mode, you can easily spread a single application over both monitors using a special maximize button, or choose the presentation-friendly clone mode that displays the identical image on both monitors.
Application support is extensive.
Once you configure an application on either monitor or both, ATI can save these settings and apply them next time you run the program. ATI also provides configurable hot keys for display functions and the ability to control where dialog boxes appear, which is essential for everyday dual monitor use. This result may sound dramatic, but the perceived effect is minimal. For example, when comparing single to dual monitor performance on our 866MHz Pentium III test bed, we noticed no speed difference in text-based applications such as Excel and Word, and just a slight display lag in Photoshop, and then only with extremely large images. Dual monitor 3D performance remained fairly strong, though, with a 3D Winbench score of 58, which was less than a 9-percent dip from its score on a single display.