Using Dual 4K Monitors Stacked With GNOME

[johanb]

How does workspace shifting function with this setup? Is it basically one "main" screen which handles all of the workspaces and one extra screen which is its own separate workspace?

This is why I don't use Gnome anymore.

Workspaces are worthless on multi-monitor setups in gnome since the workspace is across all monitors, so you cannot change workspaces on each monitor individually.
I really wanted gnome3 to work great for my workflow, but for my multi-monitor setup this was simply the dealbreaker which made it too unproductive.

[Mez']

Can you see and use indicators on the second screen (without extension)? Because I can't.
Can you drag and drop windows in workspaces overview (Activities) from one screen to the other? Because I can't.
Can you simply disable one screen (not duplicate them) from the display manager screen? Because I can't.
Do apps (windows) open on the screen your cursor is currently in? Because it doesn't for me.

Just a quick sample of workflow flaws of Gnome in dual screen mode, and quick examples of why Gnome is terrible workflow wise.

[Zan Lynx]

Can you see and use indicators on the second screen (without extension)? Because I can't.

No indicators, this is true. And I agree it would be a nice option.

Can you drag and drop windows in workspaces overview (Activities) from one screen to the other? Because I can't.

Yes, I can.

Can you simply disable one screen (not duplicate them) from the display manager screen? Because I can't.

Yes. Displays and choose Single Display.

Do apps (windows) open on the screen your cursor is currently in? Because it doesn't for me.

Yes, this seems to work for me.

Note that I'm running Fedora 27 with Gnome 3.26 on Wayland.

[matteo]

@Michael:
Would a Radeon RX 560 be enough to drive this 2 monitors together? And one 4k monitor alone?
My workflow is very similar to the one Michael describes in the article and I am evaluating buying an RX 560 to replace my GTX 660.
Thanks

[Michael]

@Michael:
Would a Radeon RX 560 be enough to drive this 2 monitors together? And one 4k monitor alone?
My workflow is very similar to the one Michael describes in the article and I am evaluating buying an RX 560 to replace my GTX 660.
Thanks

It might be but I personally haven't tried an RX 560 yet with 2 x 4K displays, might be fine for desktop use. I went with NVIDIA for now in my main production system due to needing HDMI/DP Audio and DC not being in mainline at the time I did this install.

[agd5f]

RX560 can drive up to 5 displays depending on the board configuration. Running two 4K displays shouldn't be an issue.

[Mez']

Yes, I can.

Well, I had one monitor turned off and due to windows not going to current cursor screen (as stated), I wanted to drag and drop their tiny thumbnails (to bring them back to turned on screen) in the workspace overview from one screen to another. And I was not able to.

Yes. Displays and choose Single Display.

Indeed, it's my bad. I retried and now got the hang of it, although it's not as intuitive as I was used to. Might also have had a DP cable slightly loose, which didn't allow it to work previously.
I'm happy to finally get to be able to just switch from one screen to the other.

Yes, this seems to work for me.

Note that I'm running Fedora 27 with Gnome 3.26 on Wayland.

Definitely and frustratingly not for me.


Note that I also have the RX 560 4GB (single fan, to keep my HTPC as silent as possible) and I enjoy it (unlike Gnome).

[matteo]

@Michael: Thanks! I use the optical audio out on the mother board, that's why DC is not a problem for me. Now it's nomore for everyone, truth to be told!
@agd5f: Yes I have read that info, but every manufacturer states something different on its website.

Maybe I can grab one used for 90 euro, I will defininetely report how it behaves with my Dell P2715Q monitor. I am looking forward for the 10 bit per color (30 bit color) full enablement on Linux...!

[pal666]

Keybinding is simple. Alt+enter gets you a terminal, Alt+d starts an app, Alt+arrows moves you from tile to tile, and Alt-Shift-arrows moves your selected window around. And if an app freezes and won't quit, Alt+Shift+q kills it.

all those keys are reserved for application use. wm can't just steal apps keys

[pal666]

There's nothing quite like burying everything as many clicks away as possible, hell lets just make desktop icons impossible for fucks sake! Why not, it's just one more excuse to remove everything from one click access.

one click access does not exist when you have fullscreen app. in gnome everything is in 3 clicks: windows, first letter, enter