jedlin.com

The new version of Xorg in Ubuntu 8.10 "Intrepid Ibex" is great.  They have turned the confusing xorg.conf file into something that's pretty easy to work with.

Getting my dual monitors working with my Nvidia GFX260 was simple

1. Install the proprietary Nvidia driver from the "Restricted Drivers Manager"
2. Open up /etc/X11/xorg.conf in your favorite text editor (don't forget sudo)
3. Add in the following lines under the Device section

   • Option    "TwinView"    "True"

   • Option    "TwinViewOrientation"    "RightOf"

4. Save the file and restart X (ctrl+alt+Backspace)
5. You may have to do some tweaking with the orientation line to get your monitors on the correct side

Here is my xorg.conf file:

Section "Screen"
    Identifier    "Default Screen"
    DefaultDepth    24
EndSection

Section "Module"
    Load    "glx"
EndSection

Section "Device"
    Identifier    "Default Device"
    Driver    "nvidia"
    Option    "NoLogo"    "True"
    Option    "TwinView"    "True"
    Option    "TwinViewOrientation"    "RightOf"
EndSection

As you can see, they have made it really simple to deal with.  I managed to get the 3D desktop effects working with no extra hassle, just run glxgears to see if 3D acceleration is working properly.

Points worthy of mention

• The nvidia-settings applet that ships with the nvidia driver was designed for older versions of xorg, do not use this.
• The built in multiple display manager will not work correctly if you have the proprietary Nvidia driver installed