How to Get League on Other Monitor
Honestly, setting up a dual-monitor gaming rig feels like trying to solve a Rubik’s cube blindfolded sometimes. Especially when you just want to get your favorite game, League of Legends, running smoothly on that extra screen without a fuss.
Weeks ago, I spent an entire Saturday wrestling with settings, convinced my monitor was broken, only to find out I’d missed a single checkbox in the game’s display options. It was infuriating. I’ve wasted hours and probably a couple hundred bucks on gear I didn’t need trying to ‘optimize’ my setup, only to realize the fix was laughably simple.
So, let’s cut through the noise and get straight to how to get League on other monitor, the way it should be, without the headache.
Why You Even Want League on a Second Screen
Look, nobody *needs* League of Legends on a second monitor. But once you’ve done it, you’ll wonder how you ever lived without it. Imagine this: your main screen is locked onto the action, the clutch plays, the Baron fight unfolding in glorious HD. Meanwhile, your second screen is your command center. Keep your build guides open. Track your teammates’ item progress. Watch that Twitch stream you’ve been meaning to catch. Or, for the truly masochistic, keep an eye on Discord pings so you don’t miss out on anything. It’s about maximizing efficiency, reducing alt-tabbing frequency, and just generally feeling like you’ve got your digital life in order. I saw one streamer who had a full spreadsheet for jungle tracking on his third monitor – insane, but effective.
This isn’t about being lazy; it’s about having information readily available without disrupting your flow. It’s like having a co-pilot for your gaming sessions. The reduction in context switching alone is worth the effort.
The Actual Steps for Dual Monitor League
Right, let’s get down to brass tacks. The most common way people mess this up is by assuming it’s just like any other application. It’s not. League of Legends has specific display settings that, if ignored, will have you staring at a black screen or the wrong window. First things first, make sure your operating system correctly identifies and enables both of your monitors. Windows or macOS usually handles this automatically when you plug them in, but it’s worth a quick check in your display settings. Right-click on your desktop and go to ‘Display settings’ (or similar on Mac) to confirm both are active and extended. (See Also: How To Switch Monitor Direction )
Now, fire up League. This is where most people stumble. You need to go into the game’s video settings. Look for the ‘Window Mode’ option. This is the absolute lynchpin. You’ll see ‘Fullscreen’, ‘Windowed’, and ‘Borderless Windowed’. Forget ‘Fullscreen’ for multi-monitor setups; it locks the game to one display and makes switching a nightmare. ‘Windowed’ works, but you’ll have that annoying border and the game might not take up the full second screen. The magic word is ‘Borderless Windowed’. Select that. Then, you’ll see a ‘Monitor’ dropdown. This is where you tell League *which* monitor to use. Select your secondary monitor from the list. If you don’t see it, double-check your OS display settings again. Sometimes it takes a restart of the client for the game to recognize newly configured displays. I spent three hours one evening convinced my GPU was dying, only to find this setting was the culprit. Total rookie mistake.
Once that’s set, adjust the resolution to match your secondary monitor’s native resolution. Don’t try to force a 1080p resolution onto a 1440p monitor if you can help it; it’ll look blurry. Apply the settings. If everything is correct, League should pop up on your chosen secondary display. You can then move it back to your primary if you prefer, or keep it there. The key takeaway is ‘Borderless Windowed’ and selecting the correct monitor in-game.
Troubleshooting: When It Doesn’t Work
What if it’s still not showing up? Don’t panic. This is where the real fun begins, or rather, the real frustration. One common issue is your graphics card drivers being out of date. Seriously, this is like the universal fix for half the tech problems you’ll ever encounter. Go to NVIDIA’s or AMD’s website, download the latest drivers for your specific card, and install them. A clean installation is usually best, meaning you uninstall the old ones first. Another thing to check, and this sounds ridiculously simple, is your monitor’s input source. Make sure both monitors are set to the correct HDMI, DisplayPort, or DVI input. I’ve seen people spend ages troubleshooting software when one monitor was just switched to the wrong input setting.
Sometimes, the game itself can get confused. If all else fails, try deleting your League of Legends configuration files. You can usually find these in your Documents folder under ‘League of Legends’ or ‘Riot Games’. Back them up first, just in case. Then, let the game client rebuild them when it next launches. It’s like a hard reset for your game settings. I remember on one occasion, after a particularly nasty patch, my entire UI was messed up, and deleting the config files was the only thing that fixed it. It felt like I was performing digital surgery.
A quick note on performance: running League in borderless windowed mode on a second monitor *can* sometimes have a minor impact on your frame rates compared to exclusive fullscreen. This is because your GPU is technically rendering your desktop environment as well as the game. For most modern systems, the difference is negligible. However, if you’re already pushing your hardware to its absolute limit, you might notice a few dropped frames. If this happens, and it’s really bothering you, you might have to make a choice between optimal performance and the convenience of a second monitor display for League. (See Also: How To Not Play Sound Through Monitor Xbox One )
Common Questions Answered
Can I Play League on Two Monitors at Once?
You can’t play two separate instances of League on two monitors simultaneously. The game client is designed to run as a single application. However, you can absolutely display the game on one monitor while having other applications (like a web browser, Discord, or a guide) open on the second.
Will This Affect My Game Performance?
As mentioned, running in borderless windowed mode might cause a slight performance dip compared to exclusive fullscreen, but it’s usually unnoticeable on most gaming PCs. If you’re experiencing significant frame drops, you might need to lower some in-game graphics settings or consider if the dual-monitor setup is worth the potential performance cost for your specific hardware.
What If League Is on the Wrong Monitor?
In the game’s video settings, ensure ‘Window Mode’ is set to ‘Borderless Windowed’ and then use the ‘Monitor’ dropdown to select your preferred display. If it still doesn’t work, try restarting the League client or your computer, and double-check your operating system’s display settings to ensure both monitors are recognized and extended.
Is ‘borderless Windowed’ the Best Mode for Dual Monitors?
For the vast majority of users wanting to run League on a second monitor, ‘Borderless Windowed’ is the way to go. It allows for easy alt-tabbing, doesn’t have the annoying window border, and prevents the game from minimizing when you click on your other screen. While exclusive fullscreen offers the absolute best performance, it makes interacting with a second monitor cumbersome.
The Table: What Works and What Doesn’t
| Setting | Recommended for Dual Monitor League | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Window Mode | Borderless Windowed | Allows easy interaction with the second monitor without the game minimizing. Provides a full-screen experience on the chosen monitor without the window border. |
| Fullscreen | No | Locks the game to a single display and often minimizes the game when you click on another monitor, making it impractical for dual-setup information display. |
| Windowed | Maybe, but not ideal | Works, but has a visible border and the game might not fill the entire screen, which is less immersive. |
| Monitor Selection | Primary/Secondary (your choice) | Crucial for directing the game output to the specific monitor you want it on. |
| Resolution | Native to the selected monitor | Ensures the sharpest and clearest display. Using a non-native resolution can lead to blurriness. |
| Alt-Tabbing Frequency | Reduced | The whole point for many users; less interruption to your gameplay. |
A Word on Monitor Refresh Rates
Now, let’s talk about something that trips people up: refresh rates. Most people with gaming setups understand the importance of matching monitor refresh rates, but what happens when they’re different? Say you have a 144Hz primary monitor and a 60Hz secondary. If you run League on the 60Hz monitor, your frame rate will be capped at 60fps, even if your primary can do 144fps. This is because, fundamentally, your system is trying to synchronize things. It’s like trying to conduct an orchestra where one violinist is playing at double speed – it just doesn’t work smoothly. Most people don’t realize this, and they just assume the game will run at its full potential on the primary, while the secondary just does its own thing. Nope. For the smoothest experience, ideally, your monitors should have the same or very similar refresh rates, especially if you’re going to be moving the game between them or have them both active with demanding applications. If you have mismatched rates, and League is on the lower-Hz monitor, you’ll be stuck. My buddy Mark spent two weeks complaining about his ‘laggy’ secondary monitor setup until we figured out this very issue. He ended up buying a second 144Hz monitor, and the difference was night and day, not just for League but for everything else he did. (See Also: How To Switch Back Wireless Adapter From Monitor Mode )
This is why, according to a general consensus among PC building enthusiasts I’ve chatted with over the years (and honestly, from my own painful experiments), aiming for identical specs where possible for your main displays just saves headaches down the line. It’s not always about raw processing power, but about how the components talk to each other. A consistent signal across both is key. The visual difference might seem subtle at first, but that buttery smooth scrolling in a browser, or the lack of stutter when dragging windows between screens, adds up.
Conclusion
Getting League of Legends to run on your other monitor isn’t some arcane magic trick. It’s mostly about finding that one setting in the game’s video options that everyone overlooks: ‘Borderless Windowed’ and correctly selecting your monitor. It sounds almost too simple after all the troubleshooting you might have done, doesn’t it?
I’ve seen too many people get bogged down in driver updates and obscure Windows settings when the actual solution was just a few clicks within the League client itself. Don’t be one of them.
So, give ‘borderless windowed’ a shot, pick the right monitor from the dropdown, and you should be golden. If you’re still stuck after that, well, then we can start talking about drivers and config files, but trust me, start with the game’s own settings first.
Seriously, the number of times I’ve had to explain the ‘Borderless Windowed’ setting to people who are convinced their setup is broken is… a lot. It’s the same kind of thing as realizing you’ve been using the wrong size wrench for a job for an hour. Frustrating, but once you know, you know.
Once you’ve got how to get League on other monitor sorted, experiment with what you put on that second screen. Some people swear by having YouTube open, others use dedicated stat-tracking sites. It really comes down to what helps *your* gameplay and enjoyment the most.
Don’t overthink it. Most of the time, it’s the simplest setting change that makes the biggest difference. Just make sure that game is where you want it, and then go dominate some lanes.
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