Dual-Monitor X.Org Configuration In Under 10 Minutes

If the above title shocks you, you're not alone. I'm still reeling from the fact that I was able to get a dual-monitor xorg.conf with almost no effort. Here's the steps:

1. Check your ATI hardware specs.

   lspci | grep VGA
01:00.0 VGA compatible controller: ATI Technologies Inc M56GL [Mobility FireGL V5200]

2. Download the latest proprietary ATI Radeon driver from ati.amd.com.
3. Quickly scan the documentation.
4. Install the driver.

   chmod +x ati-driver-installer-8-01-x86.x86_64.run
./ati-driver-installer-8-01-x86.x86_64.run

5. Configure X.Org. In my case, I have my external 1600x1200 monitor to the right of my 1400x1050 Thinkpad T60p. Of course, in "stretch" mode, both screens must be at the same resolution.

   aticonfig --dtop=horizontal --overlay-on=1 --mode2=1600x1200 \
    --resolution=0,1600x1200,1400x1050,1280x1024,1024x768 \
    --resolution=1,1600x1200,1400x1050,1280x1024,1024x768

6. Restart X (I just hit CTRL-ALT-BkSp). If that breaks things, there's always CTRL-ALT-F1 to get back to a console.
7. Change wallpaper from Centered to Tiled Maxpect so it's not stretched across both screens.
8. Note the new K Menu entry for ATI Catalyst Control Center.

Thank you, AMD!