Dual Monitor setup for Notebook

I would like to have a dual external monitor setup (not including the notebook monitor), to have dual extended monitor, not the cloned one!!..

My notebook has built-in VGA port so there is no problem in connecting a single external monitor but to connect another second external monitor I have no idea..

some where in internet I read a user is using HDMI to DVI adapter to have a dual monitor setup, will this work?.

will my graphics card Nvidia Geforce 105M will able to handle three monitors (including the notebook monitor)?

any Idea?

 

You won't be able to drive 3 monitors with your video card, not a matter of performance, just a matter that your laptop cannot do three monitors without use of something like a USB to VGA adapter. However, driving two externals with the laptop monitor turned off will not be a problem. You can hook one through VGA and the other through HDMI. I run the primary monitor in my office using HDMI.

 

thanks...

using USB to VGA adapter, is there any disadvantage?

 

Yes, very limited bandwidth, it's perfectly fine for mostly static stuff though. You only need the adapter if you want a triple monitor setup.

 

I am currently using 16:10 aspect ratio notebook, but most available LED monitors in market are 16:9 and it is rare to find 16:10 models.. should I stick with 16:10 or go to 16:9 because of availability?

will it be difficult to switch to 16:9 because of stretched display (mostly the text)? also I have no working experience with 16:9 aspect ratio...

 

Nothing will be stretched on the monitor if you select the right resolution. Also, aspect ratio isn't everything, resolution matters too. For example, a monitor at 1920x1080 will still have more vertical real estate than a 1440x900 monitor. Honestly, you get used to it pretty quickly. As long as you do not clone the display, you can set different resolutions on each monitor.

 

what minimum best resolution do you suggest for 19" and 20" monitor?

 

I personally prefer 1920x1080 (forget that for games with your GPU) for the extra screen real estate. Note that the extra horizontal space can come in handy too, for example, you can have a word document and a pdf document side by side. I wouldn't go lower than 1600x900. Of course, if you can find a 1920x1200 monitor that isn't too expensive, you can go for that too.

Here's an example of what i mean.

 

thanks for your time..
one final ques...
what brands you recommend for LED type LCDs?

 

I recommend you go in a store and look at monitors so you can decide what you like best, nothing beats seeing it in person. Personally i have a preference for Asus and LG monitors, but Dell also makes good ones and there are many others that make decent monitors. I'm sure others will have recommendations as well.

 

i dont know if i missed it but why can't he run 2 external and laptop screen if he has VGA and DVI out?

 

He can and i said as much, but he can't run two externals and his laptop monitor simultaneously. He has to settle for two monitors without a USB adapter, can be external + notebook or two externals.

 

again why cant he run all 3? DVI VGA and laptop? You haven't given an answer why he can't

 

First generation of video card that was actually capable of running more than two monitors simultaneously was the HD5000 series. Even then, laptops did not support eyefinity while desktop cards did. The 600 series from nVidia is their first that can do more than two monitors as well. It doesn't matter how much outputs the card has, in the end the card is limited in the number of simultaneous outputs. For example, my desktop GTX570 has two DVI, HDMI and display port, but it still can't do more than two monitors.

Simply a hardware limitation that he can do squat about.

By the way, misread your question, thought you only asked why he couldn't run two externals, missed the part about the built-in display.

 

NP do you know more about it? I dont understand why not....seems more like a driver/lazy build to me If it has 3 ports why not support it...seems odd

 

I do not know the exact details, but it's not driver related, it's down to the architecture of the GPU and something that can't be changed.

The laptop manufacturer decides what ports to implement out of what is available on the GPU that will go in the laptop, if the GPU can do 4 different outputs, it doesn't mean that the manufacturer will use all 4 and it doesn't mean that the GPU can output to those 4 at the same time. For example, a mobility 5870 can do DVI, but very few manufacturers chose to put one, they went for VGA and HDMI instead. Having both VGA and HDMI (or another type of output) gives more versatility and that's the main reason both are present.

 

HP Envy 17 EyeFinity Demo - YouTube

Yes they did support Eyefinity on laptops. It was available on high end 5000-series GPUs only and I think that one had HD5830.

 

Thanks for the link KLF, not all laptops the HD5000 series did though, my G73 can't do 3 monitors. All HD5000 support eyefinity, but not all laptops using them did, that's what i meant although i thought no laptop did, thanks for setting me straight about the envy.

 

AMD Announces New Mobility Radeon – DirectX 11 Goes Mobile (Update) | PC Perspective

It is up to the laptop manufacturer how many monitors are actually supported. Now that I think of it, wasn't G73 available with an nVidia GPU as well? That could have played some role in the initial design.

 

The first G73 was using the mobility 5870, but Asus never implemented eyefinity. I don't think going back to nVidia was planned when they launched the JH, it might have been chosen as a measure of cutting down costs. The JH was very cheap for the hardware it was packing back then.