NP900X4C mini-VGA to VGA dongle. Where can I find it? Does the model allow 3 monitors?

I called to my nation's Samsung support, I got a "go to samsungparts.com" response.

I went there and tried to find it, but I couldn't. I'm from Mexico, but I'm just looking to get that dongle already... one of my main problems is that I don't know the model number of the dongle. Pretty much all I find is hdmi to vga and such.

I got one monitor with the micro hdmi to hdmi already. In order to use my other monitor I need to take advantage of the mini vga port. As far as I'm aware, the intel card included with the model supports 3 monitors... If anyone is doing this already, I would appreciate a confirmation

I got the laptop as a present and the rule was to not sell it or anything. Plus, other than the mini-vga, I think it is a pretty neat laptop.

This is my first thread here. I hope I didn't break any rules or anything.

 

Micro HDMI, Micro VGA, and the notebook LCD screen is three monitors. I have not tested it because I don't have the micro VGA adapter.

 

You can try eBay if that works for you, they have a few on there:

samsung vga dongle | eBay

Otherwise here's a quick Google shopping search: Samsung VGA adapter 15 pin HD D-Sub (HD-15) - female - PC


As far as I know it's the same dongle as the one used on the Samsung Series 7 laptops.

 

This post summarises the display dongle options.

On paper, the Intel HD4000 graphics can support 3 displays but I don't recall reading that anyone has done it. The Samsung mini-VGA to VGA dongle has been hard to find.

John

 

You could of bought this mini-VGA to VGA if they weren't out of stock and as far as multi-screen there are device such as Graphics eXpansion Modules like the Matrox, but I have seen other devices which are scalable and can run more screen off one computer/laptop, but it's been a while and I have no idea of brand name or site address.

 

I got the VGA dongle (thanks to yjgfikl, I ordered from one of the ebay results).
Samsung IT AA-AV1N12B/US Chronos Series 7 VGA Dongle | eBay
The dongle works fine, however, the laptop is only allowing 2 displays at a time. So, I can either go with my two external monitors on 1080p each (one is HDMI and the other is VGA) or I have to go with one external and the one from the laptop (1600x900).

I did check before ordering to see if I was supposed to be able to use three displays: ARK | Intel® Core
According to the description, I'm supposed to run 3 displays no problems. I also found a video on YouTube of someone using a laptop and running the same configuration that I'm trying to use (although it isn't the same laptop model, it is the same Intel HD 4000 graphics card).

So, my guess is that this is a matter of configuration or drivers. I am actually using Windows 8 on this laptop (the laptop was a gift from MS and they thought it would be nice to give it with Windows 8...), so I'm wondering if this could be the problem. I checked, and it seems that I'm using the exact same driver that Windows 7 uses for this model, so I don't think W8 is the issue here.

Anyone has an idea? Thanks a lot! I managed to get the dongle thanks for your help.

 

I can't help on the matter of why 3 displays wont work except to suggest that you may get more help from Intel than from Samsung.

However, I am interest to know if you can see any difference in display quality between HDMI and VGA.

John

 

I would try Windows 7.

 

Minor differences, but nothing that you would really complain about. I have to really pay attention to it to actually notice it. Refresh rates while watching full hd movies are pretty good and the colors are ok.

Plus, my HDMI monitor is a bit better than my CRT one. HDMI is a Samsung 27'' LED (350 series), while the other one is an AOC 21.5'' LED (e2243Fw). In conclusion, I think you won't mind the quality; at least I know I don't.

Just for the sake of it: Right now I use the external monitors with a wireless keyboard and wireless mouse, together with a surround system (I use a usb adapter for the 5.1). I stopped feeling the need for the three monitors pretty soon, although it would have been nice... I won't try going to Windows 7, I have a considerable amount of installed sofware and configuring all of it for development has been time consuming.

If anyone ever tries the three monitors in Windows 7, share it

 

Mambook, can you try to boot any recent linux live cd and report if it will recognize all three monitors.

Personally I am interested in using 2560x1440 via the VGA port as HDMI will be limited to 1080 on most monitors. The latest 1.3 and 1.4 HDMI standards should support high resolution modes but I am not sure if Samsung have implemented them on the Series 9 laptops.

 

VGA is an analog signal and would tend to degrade at such a high resolution. The micro-HDMI spec only includes support up to 1080. Many people would have liked Samsung to have gone down the DisplayPort route with the Series 9.

John

 

I'm running dual externals at 1080p (identical monitors). The clarity of the text and the quality of the color from the VGA dongle are quite noticeably (and expectedly) less than that from the micro-HDMI port. Due to limitations of Windows XP, I've run similar digital/analog dual setups on other computers; I would say the VGA quality is very similar/identical to what I experienced with those setups, so it's not really a big surprise one way or the other. I wouldn't want to be reading any long passages of small text, but the additional screen real estate is still very useful.

As for a 3 monitor setup . . . I've tried basic fiddling via the user-facing graphic options, but I can't get it to work either. All 3 display units are detected, but only 2 can be selected to be active at a time. It's both baffling and frustrating. If anyone is successfully running 2 externals + onboard display, I'd be grateful for details on how you got it to work.

 

Most Samsung laptops haven been limited to two active monitors at a time: Either two external monitors, or the internal plus one external. The exception is the NP700G7C and possibly the NP700Z7C (not sure about that). I am almost certain that limitation applies to all Series 9 models so far.

It appears the limitation is partly due to how the Intel HD4000 is implemented. See the thread linked below for more details:

http://forum.notebookreview.com/samsung/722171-series-7-770-z7e-video-questions.html

 

Thanks for the response. If I recall correctly, I snagged my 900X4C right around release, and the Ivy bridge/HD4000 were still pretty new. I remember reading about the HD4000 supporting multiple monitors, and I guess I assumed I would be able to run 2 externals + onboard. Wishful thinking I suppose.

 

No, I think you were right that the HD4000 itself DOES support more than two monitors; but the way the chipset is implemented in most laptops doesn't allow for it. That thread I linked has details on that.

I am not 100% on this, it would be great if I am wrong. I think the 2013 Series 7 models saw some improvement in this area, and possibly the new Series 9 / AB9 as well.