dual link DVI-D on m9750

What is the resolution of the monitor you are getting? You say it is TFT, is it an LCD? For the last decade, all notebook LCDs and all LCD monitors are TFT.

The DVI connector on the m9750 is probably not dual link. You might be able to attach a dual link connector to it but I doubt if the m9750's DVI has any analog out which you might need if your monitor is extremely high resolution. You might have to communicate with Alienware to find out what you need to know about DVI dual link.

You will be able to turn off your m9750s LCD while your monitor is on.

dt

It isn't dual link, so you'll probably be res limited as many others are who got 30'' monitors to use with their laptops. Typically desktop GPU's today have dual link DVI's but not so much laptops. In fact only macbook pros as far as I know come with dual link DVI.

As far as disabling the actual laptop monitor and using only your external one, yes that is possible. Most likely it's a simple Fn+shortcut or at worst you go in to the Nvidia panel and fool around a little with the options there.

I use an external monitor with my 3 year old Dell notebook and I can toggle from the external monitor to the notebooks LCD using Ctrl ALT.... I set that up in Start Setting ControlPanel Display Settings Advanced Displays ....

dt

I'm assuming you are wanting the Dell 3007WCHC

that's a killer monitor...but we (m9750 owners) will only be able to use that monitor @ discouraging 1280 x 800 resolution since

1. we don't have duel link
2. the dell 3007 I believe only has two resolutions (1 being 2560 x 1600 and the other is 1280 x 800...no scaling unfortunately)

I've been considering the Dell 24" 2407WFP... it seems to be a nice monitor that we can drive at the native resolution.

I use the Dell 24" at work and it is a really nice monitor.
You will not be disapointed.

or go w/ the 2707...very nice or westinghouse 37" 1080p

For using a external monitor as i was considering, will i need to have a TV tuner/out card or what have you installed? I'm new to gaming laptops and was wondering if there was a special feature that needs to come with the book to do this.

For using an external monitor you will need the appropriate output on your laptop. In most cases this is either DVI-D preferably, or the older VGA out port. DVI-D is preferable since it allows for a purely digital signal as opposed to VGA, but should you need to connect to a VGA-input only monitor/TV it is completely backwards compatible. Note that having a VGA out does not mean it can be converted to DVI-D.

Also most televisions today come with HDMI, which again is just another consumer format typically used with televisions because it not only transfers a digital video signal but a digital audio one in the same cable as well. Plus it's a much smaller interface to boot. DVI-D can be easily converted to HDMI, but since DVI only transfers a video signal, you won't be able to transmit audio from a laptop to a television using a DVI-D to HDMI cable.

Assuming you have a gaming laptop, you should hopefully have a DVI-D output, which is typically white and bigger than a VGA one, and should be all set for any current video output needs. Again the exception being the ability to drive display which support a resolution of something greater than 1920 x 1200, for which one would need a dual link DVI output (a rare feature in laptops).

So there's a long winded answer for you. For the most part you're all set and don't need anything else assuming you have a relatively new gaming laptop.

no dual link, but it DOES come with BOTH DVI and VGA

it should. i can check when i get home.

It is my understanding that DVI output is noticably better than VGA. My current notebook powers my 37" monitor which has 1920x1080 resolution and it looks fine but I it could look crisper. Your much higher resolution monitor should look better with VGA than mine unless you use tiny faunts. I use medium faunta and my eyeballs are about 30" from the screen.

dt

i do believe he means fonts

The VGA that comes on most laptops cannot fully display the 2560 x 1600 native resolution. They for the most part tend to top out at 2048 x 1536. So chances are if you even try to use VGA it will either a) not work or b) display a lower resolution scaled to fit the native resolution screen. Either way it won't look as pretty as it could be. DVI over VGA at the same resolution does give a crisper look to it, at least from what I've seen as well.

so has anyone tried to run two monitors w/ SLi disabled? via dvi & vga? I doubt it will work, but it's worth a try =P