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Looking for laptop with dual external monitor support

post #1 of 11
2/9/10 at 12:36pm
Thread Starter 
Hi there. First, the setup:

I'm looking for a new laptop for my wife (and she's just getting into video gaming, so I want to encourage her). She currently has her work laptop and an old desktop set up through a KVM switch with dual monitors, and wants to preserve the dual monitor setup with the new laptop (which would replace the desktop). The monitors are a pair of 19" Samsung LCDs, which have VGA and DVI inputs but not HDMI. We want something that is decent for gaming (e.g. uses something better than basic onboard graphics), but don't need (and can't afford) an enormous Alienware beast. A 15" screen would be ideal.

And now, the questions:

1. Are there any decent gaming laptops that can support dual (VGA/DVI) external monitors, either natively or through a dedicated docking station?

2. If I get an HDMI->DVI or HDMI->VGA adapter, can I use dual external monitors from a laptop with both VGA and HDMI outputs?

3. Are there any "generic" docking stations that will enable this sort of thing, and will the performance be adequate? (I've heard that USB connections to many docking stations hinder monitor performance.)

4. I've looked at the Matrox DualHead2Go as a possible solution, but that effectively makes both monitors into one giant screen. This seems impractical for gaming, as the center of vision would be right in the gap between the two monitors. Any comments?

5. Any other suggestions?

Many thanks in advance!
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post #2 of 11
2/9/10 at 1:32pm
Dual external monitors for you means 2 different desktops setup?

cheers ...
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post #3 of 11
2/9/10 at 1:35pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by qhn View Post
Dual external monitors for you means 2 different desktops setup?
I mean that the laptop is closed, and I'm using two external LCD monitors side-by-side instead of the laptop display, with one big desktop spread over both (not the same desktop cloned on both).
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post #4 of 11
2/9/10 at 1:44pm
Sounds like you need something like the Matrox DualHead 2 Go or TripleHead 2 Go. You can google those, or see them on a site where I first learned about them at Xotic Pc. These aparently use a separate GPU from your notebook. I found the Matrox models on ebay, too, but the ViDock they show was not on ebay when I looked.
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post #5 of 11
2/9/10 at 1:50pm
Of course you mentioned the Matrox DualHead 2 Go.... sorry.
I Have used multiple monitors before on a Mac and know that you can tweak the overlap some on there, just don't know if the Matrox setup allows for that. I would bet it does.

Personally, I like the TripleHead 2 Go since it would give a totally unobstructed middle with plenty of peripheral view.
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post #6 of 11
2/9/10 at 1:59pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by bschoner25 View Post
I mean that the laptop is closed, and I'm using two external LCD monitors side-by-side instead of the laptop display, with one big desktop spread over both (not the same desktop cloned on both).
Tricky here ... need to think a little bit ...

Tend to think the same way Hawx does, an overlapping tweak.

cheers ...
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post #7 of 11
2/9/10 at 2:04pm
Thread Starter 
I'm not worried about the monitor overlap; I just want to make sure I can get the dual monitors working at all. If something like the DualHead2Go allows a game to be fullscreen on one monitor while leaving the other blank (or showing the desktop), that's fine; but if the device treats both monitors as one big desktop, I'm not sure that will be possible.
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post #8 of 11
2/9/10 at 2:12pm
Check this out. looks like you can do just about anything except to compensate for the frame around your monitors. Very cool, still!
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post #9 of 11
2/9/10 at 2:22pm
The new 5000 series video cards from ATI can handle that, so if you get a notebook with multiple video outs and ATI HD 5000 series graphics card, it should work fine.
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post #10 of 11
2/9/10 at 2:24pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Djembe View Post
The new 5000 series video cards from ATI can handle that, so if you get a notebook with multiple video outs and ATI HD 5000 series graphics card, it should work fine.
Eyefinity ... Good one Djembe

cheers ...
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post #11 of 11
2/15/10 at 12:32pm
One thing to consider is what you need to see on that second monitor.

If you can stand it, using the Laptop on a laptop arm alongside the main monitor lets you use the laptop display as a "2nd" and the larger desktop monitor as the "main". I use dual desktop monitors at home and the laptop/desktop monitor setup at work so I understand that it has limitations you may not prefer. Just fuel for thought is all.

Many medium to upper end single video cards can run dual monitors as long as there are dual monitor outs. I'll have to let the others speak as to exactly which ones.

Yet a 3rd thought is that there are USB video adapters (primarily for text and limited somewhat in resolution) that can also work if you run into a limitation on your internal video card.

Bunch of ideas, hope it helps.
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