Has anyone had any success in connecting two external monitors to their M17x?

I tried this with two VGA splitters but that failed. So now I am thinking about using the DVI splitter I saw at Frys ($90) and wondering if that will work. Anyone else tried this with success?

 

i've never personally done it myself but i know of users here who did.
Not sure who though, you might want to try the official m17x-r2 thread for that question.

 

Do you know where or how I can find that thread?

 

Search the forums for "eyefinity", but that is an ATI conversation, and you seem to have nVidia cards. Long story short, they were able to make it work if you turned off crossfire, and I think it is the same with SLI. I know it sucks, but that is how I got it to work on mine.

 

I was able to hook up two Samsung monitors to mine with the 260m's and with SLI enabled, used the VGA and DisplayPort, wasn't able to use the laptop screen at the same time though.

 

Don't use splitters. If you have two VGA monitors then use adapters to convert HDMI or DisplayPort to VGA.

Also note that without Eyefinity (i.e. ATI Cards) you'll max out at two displays total at any time. That means that two external monitors -or- one external plus the laptop display.

-Byshop

 

Well I finally found an adapter that allows me to use my two 23inch LCDs with my M17x and I gotta say it is freaking awesome! It is challenging on my neck as I am pushing my multitasking skills to their limits lol

Oh and the salesman at Computer Stop/Hard Drives NW surprised me when he told me that he didn't know that laptops could have SLI config!! Where has he been, I have been using SLI on laptops since 2007....

 

Koolos chiefs.

Got any pics of your setup?

I was thinking about getting a 2nd 24inch and doing the same setup.

Cheers.

 

Please share, how did u do it?

 

Well after trying three different adapters from Frys I was ready to give up. I was out shopping with my wife and she went to a Ross store. In the same complex of stores was a local computer store called Computer Stop-Harddrives NW. I had not been there in over a year so thought I would see what they had. I was just browsing when this Cables Unlimited product ($79), the last one in the store caught my eye. So I asked a sales rep if it would work with Win7 and he said it would that he had already sold some to Win7 cutomers and they said it did indeed work. Even though he showed his lack of experience with the comment about Sli config on laptops, I mean who works in computer stores that doesn't know that laptops can be config for Sli, lol, I decided to give the multi-monitor one more try.

When I got home, I installed the driver and was very pleased when it worked. I have my Samsung 23 inch monitor connected to the HDMI port and the Dell 23 inch connected to the USB port by the Cables Unlimited driver/software/adapter. The Cables Unlimited states that you can attach up to six monitors, lol, that would be overkill but the three fit nicely on my desk (third one being the lappy). I will have pictures up shortly.

 

Lol, I went to BestBuy looking for an HDMI cable - for a tv. I asked the guy in the TV section where I would find one and he says to me, "I'm not sure where that is, I don't know pc's. I'm a Mac Guy."

I about died laughing.

 

Oh cool chiefs that sounds great.

I actually ordered one of those gadget things from ebay last time but it never got delivered. Lost in the mail or something.

I wonder if I can just hook up an LCD through HDMI and another monitor through the display port or VGA port. It should work ey? Then I could get like 2 extended screens or something. I guess I should give that a go one day. Will be nice to see the pics of your setup. Thanks Chief.

I'm guessing that you tried last time to connect 2 monitors but had to break up the SLi in order to do so. I remember hearing or reading somewhere that Crossfire and SLi have to be broken up or something like that before each monitor can be individually connected. Correct me if I'm wrong.

I'll probably get another 24 inch or just save up for a 32 or 40inch LED. hmmmmsssssssss......

That Eyefinity sure looks awesome though oles!

Cheers.

 

I use a 24" external on the HDMI port and another 24" external on the VGA port. No problems at all with this setup.

The only limitation is that the internal screen on the laptop itself will shut off when two external displays are connected. In other words - you can have a maximum of two displays in any combination.

This is the R2 (nobody has said if they are discussing R1 or R2 here).

 

I've been able to connect two monitors (2x21' Samsung) using the displayport and hdmi. It does disconnect the laptop screen though. From what I read the cards only have enough power to drive two screens. It worked fine with SLI and everything. That was on my R1 and 260m's.

 

I am using all three screens with Sli enabled and I have an R1.

 

I have a single HD 5870 in my M17x R2.

I have successfully hooked up (3) 24" dell monitors. (laptop LCD turned off)

Each monitor runs 1920x1200 resolution. so, 5760 x 1200.

No adapters necessary.

1 monitor using VGA
1 monitor using HDMI
1 monitor using DisplayPort ( purchased cable on ebay for like $6 cause I didn't have one)

The OSD program crashes but all it does is disables your touch buttons.

The ATI Control Center pretty much did everything automatically with no problems.

 

Ah cool thanks guys for the super duper quick responses. I might have a think about it then. Dell had a really nice offer with their 24inch LED screen this past week. $198 wing wangs. So $100 wing wangs off. I was seriously considering it. However I was also thinking I might just wait for a bigger LED tele combo screen. Hmmmssssss.

Cheers.

 

Oh wow chiefs.

Nice nice. Awesomes. Looks like I have another option LOL. ehehehehehe

WOW three 24inch monitors side by side HMMMmmmmm ehehehehehe

Cheers.

 

Here is a picture:

 

Looks like you may be using a splitter for the HDMI. If so, is it powered?

 

That's awesome! I could never get mine to work like that. When ever I used both the HDMI and DisplayPort my screen and vga would turn off. Might have something to do with you using ATI.

 

I was using a monoprice USB 2.0 display adapter. I say used because I am selling my monitors. I am just gonna have a large one instead of 2. Probably big enough to have the laptop closed or something. I haven't made up my mind yet.

Anyway, I believe Blazertrek50 is using DisplayLink software. All those devices use it and you don't have to disable crossfire with the R1 or R2 (4870's) like you do when you use the 5870's. The obvious downside, however, is that the USB monitors are no good gaming. Everything else is not perfect, but pretty good.

This is what mine used to look like:



Congrats on the setup dude.

 

Seriously I never bother asking most sales reps at Best Buy about computers as they are clueless. Frys is somewhat better. but mostly I ask my IT friends as I have much more basic knowledge then most sales reps in computer selling stores..unfortunately.

That is hilarious though. Did you explain why you were laughing at his statement to him?

 

You are correct that is what I am using. I have yet to try and play a game on it, but have noticed that the link software does use some resources (about 7%). I am getting back into WoW this weekend (to prepare for the expansion) and was thinking that I would disconnect my external monitors when I play. Does have the second external monitor add more lagg time to the game?

I like your setup as it is almost seemless. What sizes are the external monitors? 19 or 20 inches?

 

Nope not using a splitter, display link with driver software and it is not powered.

 

I've had my R2, my 720p projector vga, and 720p tv hdmi>dvi all hooked up at the same time. It was totally impratical for doing anything.

 

I have noticed a little delay at times while doing my online school work however much of that is due to the City University lousy website.... I will do some game testing soon.

 

Envy you guys for being able to do this. I 100% positive I can't do this with my 2 LCD's atm. I have two 3007 not being use but with the dual link it's not going to happen. Anyone have any suggestions?

 

What I meant to say about gaming is that gaming on all three monitors is not supported. 1. Because 4870's have no Eyefinity, and 2) USB is too slow for it.

You can play on your M17x display or on your extended display (the one connected directly to the cards via HDMI, or VGA, etc) without any issues like lag or slowdowns. You don't have to unplug your monitors to play. The USB monitor is powered mostly by the CPU anyway.

The monitors are only 17in (1440x900). They had to be because that's the size of the display and wanted the seamless look. I only used it for multitasking so the different resolutions didn't bother me. One of them was usually streaming some video most the time so it worked out better because at the monitor's native resolution it looked pretty good. If you use applications that span over the displays, then my setup would be inconvenient, yours on that case would be better.

I guess it all depends on what you want to do.

By the way, I still have one of the monitors left in case someone... (hint)

 

Matrox DualHead2Go or TripleHead2Go will do this.

 

I guess but depending on the resolution you need you are looking at $200 to $350 with Matrox, as opposed to $40 on average for one of those USB devices.

 

I ebay'ed my triplehead2go recently.

It cannot do 3x 1920x1200. (5760 x 1200)

Maximum resolution is 3x 1680 x 1050. (5040 x 1050)

The fonts become hard to read if you are using 24" 1920x1200 native monitors.

It was unusable for me unfortunately.

I was using this with my Sager NP9262 8800m GTX SLI and it was working ok but this eyefinity business is perfect.

TripleHead2Go is a great way of using an SLI non-eyefinity set up on a laptop and running huge resolutions on games that support it.

I think it is a bit outdated technology now though.

 

Currently running a 28" over hdmi and 23" over VGA