M17x R4 - TWO Monitors Plus Laptop Display? Multi display, dual display, triple display

Hey guys,

I searched long and hard and can't find any super clear answers on the forums and wanted to end it here.

Basically, I want to use two dell displays, plus my laptop display. My specs are in my signature. I'm running Windows 8 Pro

Dell Display 1 | Laptop Display | Dell Display 2

Any input is fine. Right now, display 1 is running on VGA. They both support DVI as well, and I have DVI to HDMI cables. I also have a Display Port to VGA adapter. Any software? Any adapters? Etc.

Just let me know, thanks!

 

Should be possible not 100% sure since you have the 3D display. I think the displayport and hdmi might work on my laptop since the hdmi is supported by the integrated gpu whilst the displayport goes through the nvidia card.

 

There should be no problems using two external displays with your R4. The question is do you want them to mirror each other, be their own separate displays, or combine to stretch your desktop across all three ( see Nvidia surround)? If all you want is to extend your desktop to the left and right (or mirror it) to the external screens, then you should just be able to plug each one into your system and away you go. There should be no real limitation even if you have the 3D setup. You should use the DisplayPort to DVI and HDMI to DVI adapters to connect your monitors into your R4. Once plugged in and turned on, your system should detect them and default to mirroring mode. You can hit Window+P to change from desktop mirroring to desktop extending. Then it's a matter of going into your Nvidia control panel and aligning each screen to the positions you want them in.

 

With my R3 I have 2-24" external monitors hooked up through the HDMI and mini display port and they work great. The laptop screen will work as a 3rd screen however I don't have enough room at my desk to use it.

 

Here you go

How to Setup Multiple Monitors in Windows 8

Hope it helps

 

Yes in non-optimus mode it's not a problem, it's just in optimus mode the HD4000 can only drive 2 displays.

 

I'm using one DVI-HDMI connection and one Displayport-VGA adapter connection.

I'm running latest nVidia beta drivers




Oh, and I'm just trying to extend my desktop. One to the left, one to the right. I'm no stranger to this. My old XPS 17 couldn't support more than one external.

When I unplug my system, it tells me:


I used to have the normal 1080p display, but Dell upgraded me to the 3D display. I'm pretty sure I uninstalled all old display/intel driver remnants from before. I'd love to do a clean install, but I REALLY don't want to lose all my adobe CS6 settings.

 

I did some more research on your issue. There are others who have tried to hook two external monitors to their laptops, but have been unsuccessful. Apparently the 675m uses FERMI architecture which only allows 2 simultaneous displays. Supposedly you'd have to get a 660m or 680m which use the newer Kepler architecture in order to run more than two simultaneous displays. This is all just speculation based on what I've read, I've found no confirmation of this on Nvidia's site.

Tri Monitor Question - Forums - Battlelog / Battlefield 3

 

I currently have 5 displays running off my R3, bought the toshiba dynadock which uses USB 3.0 and display link to allow for 2 extra displays over the standard output of your GPU. Getting pretty decent results, the displays have no issues and no fps problems.

 

To be honest - it should be pretty straightforward. I have a different setup (680m and 3D), but basically I have one monitor plugged into the mini Display-port (via a DVI-D -> mini DP adapter as the monitor doesn't natively support DP). Second Monitor has a DVI-I -> HDMI cable and (obviously) plugs into the HDMI port. Works perfectly. And the laptop panel is display number 3.

if you had a 680 / 3D panel - then you need to be more "picky" with your choice of mini-DP convertors - but it can be done. I have mines connected at 120Hz (just a comment in case anyone has issues on this - I can supply some hints).

 

Alright, well, can anyone here confirm more than one external display on the 675m without a special setup (i.e. dynadock)?

 

Did you read thru the thread from my previous post? The people at that forum may be able to give you a more definitive answer: Tri Monitor Question - Forums - Battlelog / Battlefield 3

 

Fair enough, sorry, I just skimmed through it.

You can not have two external monitors and your laptop display running on any FERMI architecture. So I can either settle for the one I do have, or go with something like a dynadock. (I'll only be running games on the primary laptop display) I do lots of graphic design/video rendering so the extra monitors are just useful for displaying information.

Does anybody have any suggestions for cheating the system with something like the Dynadock or an alternative? They're only 900p displays, not worried about FPS or crazy performance. The cheaper the solution the better.

Thanks for everyones help, and didn't mean to miss that link @radij

 

Due to the fact that dynadock uses USB 3.0 it has more than the bandwidth required to run external displays fully hardware accelerated. Currently running a 1050p display and a 720p tv off mine. Any of the USB 3.0 displaylink adapters will
work fine with full hardware acceleration, USB 2.0 variants will work at around 5-15 fps from my experience, which means noticeably choppy performance.