How can I connect 3 monitors into my m11X

I've purchased 3 alienware optx aw2310 monitors and was wonderng how I would connect them all up to my m11x?

I want plug them all in via the display port to get the best quality possible.

I'm mainly going to use them for work because I doubt I'll be able to game on them.

What set up would you guys recommend?

Thanks

 

Does anyone know?

 

sorry, i dont even have 3 monitors to try this on.

 

The m11x is only able to output onto two screens at a time. To hook up multiple monitors though is easy on the m11x because it has multiple outputs, displayport, hdmi, and vga (R1 only). You may need to use an adapter depending on what inputs your monitor accepts.

 

You can't really. You'd have to split the display output in to 3 parts which would probably require some sort of multiplexer/amp.

I'm not sure I see any value in this. Get one large monitor (or tv) and blow up your resolution.

 

I'm not familiar with your type of laptop, but what I did with a Lenovo, which is limited to two output ports(your choice of -two- : VGA, DVI, DP) was run a Matrox splitter on one of the outputs. That gave me 1 + (1+1) monitors over two output ports.

Check out Matrox TripleHead2Go & DoubleHead2Go splitters. Be careful which you buy, as there are several different kinds. You'd probably want the digital versions, not the older analog.

You'll also be limited by your video card total max resolution, and maybe by one/both of the output ports. Splitter would work on DVI-D, but probably not enough bandwidth if the port is DVI-I. DP is usually better, as the DP spec is higher resolution.

In my case, I added more and ended up running two splitters, on DVI-D and DP ports(unsupported by Matrox, but does work). Therefore, I have a quad monitor setup, WUXGA(1920x1200) x 4, which works very well for my needs(non-gaming).

 

i tried connecting 1 lcd tv (via HDMI) and 1 monitor (via VGA) on my m11x but the graphic card can only support 2 monitors at the same time.

 

Oh that sucks! I guess I'm going to have 2 3d monitors sitting in the corner

 

Okay maybe I'm missing something here, but I thought you could connect two displays to the m11x (your choice of connectors.) Seems like it should work, it's not like there's a lack of video memory to support a pretty large resolution on each. I'm just running one display via HDMI (and at 1440x900 since it appears my HDMI <> DVI cable doesn't have the bandwidth to go higher.) and I had thought about getting a second display via displayport.

 

You can connect one to HDMI, one to DP, disable the internal LCD and have 2/3 right there.

Then you can buy one of these to get the third: USB 2.0 Display Adapter DVI/VGA/HDMI (1600x1200)

 

i think Evga makes some USB display device that let you use mulitple displays. its kinda cheap too from what i remember.

 

USB connectors for additional monitors are often not very good. Grainy, jagged video, cuz the throughput on USB 2.0 is not enough for much in the way of movement. Can be maybe OK for static displays, tho. If you want much in the way of good response, you'll need to go with something else, such as Matrox splitters, ViDock type external video card & boxes, etc.

I have four Triton USB monitor adapters I bought at Best Buy. Way too slow for my needs. If anyone is dying to pickup some of these, PM me and I'll sell 'em cheap, cuz they're not doing me any good.

 

I'm pretty sure the Displayport Ver1.2 spec makes it possible to daisy-chain monitors. But of course that means the DP port in the M11x, the DP cables and/or your monitors have to be compliant. Worth looking into IMO.

 

Im fairly certain that it cant, nvidia cards are only capable of outputting to 2 monitors at one time, they require a second card in sli to put out a third. This is different from the system ati is using (eyefinity) which can display to 3 monitors on a single card. I may be mistaken but most likely the display port is just there to run a dp monitor instead of an hdmi one. My gtx 570 is only capable of outputting to 2 monitors and its about as new as it gets, its third port (hdmi) can replace one dvi, but cant supplement it. I may be mistaken though, so if anyone knows for sure please share.

 

You would need more ports, and having ATi's eYefinity would really help in this situation.
You could connect one to the HDMI port and the VGA port and I actually have no idea what that port with the P sign above it does. 1394 just plain sucks.
Conclusion: Only two ports sorry.

 

So if you have one via hdmi and one via displayport-- how do you disable the internal display on the laptop?

 

On Thinkpads you can go into the Windows display mgmt panel/app and disconnect display(s) you don't want to use and 'extend desktop to this display' for displays you wanna use. You might also check the video card control software utility to see what it can do.

Through one or both of these, it's usually fairly easy to mix & match whatever setup you have connected.

 

Thanks for that; I found out that it works just like you said. Just disable the display on the laptop. It actually did it automatically once I said I wanted to extend my desktop to the second monitor.

 

For three monitors don't you need Tri-SLI? or for ATI you need Affinity or something like that... I would also assume that the 335M GT isn't powerful enough for 3 monitors. I cannot confirm nor deny any of these...

 

might check this post...
http://forum.notebookreview.com/gam...7667-lets-figure-out-how-make-diy-vidock.html

 

Wow great post. Thats a cool thing they are making (external gpu) nice

 

Yea I was thinking that was pretty slick myself, there are also readymade ones out too, but they are pricey

 

If you want triple monitors you're going to need Matrox's Triplehead2go.


Get the DP edition.

Multi Monitor Adapter for Maximum Performance | TripleHead2Go
It's a box with 1 input & 3 outputs. Problem solved.

It tricks your PC into thinking you have 1 big 5760x1080 monitor. (3 x 1920x1080)

 

^ The Matrox TripleHead2Go Digital version ain't bad, either. Same res as DP version, just plugs into the DVI port.

Ultimately, the Matrox splitters max out at whatever limit is on your video card.

 

Can I just confirm (slighly off-topic) that the m11x has no issues running 2 monitors, one through its HDMI port and 1 through the DisplayPort?

 

My r1 can connect to 2 monitors at a time via HDMI and one on VGA; for a 3rd you would need to get one of the USB connectors like the one listed previously in the thread, evga makes one

 

How to activate the internal display in MX11? I have 2 monitors working great, but i cant use the internal display together, is it possible?

 

Unfortunately it's not possible out of the box.

 

For the R1 at least I have found this to be possible now.

M11xR1_3LCD.wmv - YouTube

Source:
http://forum.notebookreview.com/alienware-m11x/618374-m11x-r1-hybrid-optimus-driver.html

 

Since configuring the 3 screens I have not had any crashes or odd behavior with my works apps. Nvidia still crashes in games but gamers are not gonna use three screens anyway.

Just wanted to say this is a fantastic development and is very handy for me. Wasn't able to do this until the driver changed.

 

Could someone help me find the right drivers to configure the 3 monitors on my m11x r1?

 

Try this:

http://forum.notebookreview.com/alienware-m11x/618374-m11x-r1-hybrid-optimus-driver.html

It just worked for me. It was awesome.