Does E1705 support 2 external displays?

anyone know if its possible to hook up 2 external monitors to the E1705? One DVI and one VGA. I see both a DVI and VGA port on the back of the laptop. Are the ports either/or, or can you use them both at the same time?

If anyone has access to 2 lcd displays and a E1705, please try it out and let me know if it works, or if there are any resolution limitations

Thanks!

 

maybe it depends on which graphic card you use..(for example the geforce 7900gs which can be selected with the e1705) but not sure

 

yep, its a geforce 7900gs

 

maybe the geforce manufacturer site has some infos on it..
I can tell you in about 2weeks when I have mine

 

Teamkillahilla has some good advice, or you could call Dell and ask them. But I would assume that any graphics card with a dual head would support two displays.

 

Teamkillahilla give it a try once you get your laptop and let us know.

I checked nvidia's site and couldnt find anything specifically about it. Let me know if you see anything

Thanks for the help

 

YES it does, at least using the nvidia 7900 GPU. I checked the nvidia control panel and help info, it implies the system automatically detects whatever is connected and allows you to configure how each display is used...I quote:

"NVIDIA® nView™ multi-display software—bundled free with NVIDIA® ForceWare™ desktop, workstation, mobile, platform, and multimedia software solutions--provides a revolutionary way to multitask and process information easier. Instead of stacking window upon window within the confines of a single display, you can spread your work across multiple displays. For example, financial analysts can have a monitor for tracking each data stream while graphic artists can use an entire display for palettes, and another for editing. A variety of nView display features enable you to further manipulate and configure your display settings to optimize the use of your displays...."

 

Not covered in the owners manual, but logical, it should work for mirror image only. Then again it may auto sense port and default one or the other. What (is) in the owner's manual;

Switching the Video Image
When you start the computer with an external device (such as an external monitor or projector)
attached and turned on, the image may appear on either the computer display or the external device,
depending on your settings.
Press <Fn><F8> to switch the video image between the display only, the external device only, or
the display and the external device simultaneously.

 

It's very flexible, and using nView you can use up to 2 displays at the same time, whether they are both external or one external and the build in LCD.

 

ahh nView. I found the F1 help key and read through them. Wow, none other than mirror mode is explained in the Dell user manual

Thanks

 

I think you must check wat kind of DVI you have on your Graphic Card ( DVI-I, DVI-D, DVI-A ), jump to http://www.datapro.net/techinfo/dvi_info.html#Page06. I think if your 7900 have DVI-I and both your external LCD have DVI-I input so just buy Switch 1 to 2 DVI-I then hook 2 DVI-I cable to them !!!

 

With a newer card like the 7900gs there should be no problem with it detecting the displays. I have never tried it, but I don't see why it would be an either/or situation. Both the ports are there, and the card can handle that many displays no problem. Then again dell might have it wired really strange or something.

 

Ok, I got two 19 inch lcds and plugged them in. One to the VGA and one to the DVI

The good news is they both work together. nView recognizes all 3 of them and gives me a choice to use DualView with any 2. I can use both lcds togeher, or either lcd plus my laptop display.

The bad news is I cant figure out to get them to all work together. I want to use all three displays!

Given that the DVI + VGA port both work together, it must be a software limitation thats preventing me from using them both along with my laptop display.

Does anyone have any information about this? IS there a hack I can use to get around this lame nView limitation?

Please help!

configuration: E1705 with nvidia geforce go 7900 gs and truelife display (1900x1200) with dual CTL 190LX 19 inch lcds (1280x1024)

 

Have any1 try to do it yet ? My E1705 has 7800 and DVI-D but cant connect to my Nec LCD 4010 has DVI-D also !!! Any Advice please.