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    2 monitors - 1 VGA & 1 DVI-D ??

    Discussion in 'Hardware Components and Aftermarket Upgrades' started by feenyman99, Jul 3, 2011.

  1. feenyman99

    feenyman99 Newbie

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    Hi. I'm new to this forum (looks great!), so go easy on me :)

    I have a Dell Latitude E6410 which came with a docking station that has both a VGA and a DVI-D port. I am running XP.

    I also have a pair of Samsung SyncMaster B1940 monitors (currently attached to my desktop). Each of these monitors has both a VGA and a
    DVI-D interface.

    Can I have the laptop drive 2 external monitors, by attaching one monitor to the docking station's VGA port, and the other to the docking station's DVI-D port?

    (I guess I could just try it and find out, but I don't have the necessary cables, so I figured I'd get some free consulting before I buy the cables :)

    thx,
    feenyman99
     
    feenyman99, Jul 3, 2011
    #1
  2. tilleroftheearth

    tilleroftheearth Wisdom listens quietly...

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    Depends on the specific notebook you have (I think some Dell M6600's can do this...).

    You'll have to splurge on the cables to find out for yourself and please post back for others with the same system.

    Looking forward to see if it works!
     
    tilleroftheearth, Jul 4, 2011
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  3. pitz

    pitz Notebook Deity

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    Yes. I do this on my D-series docking station, one VGA monitor, one DVI-D monitor. But with the E6400, only 2 can be live at once (ie: your laptop's internal LCD has to be turned off).

    I believe some of the latest Dell "Precision" models come with enough hardware in the laptop that multiple external displays can be driven through the docking station, in addition to the internal display in the laptop itself. But the E6400 is limited to 2 active displays.
     
    pitz, Jul 4, 2011
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  4. feenyman99

    feenyman99 Newbie

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    That is GREAT news. I will splurge for the cables and report back to this forum ASAP. (By the way, 2 monitors is plenty. I was NOT planning on using the laptop screen.)

    Thanx!
     
    feenyman99, Jul 4, 2011
    #4
  5. JOSEA

    JOSEA NONE

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    @Pitz isn't the crucial factor the video card?
    OP do you have this card in your computer:
    NVIDIA® NVS 3100M 512MB gDDR3?
     
    JOSEA, Jul 4, 2011
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  6. pitz

    pitz Notebook Deity

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    Yeah it has everything to do with the video chip. My laptops, obviously, can only bring up 2 displays at once, but there is nothing preventing those two displays from being 2 external displays.
     
    pitz, Jul 7, 2011
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