Adding on to a Laptop?

Hello everybody, new guy here. This place looks like a great, helpful community

Question : Would adding a external LCD monitor + keyboard to a laptop be possible? and is it a good or bad idea?

Reason is because I spend long hours sometimes on the internet and being so close to the screen + typing near it with the keyboard right-next to the screen is a bit irritating and is harsh on the eyes. I was thinking of a huge flat monitor 26 inches +. it might be weird for some people, but hey we're all different and prefer things a certain way. The biggest sale of the year is right around the corner (black friday, cyber monday, christmas, new years) so now's definitely a good time to get on some sweet deals


Benefits
------------------
1. Way more comfortable, with the keyboard far away from the screen
2. The screen at a farther distance, so it's easier on the eyes

 

Thats not weird at all. A lot of people do it. Its totally a preference thing. I'm sure some people can hardly go without, only have a laptop because they need it for portability, and hardly ever disconnect it from their monitor and desk.

Keyboard and mouse should be USB. Monitor will be VGA if your laptop is old which is a blue port, or DVI which is white.

 

It's quite possible, and depending on your usage patterns, can often be a good idea. The main thing you'll want to be aware of (beyond the quality of the external monitor itself) are the connections your notebook has available to hook into an external monitor (VGA, DisplayPort, HDMI, etc). Also, while running your notebook on the external monitor, it's generally best not to close the lid down if you're using a separate external keyboard; heat from your notebook could damage the internal LCD of the notebook if it's kept closed.

 

As said before most laptops have at least a VGA and/or HDMI/DVI video output so hooking up an external display is a definite possibility.

In fact I would say adding a large (>23") external display is the single best productivity/comfort upgrade one can make to their notebook.

 

I use an Asus 23" MS238H LED monitor via HDMI, Logitech K340 & Anywhere mouse MX w/using a Logitech Unifying receiver. They work great.

Q & D shot.

 

Yep, of course, people do it all the time. If you want, you can get a wireless keyboard and/or mouse, for almost complete freedom.

 

Meh cooling pad, 22" LCD, wired keyboard and mouse for me. I dislike wireless

 

Well why these are not an absolute for every, they are a preference for some people. The only thing I can add to the already sufficient answers is that adding these ancillary devices is one of the most neglected segments of computer buying. More people should pay greater attention to their ports and how they will effect their ability to upgrade in the future.

The final caveat is to make sure the port on the outside, gives you what you expect on the inside. That's where this website comes in handy!

I'm not sure how you mean this, but while wireless can have a tremendous convenience factor, it does discount the possibility of added heath risks: we practically live in a sea of electromagnetic fields--the long term effects of which we can only be guessed at this point. Therefore, aesthetics notwithstanding, the more "plugged" in you can get, the better?

 

Thats a tiny part of something huge...

Like, look at the past few decades of technological advances in computers.
And then look at the advancements that have been made in human interface devices?
Talk about neglect.....

 

thats a nice orange pen

 

When I am at home, my laptop gets dropped on a convenient counter top, powered up, and I RDP into it from my home desktop machine.

File syncs including local mail database/spool syncs happen in a few minutes.

 

^ that's another great option, but I'm just gonna stick with original plan

There are barely any good black friday monitor deals. *waits for cyber monday deals*. Also another note : am considering a LED-backlit-LCD monitor since it's overall better. less strain on the eyes, better colors, everything. What are you guys opinion on that? Is it worth it for the slighty higher price. i've done the research & looked for reviews and it seems there are a equal amount of opinions leaning towards both sides I guess it's just a preference thing. This looks sexy though : LG 24 inch LED backlight with 2ms .

I find it a bit odd there are barely any silver/gray edge monitors. There always in movies and tv where they have high technology equipment. Something about the silver makes it sexy & sleek Seems like all stores carry black / glossy ones. Thanks everyone, appreciate it much

 

That LG monitor looks good. I went with a LED backlit monitor. White is more white. Black is more black. The difference is night and day. It uses less energy too.

Also, Photos and Blu-ray look much better via HDMI than D-Sub in my case (Asus).

 

^ great advice. thanks

 

If you don't need the fast response time, you may also consider an IPS panel one.

 

They cost quite a bit more though. And unless you do a lot of (professional) photo or video editing (or are extremely picky) and absolutely need the superior colour reproduction and viewing angles, the regular TN screens will do just fine.

I'm not quite convinced about the claim of far superior colours and contrast ratios of LED-backlit - in case of white LEDs, it's a different story with RGB LEDs - vs CCFL-backlit LCDs. The fact that LED screens consume far less power, however, is a huge point in their favour. Another thing to consider is that the maximum brightness of CCFL-backlit screens falls off over time which doesn't happen to LED-backlit ones.

 

LED LCDs dim over time, too, it's just slower ( http://forum.notebookreview.com/hardware-components-aftermarket-upgrades/529777-led-vs-lcd.html).

 

Amen brother, amen.

 

Let me reword that.

I despise wireless.

Oh hey bro let's play MW2, OH DAMN I DIDN'T CHARGE MY WIRELESS CONTROLLER BAHHHHH.

Oh did I mention that wireless sucks?

 

Halleluja Tsunade_Hime, halleluja! I hate wireless too!

 

We would live in a "sea" of EM radiation including light. Radio waves have no impact on the human body.

So really that's not an issue.

 

Get a long charging lead that can act as a cable for it, even if it's dead?

The batteries in my old logitech wireless keyboard lasted about 2 years.

 

great thread, learned a couple of things