The Notebook Review forums were hosted by TechTarget, who shut down them down on January 31, 2022. This static read-only archive was pulled by NBR forum users between January 20 and January 31, 2022, in an effort to make sure that the valuable technical information that had been posted on the forums is preserved. For current discussions, many NBR forum users moved over to NotebookTalk.net after the shutdown.
Problems? See this thread at archive.org.

    Is it possible to Dual Monitor with Dell Studio 17?

    Discussion in 'Hardware Components and Aftermarket Upgrades' started by sina6002, Dec 3, 2009.

  1. sina6002

    sina6002 Notebook Guru

    Reputations:
    0
    Messages:
    53
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    15
    Hi Everyone,

    I recently had few threads here, so hope I not be boring and I try to contribute in other threads as well.

    I am going to buy a dell studio 17 with 17.3" monitor and 1920x1080 resolution.

    I would like to know if I can do a dual monitor with another 22/24/26 inch monitor.

    as I have never done dual monitor, I want to know if the laptop can support it, and if it is possible and if I need anything to do that.
    The laptop is not going to have DVI output, but will have VGA and HDMI port as far as I know.

    I will appreciate if anyone can give me some information.
    Thanks a lot
    Sina
     
  2. BrandonSi

    BrandonSi Notebook Savant

    Reputations:
    571
    Messages:
    1,444
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    55
    What video card are you ordering with it?
     
  3. sgogeta4

    sgogeta4 Notebook Nobel Laureate

    Reputations:
    2,389
    Messages:
    10,552
    Likes Received:
    7
    Trophy Points:
    456
    I don't think any laptop can drive the notebook screen and dual LCDs without some other device such as a USB to DVI device.
     
  4. BrandonSi

    BrandonSi Notebook Savant

    Reputations:
    571
    Messages:
    1,444
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    55
    I thought the same thing initially, but I'm pretty sure he's just talking two screens total, his notebook LCD and the LCD he's going to order.
     
  5. sgogeta4

    sgogeta4 Notebook Nobel Laureate

    Reputations:
    2,389
    Messages:
    10,552
    Likes Received:
    7
    Trophy Points:
    456
    Yes, most notebooks can do dual screen then if you count the notebook as one screen. You can use either VGA or HDMI. If you want DVI as output, get a HDMI to DVI converter from monoprice.
     
  6. sina6002

    sina6002 Notebook Guru

    Reputations:
    0
    Messages:
    53
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    15
    Just to put some more information, I want to use my laptop's display plus another monitor.
    And the laptop will have ATI 4650 with 1GB ram as the graphic card.

    So, is it possible that I connect the screen just to HDMI or VGA and start using it?
    one thing I am concerned about is that the screen sizes and resolutions are different, so doesn't that make any problem, or does it lower the resolution or something...?
     
  7. Caudovittatus

    Caudovittatus Notebook Enthusiast

    Reputations:
    0
    Messages:
    45
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    15
    sina6002, that should be fine. It's a pretty standard feature and the Radeon 4650 is more than capable of driving two displays.

    As an aside, I have in the past driven two external displays from my ageing XPS M1710 (due for replacement now :)), but without the laptop display running; that can be quite a handy config if you want to use larger screens.
     
  8. sina6002

    sina6002 Notebook Guru

    Reputations:
    0
    Messages:
    53
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    15
    Just a question that remained un answered is that can I do a 24" monitor with the 17" monitor of the laptop and taking into account that the screens have different sizes and resolutions?
    Can the graphic card handle two different resolutions fine?
    will appreciate replies.
    Thanks
     
  9. sgogeta4

    sgogeta4 Notebook Nobel Laureate

    Reputations:
    2,389
    Messages:
    10,552
    Likes Received:
    7
    Trophy Points:
    456
    Yes, different screen size and resolution will be fine.