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.

    Dual (or technically, Tri) Monitors?

    Discussion in 'Sager and Clevo' started by Greyman027, Feb 11, 2012.

  1. Greyman027

    Greyman027 Newbie

    Reputations:
    0
    Messages:
    3
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    5
    Howdy folks,

    I'm looking at purchasing a P170HM in the near future, but am wondering if both the HDMI and DVI ports can be used simultaneously for output? The idea would be to have two 27" monitors hooked up to the laptop at home, and two 30" monitors at work.

    Is this possible with any of the current range of Clevo/Sager laptops?
     
    Greyman027, Feb 11, 2012
    #1
  2. DEagleson

    DEagleson Gamer extraordinaire

    Reputations:
    2,529
    Messages:
    3,107
    Likes Received:
    30
    Trophy Points:
    116
    It should work, as both outputs are treated as separate connections.
    But i dont own enough screens to fully confirm this.
     
    DEagleson, Feb 11, 2012
    #2
  3. jaug1337

    jaug1337 de_dust2

    Reputations:
    2,135
    Messages:
    4,862
    Likes Received:
    1,031
    Trophy Points:
    231
    Yes it should work without any trouble at all.
    Seen it work on the P150HM, wouldn't understand if it wouldn't work ;)
     
    jaug1337, Feb 11, 2012
    #3
  4. vNaK

    vNaK Notebook Consultant

    Reputations:
    1
    Messages:
    111
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    30
    Yes it should work, I usually have my laptop hooked via DVI-D to my external monitor and HDMI hooked to my HDTV.

    Also just so you know, I noticed that I can only hook up two monitors simultaneously. It would not let me use my laptop as a 3rd screen when using my HDTV/External display. Maybe I haven't found the option somewhere, but it told me I couldn't use 3 screens at once.
     
    vNaK, Feb 11, 2012
    #4
  5. mythlogic

    mythlogic Company Representative

    Reputations:
    1,238
    Messages:
    2,021
    Likes Received:
    277
    Trophy Points:
    101
    Yea without a USB -> DVI/HDMI adapter you can only drive at most 2 screens, so either 2 external or 1 internal and 1 external. Until the IVB generation when you will be able to drive 3
     
    mythlogic, Feb 11, 2012
    #5
  6. Greyman027

    Greyman027 Newbie

    Reputations:
    0
    Messages:
    3
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    5
    Brilliant, thanks vNaK :)

    Not a worry, I'd be leaving the lid closed under this scenario anyhow. Thanks for the additional info!
     
    Greyman027, Feb 11, 2012
    #6
  7. Ellatan

    Ellatan Old Timer

    Reputations:
    622
    Messages:
    1,626
    Likes Received:
    45
    Trophy Points:
    66
    So if one would use those usb adapters, how many more external monitors would Radeon 6990M with Eyefinity be able to support vs GTX 580M?
     
    Ellatan, Feb 11, 2012
    #7
  8. mythlogic

    mythlogic Company Representative

    Reputations:
    1,238
    Messages:
    2,021
    Likes Received:
    277
    Trophy Points:
    101
    You can technically have "unlimited" as they act like little baby graphics cards, and they don't render on the actual GPU. The drawback being things like Aero and DirectX etc don't really work when you have them plugged in. So there are some tradeoffs.
     
    mythlogic, Feb 11, 2012
    #8
  9. Anthony@MALIBAL

    Anthony@MALIBAL Company Representative

    Reputations:
    616
    Messages:
    2,771
    Likes Received:
    3
    Trophy Points:
    56
    You wouldn't be able to have any more or less with AMD versus Nvidia. USB video cards are completely independent from the discrete GPU and are only really good for 2D work (the desktop and productivity work). They are not a great choice for gaming because they're relatively low power and throughput. You can technically have as many as you have USB ports (usually), regardless of the GPU you've got. :)
     
    Anthony@MALIBAL, Feb 12, 2012
    #9
  10. newfiejudd

    newfiejudd Notebook Deity

    Reputations:
    305
    Messages:
    1,139
    Likes Received:
    3
    Trophy Points:
    56
    I game at home on three 24" monitors, and absolutely love it. On the road I use a portable 19" Screen from samsung and my laptop screen. Monitor temps and what not on the sammy and game on the laptop screen.

    Looking forward to the newer ones coming out as they will be much more mobile.
    http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2398698,00.asp
     
    newfiejudd, Feb 12, 2012
    #10