Dual Monitors on Vaio Z

Hi,

I am curious if I can attach two monitors to the sony vaio z. I have read a few forums from 2009 that say you cannot, but I was curious if anything has changed.

Is it possible if I use a displaylink adapter? If so will the adapter still take advantage of the video card in the vaio or will it need to use its own?

Thanks for your help

 

you can only use 1 external connection at a time with the Vaio Z, you'll need another video card (USB or ExpressCard) for more monitors.

 

On a sidenote, has anyone tried a Matrox Dual/TripleHead?

 

I have the same question. I am deciding between a matrox dualhead, display link docking station or display link adapter. Any help is appreciated.

 

From I heard you could buy the Z dock and run one of the Z's HDMI and one out of the Dock's video port.

 

Can anyone confirm this? I read in an old thread (from 2009) that this was not possible.

Thanks,
Jeremy

 

It's not possible. I don't know how this rumor started, but it keeps coming back to life. Dual external monitors on the new Z has never been possible on its own or with the docking station.

-Peter

 

Doesn't work.

 

Or Vidock models should be able to do this, right? Village Instruments : ViDock

 

This probably comes back to life again and again because people think that the problem is the number of connectors, and don't realise that the video card also has to support it.

 

To get 2 external monitors working you would need to disable the internal LCD
Simple video card tech, until the ATI 5 series video cards only supported 2 concurrent outputs.

 

Sigh. No. Disabling the internal LCD still won't let you run 2 external monitors on the Z. You need an external video card or display link usb-dvi solution.

I don't think the nVidia card itself is to blame. My old Asus with an nVidia 7700 go card could drive 2 external monitors. I think it's the way the outputs are wired in the Z. Most likely a limitation due to the hybrid graphics solution.

-Peter

 

I need to get dual monitor working on a brand new Vaio Z+dock. What is the most recommended external video card or display link usb-dvi solution to accomplish this? I would need 1920x1080 support.

 

usb-dvi solution or a vidock

 

2 * 1920x1080? Good luck with that.
You can split a single monitor signal into two using an external box like a Matrox Dualview, but none that I know of will support this high resolutions, and neither does the Z's VGA output (400 MHz only supports up to 2048x1536, and you need 3840x1080).

If you absolutely must get this to work using a Z and nothing else, the only thing I can think of is an ExpressCard34 external PCIe slot extender (which will cost you several hundred dollars), and a graphics card inside that.

 

Or, pick up a usb-dvi video adapter (slow) or a vidock (fast).

 

Um, vidock is an ExpressCard PCIe adapter box as I mentioned, with a video card included. (And I haven't seen any USB/DVI adapters that support 1920x1080 -- they seem to max out at 1600x1200).

 

^I know that was my point, your post was redundant

There's 1080p usb adapters out there. here's one: Newegg.com - ENCORE External USB Video Adapter 1920x1080 (DVI / VGA) ENMUV-2 USB to DVI Interface

 

No one said anything about 3840x1080. He wants the external monitor to be 1920x1080.

The Diamond BVU-195 is a USB DisplayLink product that will drive a DVI monitor at 1920x1200 resolution with 32-bit color; HDMI at same specs with DVI-HDMI adapter or cable; and VGA analog monitor with DVI-VGA adapter at 2048x1152.

I have 2 of these, with each connected to 2 computers using a USB KVM switch. The DisplayLink drivers handle switching the display between the computers nicely. At home I have a 1920x1200 external monitor, while at work the external monitor is only 1600x1200. I use the Vaio in both locations, and the drivers have no problems detecting the available resolution.

Really, it is a great product.

 

After I started this thread I wound up picking up a Targus Docking station using with display link software. I have one monitor hooked up to the hdmi out on the vaio and the second monitor hooked into the docking station. This also has the benefits of adding a bunch of USB ports. I am really happy with the solution and I believe it offers the resolution you need. It is also much less expensive than a vidock.

This is the one I wound up purchasing Targus USB2.0 Docking Station with Video USB docking station

 

gerg, thank you for the feedback. I found a slew of DVI-USB DisplayLink options but I was looking for a recommendation on one. I already have the VAIO Z dock the plan is to add 1 DVI-USB DisplayLink adaptor for one monitor and use the Vaio Z dock's DVI port for the other monitor. OS is Windows 7 x64.

 

You are welcome. I am also using the dock and Win7 64-bit.

 

So,to sum it up, you hook it up like this, right?:

Vaio Z
Sony Dock DVI port -> external monitor 1 (1900x1200)
Sony Dock USB port -> DVI-USB DisplayLink -> external monitor 2 (1900x1200)

Does it work and does the system really recognize two separate monitors and not just clone them? What happens with the Z's display then?

Have you tested the graphic performance?

Would be a nice solution, I'll head to the Sony store tomorrow if it really works.

 

This configuration does work. I am using the Diamond USB->DisplayLink adaptor. I tested the setup with both the DVI and VGA connectors on the Sony Dock with the DisplayLink adaptor.

Dual monitor works fine, mirror or extend. I did have to reboot once after the initial DisplayLink connection and driver recognition in order for extend to work properly, but since then, there have been no issues.

 

Thanks! Sounds good! Which Z model do you have?

 

This one: Sony VAIO Z Series VPC-Z133GX/B - Core i5 460M 2.53 GHz - 13.1" TFT - Notebook Computers - VPCZ133GX/B - CDW.com

I got it for a guy at work. I personally have a MacBook Air 13", which I opted for over the Vaio Z.

 

Can't understand why?

It takes a lot of courage to confess this in a Vaio thread