Jordan 2006-10-03 08:43
I want to use 2 monitors on my laptop. The actual laptop screen does not need to be used if that means anything. I tried reading the faq but I am not very tech savvy. What is the best cheapest way to do this? If you could email an answer to jordanstrasberg@hotmail.com it would be very helpful!
Thanks,
Jordan
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Kyle M 2006-10-04 06:37
I don't like giving out my email to just anyone, so i'll just say it here. DualHead2Go by Matrox. Very few laptops would support 2 monitors without the primary monitor used. DualHead2go should work fine.
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Jordan 2006-10-05 14:34
Thanks. Is this the cheapest and best way? I also noticed on this site there are some external cards that plug into the side of the laptop that look like they can be used for this? Will they work fine too?
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Kyle M 2006-10-06 05:20
I have never seen anyone using the external USB video adapter so I don't know its performance, but if the secondary monitor is not displaying anything graphically intense then it should work for a cheap secondary monitor port.
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Al 2006-10-07 04:44
Multi-Monitor solutions for laptops
Village Tronic - VTBook
http://www.realtimesoft.com/multimon/products.asp
http://www.villagetronic.com/
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Kyle M 2006-10-07 10:59
That Vtronic thing looks identical to Ultramon.
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Jordan 2006-10-07 12:00
Does anyone have a preference of the Matrox DualHead2go vs the VTBook? There roughly the same price retail.
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Al 2006-10-07 14:20
Personally I don't really care for the concept of the Matrox DualHead2Go thing. Seems like to much of a band-aid solution. I'm sure it works well, but from what I understand it's still seen by the system as a single display. Limiting how it can be configured and used. For instance can it support these configurations, mix portrait and landscape, vertical (above/below)rather than horizontal (side by side). What happens when you maximize a window? Does it fill both screens or just one of them as it normally would? What about wallpaper and screen savers?...
The thing about the VTBook though, I've read it's not compatible with all notebooks. For instance those with express card slot rather than CardBus. So make sure it will work with your notebook before buying.
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Al 2006-10-07 14:23
"That Vtronic thing looks identical to Ultramon."
I was thinking it was a branded version of UltraMon. Or maybe visa-a-versa, nah.
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Christian Studer 2006-10-08 06:27
It's a rebranded version of UltraMon, Village Tronic bundles it with some of their products.
Christian Studer - www.realtimesoft.com
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Jordan 2006-10-10 08:12
Yea in response to AI, I am wondering the same. Does anyone know if when using the dualhead2go if you maximize a window on one of the external monitors, will it then cover both or just one? Same with opening a new internet explorer window etc...will it maximize both monitors or just the one opened on? Also with the VTBook, I would need to purchase the Y cable in addition to the card correct?
Thanks for the continuous help guys,
Jordan
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Chris 2006-10-10 22:46
One thing to keep in mind wiht the Matrox solution is it will only display at 60Hz. This is fine for LCD screens but is hard on the eyes if you are using a CRT monitor(s).
If you are using a D-series Dell, you can look at the D-Dock with its PCI slot as a possible solution.
Chris
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