Help with running 2x external screens from my lappy

G

Groot T

Member
Hi All,

I'm wanting to run 2x 24" or 30" screens from my laptop with the laptop closed. So, in essence, running the laptop as a normal desktop when it is in my home office.

Am running Windows 7 on the following setup;
Chassis & Display Vortex Series: 17.3" Matte Full HD LED Widescreen (1920x1080)
Processor (CPU) Intel® CoreTMi7 Quad Core Mobile Processor i7-4900MQ (2.80GHz) 8MB
Memory (RAM) 16GB SAMSUNG 1333MHz SODIMM DDR3 MEMORY (2 x 8GB)
Graphics Card NVIDIA® GeForce® GTX 770M - 3.0GB DDR5 Video RAM - DirectX® 11
1st Hard Disk 120GB INTEL® 520 SERIES SSD, SATA 6 Gb/s (upto 550MB/sR |
2nd Hard Disk 750GB WD SCORPIO BLACK WD7500BPKT, SATA 3 Gb/s, 16MB
1st DVD/BLU-RAY Drive 4x BLURAY ROM, 8x DVD ±R/±RW & CYBERLINK SOFTWARE

I am looking at the HDMI & Display port, so it is doable, but want to know what changes I need to make (software or hardware) to make this happen.

Thank you!

Toby
 
SpyderTracks

SpyderTracks

We love you Ukraine
You'd just need to open up the Resolution section in windows control panel (control Panel/Appearance and Personalisation/Display/Screen Resolution), then when you have the other monitors plugged in you'll be able to select each individual monitor and state how you want the monitor to act ie, duplicate the desktop/stretch the desktop etc
 
steaky360

steaky360

Moderator
Moderator
I don't know this for a fact but just because the laptop has two outputs doesn't necessarily make it possible. I don't know if its possible with the vortex laptop specifically but I know others have had (and are having) similar problems with the 770m (for example it doesn't support NVidia surround as far as I know)

EDIT: Spyder's response is far more optimistic than mine, so please follow his advice and hopefully it'll work. Please let us know if it does (or perhaps just me... every day is a school day!).
 
W

Wozza63

Biblical Poster
I contacted PCS about having two external monitors on my laptop and they said that it wouldn't work, I imagine that even though your laptop is higher end than mine, it probably won't be compatible.
 
G

Groot T

Member
Hi all,

Thank you for your replies - I would rather find out if this is possible before pulling the trigger on £2k worth of 30" screens...

I will try and find another screen I have lying around which has a display port & cable.

As another question, what do I need to do to stop my laptop going to sleep when I close the lid?

Thanks!

Toby
 
SpyderTracks

SpyderTracks

We love you Ukraine
Just right click on the battery icon, select Power Options, change plan settings of the relevant plan, change advanced settings, power buttons and lid, lid close action, change to do nothing.
 
W

Wozza63

Biblical Poster
You can give PCS a ring to confirm whether or not you can run two screens. And is the £2k for just 2 screens?
 
G

Groot T

Member
keynes said:
Just curious what is the intended use for £2k worth of screens
Click to expand...

Is a good question - just like lots of information to be at my fingertips.

However, just found a Samsung 4K display for less than half the price & am extremely tempted to go with it. But how do I check which version my display port output is?

Thank you!

Toby
 
keynes

keynes

Multiverse Poster
The gtx 770m will struggle for gaming at 4k, do you also have a desktop? A more powerful gpu would take advantage of those screens
 
steaky360

steaky360

Moderator
Moderator
The output will be display port 1.2 (most likely), but I cant find it documented on the PCS website - might be worth contacting PCS directly to get a response.

The previous revision will still support 4K resolutions but not at 60Hz (which depending on your monitor might not matter).

You can get ~30" 4K screens significantly cheaper than 1K a pop. It really depends on what you are doing though, if you need perfect colour reproduction (photo/video editing perhaps?) then you'll need a professional grade monitor. If you're just looking for more desktop real estate then any of the 4k screens should do.

As a side note, I have a 4K monitor but honestly find myself doing all my word processing/web browsing on my older 1080 screen though as the 4K screen is simply too small to see (you can zoom in, but you loose the benefit of the additional space then).

Obviously your experience might be different from mine :)
 
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