Laptops which support 2 external displays | The Coffeehouse

Hello,

For months and months i've been trying to find a laptop which when docked can display 2 external displays plus the actual laptops display so 3 screens in total. The best i've come up with is the Panaroma things. Is there any laptops out there that can meet my needs? Additional hardware isn't a problem. I'm looking for a new laptop to replace my disppointing Vaio.

Sven Groot

Hmm, my laptop has both an HDMI and a VGA connector, but I've never tried if it can use them both at the same time. I doubt it though.

Maddus Mattus

In reply to Sven Groot

#Jul 2nd @ 5:58 AM

You can use em both at the same time,..

Only problem is they give off the same video feed Wink

littleguru

In reply to Maddus Mattus

#Jul 2nd @ 6:08 AM

hehe

seems like somebody has tried it already.

Bas

Would a Matrox DualHead2Go be of use? You can use it on a single video output, and it'll fool your videocard into thinking that your monitor supports a resolution that's twice as wide as usual, allowing you to spread your desktop on two screens.

Also comes in TripleHead variety:

Matrox TripleHead2Go

Maddus Mattus

In reply to littleguru

#Jul 2nd @ 6:09 AM

It's just an educated guess,..

Almost no laptops have 3 outputs built in, that's why rah is having such a hard time. And it should possible to use all outputs at the same time,....

Maddus Mattus

In reply to Bas

#Jul 2nd @ 6:27 AM

sweet! That looks awesome!

CannotResolveSymbol

In reply to Bas

#Jul 2nd @ 6:27 AM

Only problem with those is that you don't get all the benefits of a true dual (or triple) head setup. Windows will maximize to span both screens and your taskbar (if you have your taskbar on the external display) will be stretched across all screens. Also, any dialog that usually pops up in the center of the screen (like the login dialog or many message boxes) will be split down the middle across the two screens (not as much of a problem if you have three, though).

So, yes, the Matrox systems look cool, but they're actually pretty painful to use.

W3bbo

Get a ThinkPad and one of the original IBM docks. They have space for a full-size PCI-Express card so you can mount in a quad-head Matrox if you want.

rahsoftware

In reply to W3bbo

#Jul 2nd @ 7:01 AM

I have a Matrox2Go and like you say when you maximize it goes accross 2 screens. It has software which provides a splitter for you but this is not compatable with visual Studio mouse over boxes, it breaks them. Also the screen max for mine was (1024x768) and made it 2048x768 which ent the screen size i;m after.

As i'm def going for an IBM next because they are the only guys who understand good hardware. Never going with Sony again in my life, so if I get the IBM T60 (or X300) I can just buy a dock and then stick a card in it? Is it that simple?

Maddus Mattus

In reply to rahsoftware

#Jul 2nd @ 2:02 PM

If you do get a StinkPad, uninstall ALL the IBM software,... it sux

I de-installed mine and it saved me minutes of my boot-up time,.. seriously

I dont know why these hardware manifacturors think they can do a better job at building software then Microsoft,....