When it comes to handling the work or checking emails remotely, a laptop is the best option. It is the most efficient portable device anyone can carry around and deal with tasks easily.
At some point, you might face the situation where you have to handle multiple tasks at the same time such as streaming on a gaming laptop while the streamer has to play the game and read live comments simultaneously.
Sometimes while handling clients people have to write the emails check them browse and do Photoshop at the same time which becomes quite annoying when you have to minimize and shift windows and tabs after every minute.
To avoid shifting tabs every minute and do multiple things at the same time easily, multiple monitors are used.
In this article, you will be learning about connecting one, two, or multiple displays to a laptop at the same time.
Connecting one external monitor with your laptop
Connecting multiple monitors to your laptop is like connecting them to any video output. It depends upon the version of your laptop. If your laptop is older it might not support multiple monitors simultaneously. Few of them provide one or two video connections and an HDMI port. More often you have to use third-party components. The newer laptops are now providing two, three, or even four ports.
Most efficient way to connect:
The new laptops are providing different ports to connect the video output to your laptop with a cool display view. Most of the new versions have USB type-C and thunderbolt 3.
Thunderbolt 3 is actually the same as physical hardware to USB type-C. It means you can use any thunderbolt 3 as UCB Type-C and any USB type-C as thunderbolt 3. Thunderbolt 3 is coming up with various advantages.
It is the best option for those who prefer fewer mess-ups and avoid having blunders of wires on the desk. Thunderbolt 3 offers audio, video, data transmissions to hard drives or internet routers all with a single wire. It requires less space and does work without spreading clutters and gives results more efficiently.
Besides, Thunderbolt 3 and USB Type-C make the width of a laptop thinner as it performs tasks of multiple ports. Less weighted and thinner laptops are more friendly to handle and more portable to carry around and complete tasks remotely. You can take it with you on a drive or any café without carrying external components, port converters, or a bunch of wires in your bag.
Thunderbolt 3 comes up with one more advantage which is display quality. It can help you connect 4k and even 5k monitors. They usually provide two to four USB type-C ports to connect multiple desktops and other media devices easily.
But, it still depends upon your laptop and what cables it supports. Like thunderbolt with USB type-C offers different specifications such as USB 2 and 3. The Apple MacBook comes up with a type-C port that only transmits data and power and not video, for that you need to buy an HDMI-to-USB type-C cable. Fortunately, cables are cheap to buy from stores or online.
We have reviewed: Best Laptops for Rocket League
If you have a little bit older version
Unlike the newer versions, the older laptops don’t support Thunderbolt 3 or USB type-C cable. For that, you need to have a third-party component. There are different third-party components that let you connect multiple screens at the same time. Types of third party components are:
Converters
The older laptops provide HDMI and Display port, HDMI and DVI, and additionally VGA. The easiest way to connect them is to buy a dual-purpose cable like DVI-to-VGA or any other converters. They are easily available at accessories shops and tech stores.
Splitter boxes
Splitter boxes, for some people, are the best solution. Even it’s a bit expensive. As the older laptops don’t provide multiple ports, it’s essential to use a third-party dock or splitter box. A splitter box connects two different monitors with a single cable to your laptop.
As a third-party connector, it will not provide the best results when it comes to 4k or 5k displays. At that point, it starts to create problems with the displays. Docking stations are also used for business and gaming purposes as they let you connect more devices with less effort. Make sure to connect the high display monitor with the video connection.
Devices with display port connections offer multiple options. You can overcome the drawback of the bad quality display as well by having a display port hub. It can support 2560 x 1600 displays and the third 1920 x 1200 displays easily. You can use a spare USB port to add another display. You can purchase a USB to DVI, VGA, and HDMI converters from the store.
Read Also: Best Business Laptops Under $800
How to connect multiple monitors on your windows
It is easier to connect multiple displays on a Windows 7 PC. First of all, make sure to connect the other monitor with any of the above ways. Now follow the steps down below,
STEP # 1:
Windows have introduced a new hotkey win+p. This will appear as a mini tab on your screen.
STEP # 2:
This will show you four options choose duplicate or extend.
You are done here. Now you can operate multiple displays at the same time. Another step to connect multiple monitors to a laptop is to right-click on any area of your screen, select screen resolutions, and choose to extend these displays or other options.
If you are using windows 10, it will almost be the same except for some steps. For Windows 10, click on the start button go to settings click on systems then click on displays probably it will automatically detect your desktop and show your display. If not, select the option for what you want to see on your screens and click keep changes. You are good to go!
Also Reviewed: 7 Best Laptops For Making Beats & Music Production
Conclusion:
Laptops provide Output ports to connect multiple video, audio or data output devices, a lot of them come up with only one HDMI, DVI, and VGA port which are mostly the older ones. It becomes quite complicated when it comes to connecting multiple monitors to them, for that we can use third-party components. But if you have a newer laptop it probably provides up to three ports that can help to connect video, audio, data transmission at the same time.