connect 2 lcd monitors to laptop supplier

We all know that multiple monitors can extremely improve our productivity and bring a great experience, especially when you’re using a laptop. But how to connect external monitors to a laptop? You’ve come to the right place. This article introduces an easy and clear guideline to connect two external monitors to your laptop.

Generally speaking, most Windows laptops now support dual monitors, at least. But you need to make sure your laptop is capable to add two external monitors. And that depends on your Windows operating system, the capability of your graphics cards and drivers.

First of all, you may need to make sure your graphics card supports multiple monitors. Normally, every graphics card provides at least two outputs, but you will need to check the graphics card propertieson the manufacturer’s website, find your graphics card and check the specifications to see if it supports adding two external monitors.

For example, if you are using NVIDIA GeForce graphics card, you can check it out on the official website, and click your graphics card, and check the specification, then you will see if it supports multiple monitors.

If it does not support adding multiple monitors, you may need to buy and install a correct graphics card (e.g GeForce RTX 2080) before you keep processing.

You can check the ports on the back or on the sides of your laptop. In addition to the ports on your laptop, the monitors should have the corresponding ports as well. That will save your time and money to connect them. Otherwise you will need to buy an extra adapter, such as DVI to HDMI adapter to have them match.

If the ports in your laptop is not the same as the connectors in your monitor cables, don’t give up hope. There is workaround! You can try one of the methods below to continue:

Use a switch spillter, such as a Display splitter to have two HDMI ports. This works if you have only one HDMI port on your laptop but you need to HDMI ports.

1) Plug thecable of the first external monitor to the correct video port on your laptop. So I plug the VGA cable of the first external monitor into the VGA port on my laptop.

2) Plug thecable of the second external monitor to the other correct port on your laptop. So I plug the HDMI cable of the second external monitor into the HDMI port on my laptop.

4) You will see three displays labeled with 1, 2 and 3 in display mode. Generally speaking, the display 1 is the monitor of your laptop, and the display 2 and 3 are the external monitors.

Tips: You canclick and drag each display (1, 2 or 3) to rearrange the display. You can also change thesize of items, display resolution and orientation according to your preferences.

We all know that multiple monitors can extremely improve our productivity and bring a great experience, especially when you’re using a laptop. But how to connect external monitors to a laptop? You’ve come to the right place. This article introduces an easy and clear guideline toconnect two external monitors to your laptop.

Note: the instructions below apply to adding multiple monitors for laptops, but it also works if you want to add external monitors to your PC/desktop.

Generally speaking, most Windows laptops now support dual monitors, at least. But you need to make sure your laptop is capable to add two external monitors. And that depends on your Windows operating system, the capability of your graphics cards and drivers.

First of all, you may need to make sureyour graphics card supports multiple monitors. Normally, every graphics card provides at least two outputs, but you will need to check the graphics card properties on the manufacturer’s website, find your graphics card and check the specificationsto see if it supports adding two external monitors.

For example, if you are using the NVIDIA GeForce graphics card, you can check it out on the official website, and click your graphics card, and check the specification, then you will see if it supports multiple monitors.

If it does not support adding multiple monitors, you may need to buy and install a correct graphics card (e.g GeForce RTX 30 Series) before you keep processing.

You can check the ports on the back or on the sides of your laptop. In addition to the ports on your laptop, the monitors should have the corresponding ports as well. That will save your time and money to connect them. Otherwise, you will need to buy an extra adapter, such as a

If the ports on your laptop are not the same as the connectors in your monitor cables, or there are not enough ports, don’t give up. There is a workaround! You can try one of the methods below to continue:

Plug the cable of the first external monitor to the correct video port on your laptop. So I plug the VGA cable of the first external monitor into the VGA port on my laptop.

Plug the cable of the second external monitor to the other correct port on your laptop. So I plug the HDMI cable of the second external monitor into the HDMI port on my laptop.

You will see three displays labeled with 1, 2 and 3 in display mode. Generally speaking, the display 1 is the monitor of your laptop, and the display 2 and 3 are the external monitors.

Tips: You can click and drag each display (1, 2 or 3) to rearrange the display. You can also change the size of items, display resolution, andorientationaccording to your preferences.

Sometimes the external monitors cannot be correctly detected by your laptop.This can be caused byimproper connection, defective monitor or cables. Ensure all the cables connect correctly, and do some tests with an alternative monitor and another cable.

Automatically– If you don’t have time or patience to manually update drivers, you can do that automatically with Driver Easy. Its free version can detect and download the outdated drivers on your Windows with only a few clicks.

You can update your drivers automatically with either the FREE or the Pro version of Driver Easy. But with the Pro version it takes just 2 clicks (and you get full support and a30-day money back guarantee):

Click theUpdatebutton next to a flagged device to automatically download the correct drivers (you can do this with the FREE version), and install it on your computer.

Or clickUpdate Allto automatically download all the correct drivers that are missing or out of date on your Windows (this requires thePro version– you’ll be prompted to upgrade when you click Update All).

These are the easy instructions to connect two external monitors for your laptop. Comment below if you have any questions, and we will see what more we can do to further help.

Pay close attention to the USB port version required by these devices. Most modern USB video adapters require USB 3.0. You can check the version of your laptop"s USB ports by opening the Control Panel, selecting Device Manager, and expanding Universal Serial Bus controllers. You will see the USB ports listed there.

Before you install the adapter, you"ll need to install the driver software that comes with the adapter for them to work correctly. If the driver software doesn"t come with the adapter, you can download and install it from the manufacturer"s website. The driver software allows your computer to communicate through the USB port to the adapter as though the USB port itself was multiple display ports.

Once the driver software is installed, shut down your computer. Plug the USB end of the adapter into the correct USB port on your laptop. Next, start up your computer and let it fully boot before moving on to the next step.

With the driver software installed, your computer should detect the two monitors. If the second monitors don"t display anything after your computer boots, you may need to step through some troubleshooting steps to determine the cause of the extra monitors not working.

Adjust the monitors so your mouse cursor flows smoothly between your laptop display and the additional monitors. Select the Start menu and type Display. Select Display Settings. You will now see the second and third display. Adjust the display so they are positioned the way they are next to your laptop display. Select Apply to accept the monitor positions.

If you have a newer laptop, you might not even realize you have a special port on your computer called a Thunderbolt port. These ports are available on both macOS and Windows 10 laptops.

This port is usually located near the power adapter port. The latest USB Type-C connector is a small, oval port that packs powerful technology developed by both Intel and Apple. Older versions are more rectangular in shape and might be found on older laptops.

The docking station provides video, audio, power, and even a data connection all through that cable. Most importantly, they provide access to two external monitor ports from that single Thunderbolt connection.

If you don"t want to purchase a full Thunderbolt docking station, you could instead purchase a less expensive Thunderbolt adapter. These extend the single Thunderbolt port on your computer into two external monitors. If your computer also has an HDMI or Displayport port, it means you could have up to three external monitors connected to your laptop in addition to the laptop"s own display.

If you have newer monitors, they may include a Thunderbolt input. In this case you won"t need to purchase either a dock or a hub to attach an external monitor to your laptop. However if you want to connect two external monitors, your laptop will need two Thunderbolt ports.

The process of using a dock or a hub is the same. You simply plug the Thunderbolt cable into your laptop and plug each monitor into the appropriate ports on the device. Then, just adjust the position of each monitor in Display Settings as described in the first section of this article.

Thankfully, newer display port splitter adapters are capable of taking the single HDMI or DisplayPort output from your laptop and extending the video display output across two or more monitors.

Once purchased, just plug the single display port cable into your laptop. Then use cables to connect each of the adapter ports to each of your adapters. Many of these adapters provide plug-and-play installation without any software required. Others may require driver software. Some may also require an external power adapter.

When it comes to adding multiple screens to your laptop, your choice comes down to the hardware capabilities of both your laptop and your monitors. Whether you"re working with older technology or the latest laptop and monitors, there"s a solution to extend to multiple displays.

Setting up a laptop as a monitor in Windows 10 requires both computers to have access to Miracast. Open Settings > System > Projecting to this PC > set drop-downs to Available everywhere, Every time, and Never. Next, select Connect on the casting computer and then set permissions on the receiving computer.

On Windows, open Power Options and look for "When I close the lid," then set "On battery" or "Plugged in" (or both) to Do nothing > Save. On Mac, open System Preferences > Battery > Power Adapter > set "Turn display off after" to Never and check Prevent computer from sleeping automatically when the display is off.

Laptops are great, but as portable computers, they’re always short on screen real estate. Connecting two external monitors to a computer can turn it into a genuine productivity powerhouse, but it’s not always clear how to connect two monitors to a laptop. Depending on your exact model, you have many different options.

If all you want is two monitors total, you can use a single external monitor in addition to the one that’s built-in to your laptop. Of course, this is not the same as connecting two monitors to your laptop, but we know there will be some who just want a dual-monitor setup and didn’t know you can achieve it in this way.

If that’s you, then you’ve found your solution already; simply plug the external monitor in wherever the laptop allows and keep the laptop’s screen open. Both should work side by side.

Some modern laptops have a Thunderbolt 3 port. However, most new laptops have at least a USB-C port. Both technologies use an identical connector. If you need to brush up on Thunderbolt, look at HDG Explains: What is Thunderbolt? for more information.

Thunderbolt 3 devices can be “daisy-chained,” which is also true for Thunderbolt 3 displays. So if you have two Thunderbolt 3 displays, you can plug the first into your computer’s Thunderbolt 3 port and the second into the first monitor in the chain.

This is an elegant solution, but it’s still uncommon, and Thunderbolt 3 monitors are relatively rare and expensive. If you already have one Thunderbolt 3 screen (you should check!), then it’s not too outrageous to buy a second one for a setup like this, but for most people, the total outlay will be too much to justify.

If you own one of the latest Apple M1 computers, there is sadly a limitation on Apple M1 MacBooks, which only allow for a single external display. Apple has promised to address this in a future macOS update, but right now, it’s only possible through third-party workarounds involving specific dongles and display drivers. There is no native macOS solution.

There’s a good chance that your laptop has more than one display output type. For example, the computer this is being written on has both an HDMI port and a Mini-DisplayPort output. The first is wired to the dedicated GPU, and the second is wired to the integrated Intel GPU. It’s possible to connect a monitor to both outputs and have both run at the same time. Both monitors should run alongside the internal display, adding up to a triple-monitor setup.

There are some limitations here to keep in mind. First, the GPU in question needs to support the number of displays required. Modern integrated CPUs usually support up to three displays, so that would cover two external units as well as the internal screen. Dedicated GPUs usually support three or more.

Before you go out and buy monitors, you need to confirm with your laptop’s manufacturer via their web page, manual, or customer support whether your particular laptop supports separate monitors on each display output.

The advent of ultra-thin laptops has also brought us a generation of portable computers that have barely any ports at all. The latest Apple MacBooks only have Thunderbolt 3 ports, starting with as few as two ports on the base models. If you want monitor outputs on these computers, you need a dongle.

If you want to connect more than one external display, you either need a dongle with multiple display outputs, or you need two dongles, each plugged into its own Thunderbolt 3 or USB-C port.

Remember that the M1 Apple MacBooks currently have a one-monitor limit for external displays. For Intel-based Macs and Windows computers, this isn’t usually the case.

Some monitors offer a USB display connection, and there are also many portable USB displays on the market today. This essentially transforms your USB ports into additional display outputs and provides a simple way to add a second external display if your laptop only has a single monitor output.

Several devices on the market offer the option to “split” a single monitor output into multiple ones. How these devices achieve this can differ. For example, some present themselves as a single monitor to the computer and handle spanning the image across multiple screens. With these adapters, it’s not possible to use the dual monitor features of your operating system because it thinks there’s only one screen.

As a consequence, full-screen applications are spanned across all external screens linked to the splitter. It’s still not a bad solution if you use multiple windows snapped to each half of the virtual screen.

Other splitter types are more intelligent than this, but it does depend on the underlying display technology. For example, a DisplayPort hub that offers three ports will register as multiple independent displays on the computer. This is possible thanks to a DisplayPort 1.2 (and newer) feature known as Multi-Stream Transport (MST). With MST, you can daisy-chain numerous DisplayPort displays similarly to Thunderbolt 3 monitors. The hub does this chaining internally, but the actual connection layout is the same as chaining the monitors to each other.

If your laptop has a DisplayPort output that supports MST, then you can buy one of these splitters (known as an MST hub) and solve your external display problem for less cost than Thunderbolt 3 and with a broader choice of monitors.

While using standards such as USB, Thunderbolt and DisplayPort will be good enough for most users, don’t forget that proprietary solutions exist. Many laptops have custom connectors that let you add a docking station (sometimes referred to as a “port replicator”) that works as a native solution. These docking ports often make use of a connection that runs directly to the high-speed buses of the laptop’s motherboard, ensuring a premium experience and compatibility.

These docking stations usually have a multitude of display outputs. For example, the Dell E-Port products allow compatible laptops to easily connect two external monitors, offering multiple DVI and DisplayPort connections. Whether this option is available to you will depend entirely on your specific laptop model.

While there are many legitimate use cases for connecting two external monitors to your laptop, you should evaluate whether you need such an elaborate setup for your needs. If all you want is more desktop space, you may want to consider an ultrawide monitor instead, which only needs a single display output. Check out Ultrawide Vs. Dual Monitor for an in-depth discussion of both options and which is best for you.

This article was co-authored by Luigi Oppido and by wikiHow staff writer, Sam Browning. Luigi Oppido is the Owner and Operator of Pleasure Point Computers in Santa Cruz, California. Luigi has over 25 years of experience in general computer repair, data recovery, virus removal, and upgrades. He is also the host of the Computer Man Show! broadcasted on KSQD covering central California for over two years.

Note: HMDI allows to transmit to only display but also sound. If you have an "HDMI cable with ethernet" it will also convey internet (replaces the ethernet cable)

For example, you can connect a monitor that only has a DVI port to a computer that only has an HDMI port. In this case, the cable has one end with a DVI connection and the other end with an HDMI port.

A benefit is that it allows to plug in various types of connectors, helping in a variety of situations and especially useful when travelling between different offices, each of them having

Sometimes you have only one HDMI port on your computer (typically on a laptop), but need two ports so that you can connect 2 external monitors. In this case:

If available, we definitely recommend to preferably use either the USB-C / Thunderbolt or the HDMI port, as they both convey both video, sound and for some of them data and internet.

If you have a desktop computer, it is likely that you will have different display ports on the computer (for example either several HDMI ports, or one HDMI port and one VGA port). If your monitor

Check the ports available on the computer as well as on the monitor (see above) and source the appropriate cables. You will need two cables: one to connect the first monitor to port no. 1 on your

Check the graphics card properties on the manufacturer’s website, find your graphics card and check the specifications to see if it supports adding two external monitors.

Check the ports available on the computer as well as on the monitors (see above) and source the appropriate cables. You will need two cables: one to connect the first monitor to port no. 1 on

Let’s make a wild guess—you probably use your laptop for a variety of different tasks. Be it for work, study, entertainment, browsing the web, or catching up with what’s new, it comes through.

Today, we will show youhow to connect two monitors to a laptop, so you can boost your productivity or just enjoy content in a higherresolution. We promise you—it’s super easy!

Alternatively, in your quest toconnectyourlaptop to two monitors, you can use software likeCPU-Zthat allows you to learn what are your machine’s configurations. Just install and head over toGraphicsto see the details.

By default, the majority supports at least one external display. However,double-checkwith the GPUmanufacturer’s websiteto look into your hardware specs.

HDMI:High-definition multimedia interface (HDMI) is a popular connection for modern displays and televisions. It can transmit sound andimagesin up to8K quality.

USB-C:This recent technology supports data transfers by up to20Gbps. However, support for display capabilities varies across devices. You need to check with your laptop’s manufacturer if your device isUSB-Ccompatible.

Thunderbolt:This port is almost identical toUSB-C. But it comes with a double data transfer rate of upto 40Gbps. It supports audio and video output at a maximum of8K quality.

DVI/VGA:Older-generationportsthat are available on fewer and fewer modern displays. Most manufacturers exclude them on compact-sized laptops due to their large size.

Notethat it’s safe to connect the monitors while your laptop is running. Once you do so, Windows will automaticallydetectthem and prompt you to make whatever changes are necessary.

Step 3:Right-click on an empty area within yourdesktop. Next, selectDisplaySettingson your Windows 11 or 10 device. Older versions like Windows 8 and 7 have this feature namedScreenResolutioninstead.

Step 4:The monitors will havelabels 1, 2,and3underDisplaymode. Note that the first one is your system’s in-built panel. The other two represent the external screens for yourdual-monitor setup withyourlaptop.

Imagesmay sometimes appear stretched and fuzzy when using yourlaptopwithmultiple monitors. Should that happen, go back tosteps 5and6, and chooseResolutionbelowDisplaymode.

Unlike ordinary displays, they’re lightweight and compact-size, perfect if you have limited space. Another advantage is that they consume less energy, which translates to low power bills.

A docking station is adongle-likegadget for connecting with other computer devices. It offersmultiple connectivity optionsto add extra functionalities to your laptop.

Depending on your GPU’s capabilities, asplittercan have an output of up to 8K. Some have other extras, like a wireless remote control for convenience.

Adding multiple displays to your laptop can help skyrocket your productivity. You can independently run different apps across each one to manage tasks efficiently.

Check the specifications of your laptop for information regarding the number of displays it can support and the type of connections the laptop has available, such as HDMI, USB, Thunderbolt, etc.

Typically, there will be at least one connection available from the laptop for another display such as HDMI or VGA. You can connect your first external monitor to this connection to get a second display.

For a third display, you will typically need a docking station to add more ports to the laptop. There are universal docking stations that will work with most systems.

You may also need to install drivers onto the computer for the dock to fully function. The dock may include an installation CD, otherwise please refer to the manufacturer’s website for downloadable drivers.

Connect the docking station to the computer. You should hear a jingle to indicate that it has connected successfully and is recognized. Connect the second external monitor that you want to use to the docking station.

You will now see three monitors available to select and arrange. Scroll down until you see the Multiple displayssection to ensure that you have it set to Extend these displays to extend the display across the monitors.

Return to the Select and rearrange displays area and select the Identify button. A large number will appear on each display to correspond to the display settings numbers to identify each monitor. This will help with arranging the monitors in the settings to ensure they are extending properly between laptop and external monitors.

Laptops are ideal for working on the road, but their small screens can sometimes be a burden. Connecting a double, third, or even fourth screen can provide you with some breathing room and help you handle more in control of the task. Follow this guide to learn How to connect two monitors to a laptop.

Having several Monitors essentially eliminates switching between apps on a single screen. You can use your laptop’s native screen to display your email client while using a larger external monitor to run Photoshop. Perhaps you use one monitor for Slack and another for surfing. Keep reading to get to know more about “How to Connect Two Monitors To A Laptop”

You’ll need to double-check that your graphics card supports multiple displays before going to connect two monitors to Laptop. Typically, every graphics card has at least two outputs.

Still, you’ll need to check the graphics card attributes on the manufacturer’s website, locate your graphics card, and read the specifications to determine if it allows connecting two external displays.

Your laptop’s ports might be found on the back or sides. In addition to the ports on the laptop, the monitors should have equivalent ports. Connecting them in this manner will save you time and money.

Don’t give up if the ports on your laptop don’t match the connections on your display cables or there aren’t enough ports. To continue, you can use one of the ways listed below:

To include two HDMI ports, use a switch splitter, such as a Display splitter. This method works if your laptop only has one HDMI port, but you require two.

Each display (1, 2, or 3) can be rearranged by clicking and dragging. You can also customize the size, resolution, and orientation of the items to suit your needs.

You can use a single desktop monitor in addition to the one built into your laptop if you only need two monitors together. It is not precisely like connecting the laptop to two monitors.

A Thunderbolt 3 port can be found on some recent computers. On the other hand, most new computers contain at least one USB-C connector. An identical connector is used in both technologies.

You can connect the first Thunderbolt 3 display to the computer’s Thunderbolt 3 port and the second to the first monitor in the chain if you have two Thunderbolt 3 displays.

Apple has pledged to address this in a future macOS release. Still, for now, third-party solutions involving particular dongles and display drivers are the only way to get around it.

There’s a strong possibility your laptop has multiple display output options. The PC on which this is being written has an HDMI port and a Mini-DisplayPort output.

The first is connected to a dedicated GPU, while the second is connected to an Intel-integrated GPU. You can attach a monitor to both outputs and have them both running simultaneously.

You should check with the laptop manufacturer via their website, manual, or customer service to see if it supports multiple monitors on each display output.

Ultra-thin laptops have resulted in a generation of portable computers with very few ports. Only Thunderbolt 3 ports are available on the current Apple MacBooks, with as few as two ports available on the entry-level versions.

If you desire to connect more than one external monitor, you’ll need a dongle with multiple display outputs or two dongles connected into its own Thunderbolt 3 or USB-C port.

A USB display connection is available on several monitors, and there are also many portable USB displays on the market today. This effectively converts your USB ports into additional display outputs, allowing you to easily connect a dual external display if your laptop only has one.

Several products on the market can “split” a single monitor output into numerous ones. Some present themselves to the computer as a single monitor and can span an image across many screens.

Because your operating system believes there is only one screen, you won’t be able to use the dual monitor functionality of your operating system with these adapters. Applications that take up the entire screen are spread across all external screens connected to the splitter.

If the laptop has a DisplayPort output that supports MST, you can buy one of these splitters to address your external display problem for less money and a more comprehensive range of displays than Thunderbolt 3.

While most users will be satisfied with standards like USB, Thunderbolt, and DisplayPort, custom solutions are also available. Many laptops have special connectors that allow you to use a docking station as a native solution.

Having numerous monitors can help us be more productive and have a better experience, especially when using a laptop. Connecting external screens to a Windows laptop should be straightforward. Then, to “connect two monitors to a laptop,” use all of the options listed above.

Trying to boost your productivity with a second screen? Want more immersive gaming sessions? Multiple monitors can help. Dual displays are great for multitasking and are easy to set up, but there are a few things to consider before you wade into a multiscreen world—whether you"re on Windows or Mac.

Be sure to check out our advice on how to use a second monitor or screen with your laptop, and you can find recommendations for monitors, monitor arms, and desks in our Home Office Gear guide.If you buy something using links in our stories, we may earn a commission. This helps support our journalism. Learn more.

Windows: The presence of several ports on your graphics card indicates it can likely handle multiple monitors. But you should check the maximum number of supported displays and resolutions. (You can see what graphics card you have by typing Device Manager into the Search bar, opening it, and then expanding Display adapters.) Visit the manufacturer’s website to find the specifications for your graphics card, and look for a section titled Display Support or something similar that will list this info.

Mac: If you"re adding monitors to a Mac, click on the Apple icon > About This Mac and double-click your serial number, then tap Command-C on your keyboard to copy it, go to Apple"s website, and paste it into search. Click on Support to find the Technical Specifications and search for Video Support.

You can mix and match the types of screens you have at your workstation, though you"ll likely want some consistency. The most common monitor size is 24 inches, but 27-inch screens are increasingly popular. Having the same size screens will be nice for symmetry. Just keep an eye on resolution when you buy. A 1080p screen on a 27-inch monitor might look too fuzzy.

We dive into orientation and arrangements below, but consider different types of screen arrangements. My current preference is a 34-inch ultrawide screen paired with a 27-inch screen in portrait orientation. As the name suggests, ultrawides are really wide and can deliver the experience of two screens, minus the screen"s bezel in between. Pairing it with a screen in portrait mode means you get enough space on the ultrawide to run two full-size browser windows side by side, plus a vertical screen on the side for apps that benefit from it, like Slack and email.

Monitors come with a wide assortment stand designs. If you are going with the stand that comes in the box, check the measurements on the product page to ensure it"ll fit nicely on your desk.

Alternatively, you can mount your screen to your desk and get rid of the stand, freeing up a lot of space. (You can also freely move your screen to various angles and positions.) Many displays support the VESA mount system. There are different sizes, and monitor arms have a screen size range and maximum weight they can support. Always check whether the monitor"s product page mentions VESA support, and note the VESA mount size. When you buy an arm mount, make sure it supports the screen size and weight of your new screen.

To get the most from your computer and monitors, you"ll need to think about which ports and cables to use. For Windows PCs, your choice is often HDMI vs. DisplayPort. Unfortunately, this isn’t as straightforward as you might expect. There are several versions of each connection type, each with different capabilities. For example, HDMI 2.1 supports up to 8K resolution at 120 Hz, DisplayPort 1.4 can deliver 8K at 60 Hz, and HDMI 2.0 is limited to 4K at 60 Hz.

For laptops, you might be looking at Thunderbolt, Mini DisplayPort, or even USB-C. Sometimes you will need an adapter or USB hub to connect an external monitor.

Check the technical specifications for your graphics card and monitor to find the best option for you. Remember that the card, monitor, and cable (and any adapters) you use must support the same technology and the same version. High-end monitors usually come with a selection of cables in the box, but some manufacturers annoyingly provide a single option that might not match the monitor’s top capability.

Determine the type of video connectors that are available on your computer and the monitors. The number of video connectors depends on the type of graphics card that is installed in your computer. Most graphics or video cards on a desktop computer can support two or more monitors depending on the graphics card and computer specifications. However, laptops can support up to two monitors depending on the computer specifications. To learn more, see the Dell Knowledge Base article How to Connect a Monitor to a Dell Computer.

Once the cables are connected securely, your computer should automatically detect and display the desktop screen on the connected monitors. You can now select the display style that best suits your needs.

Microsoft Windows provides multiple display style options on how the desktop screen is displayed across multiple monitors that are connected to your computer.

Extend - Stretch the desktop across the two displays. The desktop screen of your computer is extended across all the detected monitors and allows you to have a desktop screen that spans across all monitors.

To learn how to change the screen resolution, adjust the refresh rate and change the size of fonts and icons, see the Dell knowledge base articles that are listed below based on the operating system that is installed on your computer:

Multiple monitors are awesome. They really are—ask anyone who’s used a two- or three-screen setup for their desktop, and they’ll tell you that they have a hard time going back to just one. Laptops have a built-in advantage here, since they have one screen: to boost productivity, just add a monitor.

But what if you want more than one screen hooked up to your notebook at once? What if your laptop lacks a bunch of external video ports? What if you’re travelling, and you can’t lug around a full-sized monitor? Don’t worry, you still have more options than you might think.

Thunderbolt 3, which uses the new USB Type-C connector standard, is the newest way for laptops and tablets to output video. The advantages are obvious: a single cable can handle video, audio, standard data transmission (for external hard drives or a wired Internet connection) andpower, all at the same time. Not only does this reduce clutter on your desk—assuming you have the hardware to take advantage of it, of course—it means laptops can be made smaller and thinner by consolidating ports.

So, if you have a laptop with Thunderbolt 3 and a Thunderbolt-capable monitor, this is by far the best solution. You can just hook up each monitor to one Thunderbolt/USB-C port.

If you have a laptop with multiple Thunderbolt/USB-C ports but older monitors that don’t have Thunderbolt input, you’ll need some sort of adapter for each monitor, like this USB-C to HDMI or this USB-C to DVI adapter. Remember, you’ll need one adapter for each monitor you’re connecting.

If your laptop only has one Thunderbolt/USB-C port, you’ll likely need some sort of docking station to connect two monitors to one port. We recommend checking out this Dell Thunderbolt Dock, though there are others out there as well. Note that some laptops, like the small one-port MacBook, do not support running multiple displays from one port using these docks, so check your laptop’s specifications, and if you’re going to try a dock, buy from a store with a good return policy in case it doesn’t work.

Thunderbolt has a massive amount of video bandwidth, and it’s more that capable of supporting multiple standard monitors (the new Macbook Pros can output to two 5K displays at once, so long as you have the right adapters). Specialized adapters—basically mini-laptop docks—are designed for the purpose of regular docking to a multi-monitor setup with mice, keyboard, and other connections.

Once USB-C and Thunderbolt become more common on laptops and monitors, it’ll be the best option around for connecting to just about any kind of video output. That may take a while, since some manufacturers (like Microsoft) seem oddly hesitant to adopt the standard.

If you have an even slightly older laptop, it probably doesn’t have Thunderbolt/USB-C, instead sporting a VGA, DVI, HDMI, or DisplayPort port. This will let you easily add an external monitor, but if you want to connect two, things get more complicated.

Most laptops only have a single video-out option, with a rare few (like some of Lenovo’s ThinkPad line or older Macbook Pros) offering multiple ports. It’s sometimes possible to use two ports at once for multiple external monitors, but this is rare, as manufacturers tend to expect you to use your laptop’s screen and a monitor together.

So you’ll likely have to turn to a third-party solution, like the Matrox line of dual- and triple-head docks, which use a single video cable to output to multiple monitors. These are a bit expensive, but they’re probably the best solution for most people. Just keep in mind that they’ll be limited by your laptop’s graphics card, so if you have integrated graphics, don’t expect to run a bunch of 4K displays without problems.

If those multi-port docking stations are just too much money for you, there is a cheaper option. While older versions of the Universal Serial Bus standard weren’t designed to handle video-out, since version 2.0 companies have made handy adapters that can turn any USB port into a monitor-out port—like this USB-to-HDMI adapter from Cable Matters. The vast majority of these adapters are using Intel’s DisplayLink technology.

This option has a lot of advantages. Not only is it an easy way to get video-out on almost any modern Windows or macOS machine, it’s inexpensive, portable, and expandable. It’s possible, at least technically, to add as many monitors as your laptop has USB ports in this fashion.

However, USB video-out adapters basically function as their own low-power graphics cards, and they have a bigger hit on system resources like processor cycles and RAM than a standard external display. Most laptops will start to show serious performance issues if you try to add two or more monitors in this fashion. For quick and cheap multiple monitor setups, it’s best to combine your laptop’s own screen, one monitor attached with HDMI/DisplayPort/DVI, and one on a USB adapter.

We covered this briefly under Thunderbolt, but a docking station is a popular alternative to multiple adapters for power users. These gadgets usually aren’t made for specific laptop or tablet models unless they’re explicitly business-oriented; examples include Dell’s Latitude line, Lenovo ThinkPads, and Microsoft’s Surface Pro tablets. USB-only alternatives are available, but generally less powerful—more expensive options offer more flexible video ports. A model-specific expansion dock with multiple video outputs might do if you want to keep your laptop mobile with the minimum amount of setup and teardown time at your desk.

A more specialized version of this idea is the external graphics card. These gadgets are really cool, because they let you hook up a full desktop-class GPU to a laptop and output to as many monitors as that card can support—usually three or four, for the mid-range options from NVIDIA and ATI.

Unfortunately, these are both limited (typically restricted to only a few models of laptop from a single manufacturer like Razer) and expensive, with docks costing $300 or more withoutthe card that goes into them. They also require a USB 3.0 or ThunderBolt port to operate. External GPUs should become a more viable option in the future, but for the time being most consumers can only use them if they’re prepared to buy a whole new laptop anda dock anda graphics card at the same time, a $2000 investment on the low end.

Anyone who is used to working on a dual monitor setup will tell you how cramped working on a single monitor is—especially on a laptop or notebook. We’ll discuss how to replicate the office desktop PC experience at home by connecting additional displays to any business laptop PC.

The good news is that Thunderbolt 3 USB-C technology readily transforms a notebook into a desktop productivity machine just in time for COVID-19 work from home setups. And for those who have legacy laptops deployed, you have options for adding displays to older computers as well.

The Thunderbolt 3 USB-C interface provides an all-in-one port and cable for high speed data transfers, high resolution video output, and battery charging. Laptop OEMs starting building business notebooks with Thunderbolt 3 connectivity in 2018 and is now more or less standard issue for new business notebooks.

A notebook with Thunderbolt 3 is powerful enough to display video to two daisy chained 4K-resolution displays, or one 5K screen. Note that you will need a Thunderbolt 3 input on the monitor you’re connecting, however. If you have Thunderbolt 3 / USB-C on your computer but not your monitor, you’ll find an easy fix with the appropriate video adapter (USB-C to HDMI or USB-C to VGA).

In terms of deployment, using Thunderbolt 3 offers the cleanest, easiest setup available. Simply attach a Thunderbolt 3 cable to a Thunderbolt 3 enabled monitor and you’re in business. Since power passes through the USB-C interface, this setup will also charge a laptop while in use.

A laptop docking station offers remote workers a way to connect a laptop to multiple external displays and other peripherals if needed. The latest generation USB-C docking stations connect to a laptop’s USB-C port and delivers handy backwards compatibility to connect to older monitors with HDMI and DisplayPort inputs that new laptops may not support.

Laptop OEMs offer branded USB-C docking stations for their business lines (see: Lenovo ThinkPad, Dell Latitude and MacBook 2015 and later). Third party solutions are designed to replicate performance across brands at a competitive price point. (See: Belkin Thunderbolt 3 docks which offer a wide range of compatibility and connectivity for both Windows and Mac laptops.)

A laptop that is very legacy with only a VGA port can still swing a dual monitor setup as long as it has a USB port available. You will need a USB to VGA or DVI external video card and the appropriate cable to connect with a computer monitor.

Laptops manufactured within the last eight years commonly have built-in HDMI video output. If you want to add one extra monitor, simply attach an HDMI cable to an HDMI-enabled computer. An inexpensive HDMI-DVI cable adapter will add compatibility to a monitor without a HDMI input.

Laptops that have only one HDMI video output will benefit from a USB 3.0 docking station for a dual monitor setup in addition to the laptop display. The HDMI standard does not support daisy chain monitor configurations. If you don’t want to purchase a docking station, a workaround for connecting a second monitor to laptop in lieu of docking station is to use a USB-to-HDMI adapter. Note that running video output from a USB connection tends to take a toll on computer resources and you may run into performance issues, especially for any tasks beyond basic web browsing or word processing.

DisplayPort video output can support two monitors without a docking station in a daisy chained configuration, providing functionality that HDMI cannot support. HDMI and DisplayPort are not compatible, and you will need monitors with a DisplayPort input. Converting a DisplayPort signal to HDMI using a passive adapter cable may work but is generally not a recommended solution.

Select Start> Settings> System> Display. Your PC should automatically detect your monitors and show your desktop. If you don’t see the monitors, selectDetect.

A dual monitor setup isn"t always plug-and-play. Extending your screen to a second or third monitor requires a suitable graphics card with sufficient ports. This is particularly challenging if you"d like to add more than one external screen to your laptop.

Before you start shoving wires into ports in the back of your PC or the sides of your laptop, stop and take a closer look at those ports so that you know what you"re looking at. Modern computers handle video via an HDMI port, but older computers feature a variety of other ports:

DisplayPort: A DisplayPort was originally designed as a superior video port to older VGA and DVI ports, but is far less popular on modern computer systems than the HDMI port.

DVI: The Digital Visual Interface was originally designed by the Digital Display Working Group, and was next-generation to the inferior VGA port. Many older computers have one of several configurations of the DVI port.

Thunderbolt: A Thunderbolt port is a combination of several technologies, including DisplayPort and PCI Express, in combination with a power supply to power the external display if required.

Typically, if your computer has two ports on it, the video card should be capable of sending an output signal to both. If there"s only one port, then it probably can"t. However, your desktop might have available slots for additional video cards. So, even if there"s only one port on your desktop, don"t hesitate to pop the cover and check for any available slots for another video card.

When it comes to laptops, another option is to purchase and use compatible docking stations. You may have a docking station option that could extend your laptop (which may only have a single video port), into a docking station that features two or more ports. So, even if you only have one video port available, definitely research the graphics cards if you want to set up a dual monitor laptop.

If you have two ports, but you can"t seem to get both ports to work at the same time, the next step is to determine if your video card even has the ability to display to multiple monitors.

In the display settings, you may actually see the multiple displays come up, with some disabled and others set up as either your primary display or as an extended display. You can ignore those for now and instead click on Advanced display settings at the bottom of this window.

On the next page, you should see Display information for each connected display if your graphics card "sees" the number of monitors that you"ve plugged in.

If you only see one, then you should quit here because even though you managed to connect multiple displays, the card is only able to utilize one at a time. Much of your success in this comes down to hardware capability, so checking this first is the most important thing.

However, if you"ve confirmed that your video card can "see" all displays that you"ve plugged in, yet you can"t seem to get additional monitors to work, don"t give up. There are a few more things you can try to fix the issue.

If you"re still not certain whether your computer can support dual monitors, another option is to research your graphics card. First, look up the brand of your graphics card.

Head to Google and research the brand of your graphics adapter, followed by the word "multi-display" or "multi-monitor." Hopefully, you"ll be able to find some evidence of whether your graphics card can handle multiple monitors.

If your laptop or PC has a DisplayPort, then you might be able to take advantage of what"s called multi-stream transport (MST) to daisy-chain two monitors off the single DisplayPort. These are the requirements:

Now, in the Display Settings screen, you should see both monitors detected. You can arrange them to either mirror or extend your desktop. There is also the option to split an HDMI signal to multiple monitors.

A docking station is a great way to add additional ports to your laptop, including ports for external monitors. The Anker PowerExpand Elite 13-In-1 Thunderbolt 3 Dock, for example, lets you hook up two 4K 60Hz monitors using its Thunderbolt 3 and HDMI ports. By using a splitter on your Windows laptop, you could even connect a total of three 4K monitors. Other laptop docking stations feature similar options.

Even if your PC or laptop graphics card only supports a single output port, you can still extend your system with a second display using a USB-powered monitor and DisplayLink software. Find an external display that"s USB-powered, plug it in, and install free DisplayLink software to make it all work.

Whichever approach you take to set up a dual monitor setup, you configure it all under Settings (press Windows + I) > System > Display. The example above is a laptop connected to an external monitor using the HDMI port on a USB-C dock.

To determine where your mouse can cross over from one monitor to the next, drag the squares representing your monitors around to rearrange them. Click Apply to save your changes.

To display different things on two or more displays, you need to extend your screen to the other monitors. Under Settings > System > Display, scroll down to Multiple displays and select Extend these displays.

If you want to close your laptop"s lid, but still use your external monitor, for example, to watch a movie, you have to change your laptop"s power options, which are hidden in the Windows 10 Control Panel.

If you want to use your external monitor, select Do nothing next to When I close the lid. Note that you can have different settings, depending on whether your laptop is running on battery or is plugged in.

As you can see, there are a lot of steps in the process where some people would give up and conclude that it just doesn"t work. If that"s still you, consider getting a larger monitor.

But really, it comes down to just making sure your video card is capable of doing this, and then playing around with those display settings and making sure that the monitors are configured correctly. If you have one DisplayPort, consider the daisy-chain option. And if all else fails, buy a USB monitor and install DisplayLink software.

When you connect your Surface to a TV or monitor, your Surface tries to set the best resolution based on the connector and the resolution of your TV or monitor.

The resolution and refresh rate supported for the external display depends on how many displays are connected and whether the display on your Surface is on or off. It also depends on which processor you have.

When connecting through Surface Dock there’s a maximum screen refresh or resolution possible, even if some Surface model capabilities exceed this. The following table specifies the max refresh rate and screen resolution for Surface devices that are using either one or two external displays.

When you use two external displays, you may be able to achieve a higher refresh or screen resolution on one display by lowering the refresh or screen resolution used on the other.

Splitters are supported in DisplayPort connections, for example, which will allow you to use one port on the laptop to connect a number of monitors, although this isn’t a very economical way to do it since it might be a bit expensive.

You might find that occasionally monitors will have an additional port to allow you to connect the signal from your device to each monitor by “daisy chaining” from one monitor to the next, although it’s worth pointing out this isn’t very common.

Alternatively, if you have a hub or a laptop with a DVI, USB-C, Displayport, and HDMI, feel free to mix and match the monitors. Do bear in mind that you’ll need to select the best input for each monitor’s specification so that you get the best refresh rate and resolution out of each one. This is known as the “all-hands-on-deck” strategy.

If you"re in the market for a new laptop, be sure to have a look at our best business laptops guide, as we always value devices with plenty of connectivity options.

As technology continues to progress and new standards are created, it’s becoming more frequent to find difficulties in achieving the result you want. This also applies to monitors. The everyday, casual, user might not be familiar with USB-C, Displayport, or HDMI, and it’s not always clear for them. Usually, a task which should essentially be “plug this into this” becomes complex and time consuming. However, don’t let this dissuade you from accomplishing your monitor goal, just make sure you do plenty of research before buying a cable, and make sure it’s the one you need. Once you’ve overcome this, the rest is more or less quite straightforward.

When you work with a lot of documents at once, or find yourself with a lot of windows open, it can become welcome, if not necessary, to have more display room for your work all at once on your computer. Rather than buy a single, larger monitor, you can use a second one to display either the same or different windows.

For laptops where you intend to use the built-in display as one of your monitors, you only need one place to plug in the second monitor on the laptop.

Adding another monitor adds, at minimum, two more cables to your computer setup. Please be sure these cables will not be caught or snagged by your chair, desk, or people walking by.