One of the main problems that the modern laptops is their poor connectivity, and this means that in most cases we can only connect an external monitor to them, either through their only video output hdmiit is by USB-C. So if you want to be able to have two or more monitors connected to your laptop, you will have to resort to the alternative solutions that we are going to offer you in this article.
As much as we are dealing with a “laptop”, it is very common for users to want to have a fixed desk where they can use it with one or more monitors, keyboard and mouse, but then be able to disconnect the laptop to take to another place. For this reason, if you want to connect multiple monitors to the laptop, you will need additional peripherals due to the poor connectivity they provide from the factory.
Ways to connect more monitors to your laptop
As we said a moment ago, most laptops only have one video output, either via HDMI or via USB-C, although it is true that some models incorporate both possibilities and that two monitors can be connected as standard, although this is not the most common. There are also other models that are ready to Daisy-Chain in their USB-C and that would allow us to connect many more monitors, but this is not the most common either.
Therefore, in a more conventional laptop that has only one HDMI output (which is the most normal), we will have to resort to HDMI adapters and/or hubs to be able to have two or more monitors. There are also USB to HDMI adapters, but honestly we don’t recommend them unless they’re a good brand as they usually cause quite a bit of trouble, especially if the monitors are Full HD resolution or higher, because they suffer from power cuts.
Based on this, our recommendation is that if you’re buying an HDMI port hub or multiplier, buy one that has extra power to avoid precisely these issues. Some dubious brands claim to be powerless and offer 4K resolution, but usually they are only duplicators (i.e. they output the same image on all monitors) and they don’t allow you to extend your desktop to use the extra monitors. If you see a duplicator that costs less than $10…beware.
Which adapter should you buy?
We’ve already told you that we don’t recommend USB adapters “unless they’re a good brand”, and Startech is the best for that, so we’ll recommend an adapter from that brand.
This adapter that we put above is capable of offering two HDMI outputs (in 1080p or one of them in 4K) with a single USB 3.0 port, but keep in mind that it is only compatible ‘with the Windows operating system.
On the other hand, also from the same manufacturer (and quite expensive, by the way), you have this other alternative if your laptop has a USB-C port with video output, which would allow you to connect up to to 4 additional monitors via HDMI with just one of these ports. Attention, it is also only compatible with Windows, it is not valid for Linux or Mac.
Finally, we are going to recommend this other splitter that can output video signal to two 4K monitors at 60Hz via HDMI from one HDMI video output on the laptop. It’s pricey, but trust us that if it’s something you’ll be using every day, you’ll end up appreciating its quality.
