External box to run 2 monitors with laptop. What to use?

Question

I have a laptop and want to run 2 external 20" monitors. The monitors do 1680x1050 resolution.

what is a good external box to use for this? I know there is the Matrox dual head, but the resolution doesn't seem to match my needs. I would think I need something that supports 3360x1050. Any devices out there that would acomplish this?

Answer 1

The Matrox DualHead2Go's resolution is dependent on the graphics chip on the motherboard since it doesn't have any graphics processor of its own. Since you don't mention the laptop, it's tough to tell which resolutions are supported.

Don't use the VT product, it's a piece of crap. If the resolutions aren't supported under the DualHead2Go the other option is a full docking station with an PCI or PCIe slot and another graphics card. This can run into some money though.

Answer 2

You do not say who the manufacturer is.


Look at the option of getting a full dock. (Not a port rep)

A lot of graphics chips will support dual monitors and the full dock may have two video connectors that can be used at the same time. It may have a slot for a graphics card.

Answer 3

One of the better ones on the market for the past few years is the VTBook adapter - but multiple monitors that high is tough.
http://www.villagetronic.com/vtbook/index.html

You could potentially run it that high on one monitor, then use the VGA port on your laptop for the other one.

ExpressCard video adapters are just starting to hit the market in full - that's because ExpressCard is the first bus that can handle transferring enough data to make it worth while.

If you simply want to repeat the same image across multiple monitors, then you can get a VGA repeater and just propegate the signal across them.