Dell Inspiron Dual Display

[hiegolf]

Hey Everyone,

I have a Dell Inspiron 1545 laptop and currently I am running one external monitor and my laptop display as the extended display. I have recently ordered 2, 21.5" Dell monitors, and would like to set up my laptop so I have just the 2 dell monitors side by side, extended screen, with my laptop closed and tucked away. With a Latitude laptop it is pretty simple, you just plug it into a docking station and plug the monitors into the DVI ports. However, with my Inspiron there is no docking station and I was wondering if there is a way to do this. If I purchased a VGA splitter like the one below, plugged it in, and closed my laptop would it give me the option of running 2 monitors side by side, extended or will it only allow me to mirror the screen? Do I need to get a new video card?

Any insight would be extremely helpful. Thanks in advance!

http/www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16815158110&cm_re=vga_splitter_2_port-_-15-158-110-_-Product

 

[frozenlead]

A VGA splitter splits a VGA connection so that the same thing can be viewed on two monitors - it will not extend your desktop to an additional monitor.

You're going to need something like a Matrox Dual Head2Go. There are a few other USB video solutions, but I don't know of any popular ones.

 

[buwish]

If you feel comfortable taking apart a laptop, a new video card with a bit more "juice" may be the way to go if you can find something that is compatible. USB solutions do work, but I've noticed that the response time can be slow, i.e. choppy.

 

[frozenlead]

A GPU isn't going to give you an addition output...

 

[Saleemajk]

Hi I've got a Dell Inspiron 1545 and when I press F1 for the external monitor I don't get the option for an extended desktop - having read your query I see that you have the option to use one of the screens as an extended display. Can you guide me on how to use extended display with my laptop. Will I need additional drivers or hardware?

Thanks.