One of the main problems that modern laptops have is their poor connectivity, and this means that in most cases we can only connect an external monitor to them, either through its only HDMI video output, or through USB-C. Therefore, if you want to be able to have two or more monitors connected to your laptop, you will need to resort to the alternative solutions that we are going to propose 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 it to another place. For this reason, if you want to have several monitors connected to the laptop, you will need some extra devices due to the poor connectivity that 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 two monitors can be connected as standard. , although it is not the most common. There are also other models that are prepared to do Daisy-Chain in their USB-C and that would allow us to connect many more monitors, but it is not the most common either.
Therefore, in a more conventional laptop that only has one HDMI output (which is the most normal), we will have to resort to adapters and/or HDMI hubs to be able to have two or more monitors. There are also USB to HDMI adapters, but honestly we do not recommend them unless they are from a good brand because they usually cause quite a few problems, especially if the monitors have Full HD resolution or more, since they suffer from power shortages.
Based on this, our recommendation is that if you buy an HDMI hub or port multiplier, buy one that has extra power to avoid precisely these problems. There are some from questionable brands that claim to be powerless and offer 4K resolution, but these are usually just mirrors (ie output the same image on all monitors) and don’t allow you to extend your desktop to use the monitors additionally. . If you see a duplicator that costs less than 10 Euros… be suspicious.
Which adapter should you buy?
Before we have told you that we do not recommend USB adapters “unless they are of a good brand”, and Startech is the best for it, so we are going to recommend an adapter from this brand.
This adapter that we put above is capable of offering two HDMI outputs (at 1080p or one of them at 4K) with only one 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 USB-C with video output, which would allow you to connect up to 4 additional monitors via HDMI with just one of these ports. Be careful, it is only compatible with Windows, it is not valid for Linux or Mac.
Finally, we are going to recommend this other splitter that is capable of outputting a video signal to two 4K monitors at 60 Hz via HDMI from an HDMI video output on the laptop. It is expensive, but believe us that if it is going to be something that you will use every day, you will end up appreciating its quality.
