# Multiple computer monitors
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/multiple-computer-monitors/444903
**Category:** Factual Questions
**Created:** [April 11, 2008, 3:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/multiple-computer-monitors/444903 "2008-04-11T15:04:13Z")
**Posts on this page:** 6
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@flex727](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/flex727)
#### Post date: [April 11, 2008, 3:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/multiple-computer-monitors/444903/1 "2008-04-11T15:04:13Z")
I have a home office set up with a laptop and an extra computer monitor setup as an “extended desktop”. This really works well, but I find that I could actually use a total of 3 monitors set up that way. Is there a relatively cheap and easy way to do that?
---
### Author:  [@friedo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/friedo)
#### Post date: [April 11, 2008, 3:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/multiple-computer-monitors/444903/2 "2008-04-11T15:11:02Z")
If your laptop has a PCMCIA slot, you can add an additional video card and plug a new monitor into that. Alternatively, you could get a (probably cheaper) PCI video card and use it with a PCMCIA-to-PCI adapter doohickey.
In the “not relatively cheap” category there’s [Sidecar](http://www.digitaltigers.com/sidecar.asp), an external multi-headed display driver that lets you run up to four additional displays.
---
### Author:  [@spinky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/spinky)
#### Post date: [April 11, 2008, 6:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/multiple-computer-monitors/444903/3 "2008-04-11T18:29:08Z")
There’s [this](http://www.everythingusb.com/iogear_usb_2.0_external_video_card_12787.html) sort of thing, which is much more reasonably priced. I’ve never tried it so I don’t know if performance is a problem, but drawing things on that screen is never going to be as fast as on a regular video card (the review there mentions that trying to play full-screen video at high resolutions gets very choppy). But it would work for my purposes.
I’ve also seen stories on Engadget and whatnot that various manufacturers have prototypes of monitors with display adapters built-in, so you just plug a USB cable into the monitor and off you go. That sounds like it could be useful for the secondary/tertiary monitor scenario. I’m not sure when those types of things will hit production though.
---
### Author:  [@Quartz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quartz)
#### Post date: [April 11, 2008, 7:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/multiple-computer-monitors/444903/4 "2008-04-11T19:10:52Z")
Being a laptop makes it slightly difficult. You could get yourself a Matrox [Dualhead](http://www.matrox.com/graphics/en/gxm/products/dh2go/home.php) or [Triplehead](http://www.matrox.com/graphics/en/gxm/products/th2go/home.php).
---
### Author:  [@flex727](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/flex727)
#### Post date: [April 11, 2008, 8:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/multiple-computer-monitors/444903/5 "2008-04-11T20:56:45Z")
[QUOTE=friedo]
If your laptop has a PCMCIA slot, you can add an additional video card and plug a new monitor into that. Alternatively, you could get a (probably cheaper) PCI video card and use it with a PCMCIA-to-PCI adapter doohickey.
In the “not relatively cheap” category there’s [Sidecar](http://www.digitaltigers.com/sidecar.asp), an external multi-headed display driver that lets you run up to four additional displays.
[/QUOTE]
This looked pretty cool until I saw the price. Yikes!
---
### Author:  [@flex727](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/flex727)
#### Post date: [April 11, 2008, 8:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/multiple-computer-monitors/444903/6 "2008-04-11T20:58:34Z")
[QUOTE=Quartz]
Being a laptop makes it slightly difficult. You could get yourself a Matrox [Dualhead](http://www.matrox.com/graphics/en/gxm/products/dh2go/home.php) or [Triplehead](http://www.matrox.com/graphics/en/gxm/products/th2go/home.php).
[/QUOTE]
This really looks like the best solution, still a bit pricey but might be feasible.
Thanks for all the great suggestions.