Thinkpads Forum

I have an X61 (type 7675) and want to use 2 external monitors (not using the laptop monitor). Is this possible, and what do I need to buy to do it?

Thanks!

Yes it is. You will need a Matrox DualHead2Go.

thanks. 2 more questions.

what's the difference between analog and digital and can i use this module with my docking station? thanks!

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Might want to check to be sure that your DVI port isn't DVI-D, otherwise it won't drive a VGA monitor. I forgot to check on two occasions and ended up having to swap vid cards to drive drive the 2nd CRT. Only DVI-I and DVI-A(which I don't think I've actually come across) can handle VGA output
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ChugokuOtaku wrote:Might want to check to be sure that your DVI port isn't DVI-D, otherwise it won't drive a VGA monitor.

The X61 and docking station don't have a DVI connector at all. The connectors on the DualHead2Go Digital are the universal DVI-I.

Hazarrd wrote:I have an X61 (type 7675) and want to use 2 external monitors (not using the laptop monitor). Is this possible, and what do I need to buy to do it?

I think the best answer I've seen to date on this answer was on the lenovo forums... Look for the post by user l8nite at 01-12-2008 10:35 AM.

To quote l8nite:

l8nite wrote:VTBook costs between 300 and 400. It works OK but causes lots of heat. This option uses a PC Card to DVI converter.

Sidecar and Magma Expesscard1 work very well and are the best option however they cost 800+. This option uses a PC Card to PCI card converter and can support any PCI card. The only thing I do not like about this option is the fact that you have to keep plugging and unplugging a PC Card each time you leave your desk. And of course I am not thrilled about the cost.

The DualHead2Go option takes your single VGA port and splits it across two displays. The problem with this is the max resolution for each display is 1280 x 1024 and the processing load is handled by your single onboard video card. In the case of the X61 this is an integrated video card. DualHead2Go costs approx 150.

I went to Digital Tiger's website and noted their SideCar express starts at $1,300.

Magma's ExpressBox starts at $729. Even though you have to buy your own PCI-Express video card, it should be far less expensive than SideCar and it seems to give the most flexibility of all the choices I've found so far.

Villagetronic, the makers of the VTBook are supposedly coming out with a product called "ViDock Gfx" which looks similar to the SideCar and ExpressBox. The product was announced in 11/07, but not much news about it since then. Don't pay much attention to their "x days before next announcement" claim since the countdown counter seems to cycle every 30 days...without noticeable changes to the website.

I'm personally interested in knowing whether the DualHead2Go can accomodate one display in standard landscape mode and the second display in portrait. Everything I've read to dates leads me to believe the DualHead treats both screens as one so my desired mixed landscape/portrait setup won't work. I'm looking for a cheap solution that will allow both screens to be treated independently.

ptantra wrote:I'm personally interested in knowing whether the DualHead2Go can accomodate one display in standard landscape mode and the second display in portrait. Everything I've read to dates leads me to believe the DualHead treats both screens as one so my desired mixed landscape/portrait setup won't work. I'm looking for a cheap solution that will allow both screens to be treated independently.

Because the DualHead2Go uses the computer's existing external display connector, it is seen by the operating systems as a single wide screen.

You may be out of luck looking for a cheap way to get two screens with different orientation. In the older generations, you could plop the X series in the T series' mother-of-all-docks, and use a (dual-head) PCI graphics card in the dock, but as far as I know for the X6* series the only docking option is the ultrabase, which doesn't offer a PCI or a PCI-E slot.

qviri wrote:Because the DualHead2Go uses the computer's existing external display connector, it is seen by the operating systems as a single wide screen.

Thanks for the confirmation.

There is actually another option.

DisplayLink (www.displaylink.com) makes USB video adapters which can drive a display with a resolution up to 1600x1200. Since Dec 07, their software even supports Vista Aero. There are different hardware vendors building USB-VGA or USB-DVI adapters using their technology. See their website for details.

I myself have the Toshiba Dynadock DVI and it really works well on a 1600x1200 external display. Performance is pretty decent. You can even watch video on the USB connected display, but it is somewhat slower than the native displays.

My setup currently has the internal 1400x1050 LCD, one 1600x1200 display powered by the VGA port of the X61t and one 1600x1200 display powered by the Dynadock. I think different resolutions and orientations on any of these displays should be possible, but I have no tested it.

Thomas

My Dynadock is limited to 1280x1024. Did you do something special to it?

I have the DVI version which can run at 1600x1200.
The VGA version seems to be limited to 1280x1024

Thomas

Nope - mine is DVI.

Andrew,

I am using the DisplayLink USB driver 4.3 which is available directly from DisplayLink. Are you using the same driver?

I am using it here at home with 1600x1200 without any problems. I didn't have to set anything. Also, the Toshiba data sheet also says up to 1600x1200 for the DVI version.

Thomas

ptantra wrote:I went to Digital Tiger's website and noted their SideCar express starts at $1,300.

If anyone is actually interested in the Digital Tiger Sidecar product with its $1,300+ price tag, I just found their notebook compatibility list:

ThinkPad T series up to T42; ThinkPad T60, ThinkPad G series, ThinkPad R series up to R51 have been tested and certified to work with their product.

ThinkPad A, X and Z series (those w/ Ricoh cardbus controllers) are incompatible.