Thinkpads Forum

What I want to do is have the possibility of using 3 external monitors at the same time. I have the Quadro FX 880M graphics card, which I understand does not support more than 2 monitors. So if we don't take USB solutions into consideration; are there any good alternatives to ViDock?

Also, which pci-e graphics card would work well in an external docking solution like the ViDock? I read in other posts that the FireGL cards have been popular, but these are rare to come by in Norway and importing is troublesome because toll fees double prices (literally), so I'm wondering which other ones might fit. I only need it for Windows 7; office, database clients, ssh, etc. No heavy duty graphics processing really required.

Would greatly appreciate some input here, particularly if you have attempted something like this yourself :]

I'm not all that spec'd up on the W510, but here's how I would approach this:

* video card likely has a max resolution of at least 3840x2400, which = 4 x (1920 x 1200), which = four WUXGA monitors.

* W510, like other Thinkpads, can only have two of the four possible video outputs active at any given time. Your choice, two of: Laptop screen, VGA port, DP port, DVI port.

* IF(?) I recall correctly, the DVI port on a W510 is DVI-I, not DVI-D like it is on the W700/W701. This means you can't feed 2x(1920x1200) out of the DVI port, which therefore cuts down your possible WUXGA monitor count from four to three

* DP port is, I believe, capable of driving 2x(1920x1200), so two of the WUXGA monitors can go here.

* So, the question is, how to hook this stuff up...

For YOU, the quick answer: Matrox DualHead2Go DP version splitter box connected to your DP port, driving two monitors. Third monitor is attached to the DVI port.

============================================================

Background, more info, slightly different setup, etc., for others who may want to do something similar:

I have a W700, which has DP and DVI-D ports, so I -can- drive -four- WUXGA monitors out of those ports. The way I do it is via Matrox splitter boxes. Specifically, the DualHead2Go DP box, hanging off of the DP port, and the TripleHead2Go Digital box hanging off of the DVI-D port.

These splitter boxes each drive two WUXGA monitors, so there you go...

Notes: While Matrox will support running TWO of the DVI splitter boxes, they do NOT officially support mixing DVI splitters with DP splitters. However, I've been running this way for over a year and it works fine. It can be a bit tricky to setup, but keep fiddling with it until you get it. I get a misc. little box/message pop up sometimes when I boot up, but I just answer 'No' and it's all fine.

I also have a ViDock2 box hooked up to the ExpressCard slot, with a -third- Matrox splitter hanging off of it (TripleHead2Go Digital), and will be trying a -fourth- TripleHead2Go off of the ViDock box in the next couple of weeks. This full setup will get me up to 8 x (1920x1200), or eight WUXGA monitors attached to a W700....assuming(?) I can get it all to work. For further clarification, here's the breakdown of my eventual setup on the W700:

DP port to a Matrox DualHead2Go DP splitter, driving 2 WUXGA monitors.

DVI-D port to a Matrox TripleHead2Go Digital version splitter, driving 2 WUXGA monitors.

ViDock2 box, connected via ExpressCard slot. Video card has two DVI-D outputs, -each- connected to a Matrox TripleHead2Go Digital splitter, driving 2 WUXGA monitors, for a TOTAL of 4 WUXGA monitors driven by the ViDock box.

Total = eight monitors.

Down the road a bit, I will experiment with adding a second ViDock type box(with Matrox splitters) to the other ExpressCard slot(my W700 is configured with two ExpressCard slots). If this works, that will add four more monitors to my mix, and will be a total of TWELVE WUXGA monitors plugged into my W700

BIG NOTE: IF you use a Matrox splitter off of a DVI port, you MUST used the TripleHead2Go Digital version. Matrox makes several splitters, and this is the ONLY one with both DVI input and DVI output. Be careful which splitter you buy...

Here are a couple more detailed posts I put out on the Lenovo forums, for your perusal. If one has lots of $$$, there are many options for loading up on external monitors...

http://forums.lenovo.com/t5/W-Series-Th ... 219#M13424
http://forum.lenovo.com/t5/ThinkStation ... 6683#M3260

Thank you, great post!

However, I have a couple of concerns here... there is no DVI port in the W510 (at least not mine, which is a W510 4319). I do have a 20 pins dp and a vga though.

I am looking at a matrox dualhead 2go digital, and it says it's "USB Powered". Does that mean the box itself is powered by USB, but also connected to the DP port? Strangely little information on the Norwegian webshops about this.

Also, from what I read before, it does not seem like it's possible to have more than 2 screens powered on at the same time. For example, my docking station has two DVI ports, but those won't work simultaneously. Are you sure that's going to work by using a DP splitter, without a gfx card that supports NVIDIA Optimus?


(I only need 1920x1200 resolutions on my two external monitors)

cc0 wrote:Thank you, great post!

However, I have a couple of concerns here... there is no DVI port in the W510 (at least not mine, which is a W510 4319). I do have a 20 pins dp and a vga though.

I am looking at a matrox dualhead 2go digital, and it says it's "USB Powered". Does that mean the box itself is powered by USB, but also connected to the DP port? Strangely little information on the Norwegian webshops about this.

Also, from what I read before, it does not seem like it's possible to have more than 2 screens powered on at the same time. For example, my docking station has two DVI ports, but those won't work simultaneously. Are you sure that's going to work by using a DP splitter, without a gfx card that supports NVIDIA Optimus?


(I only need 1920x1200 resolutions on my two external monitors)

* USB for the Matrox splitters is for power and software control/updates. Not used for the actual splitting process, so not to worry. Plug the DP cable into the DP port, and the USB cable into a USB port. You might want to look into a powered/active USB hub if you're going to be tight on the number of USB ports on your setup. I'm not familiar w/docks, so don't know how many USB ports are on those and how 'powered' they are. In general, tho, USB is not an issue, other than if you run out of USB ports. Just don't overwhelm a passive hub with too many USB gizmos plugged into it.

* Yes, as mentioned above, you can have YOUR choice of TWO of these video outputs active at any time: VGA, DVI, DP, Laptop screen.

* Yes, I'm sure about using a Matrox DualHead2Go DP splitter. Been using one for > a year now with no problems. The splitter use is transparent to the video card. The video card is only concerned with pumping a signal out through the DP port; not what happens to it after that. As long as the video signal going out of the DP port is 2x(1920x1200), which it should be, the splitter will do the rest, allowing you to drive two 1920x1200 monitors.

* Standalone, try running one monitor off of the VGA port, and run the other two out of the DP port, through the splitter.

* If you're hooked up to the dock, you might try using one of the DVI ports, which is probably DVI-I. It won't pump enough signal to drive 2x(1920x1200), so you'd be limited to one monitor there. IF the DVI port is DVI-D, then you -could- drive two monitors off of that, and the third through a DP port or VGA port. I don't know much about docks, so can't advise more than that. You could also try running one monitor off of the DVI port and the other two off of the DP port, through the DP splitter. One of these combos oughta do the trick

If you're particularly worried about all of this, double check(in the PSREF; http://www.lenovo.com/psref/) the specs for your laptop and verify the max resolution for the video card. You'll probably be just fine...as with so many pc things, it sounds way more complicated than it really is. You just keep tinkering with it until it works

Excellent, thank you for the feedback :] I followed that link and found the gfx card setup in my W510 config, it looks like this;

NVIDIA® Quadro® FX880M, PCI Express® x16, 1GB memory,
external analog monitor support via VGA DB-15 connector and
digital monitor support via DisplayPort (supports single-link DVI-D via cable 45J7915);
supports dual independent display;
Maximum external resolution: 2560x1600 (DisplayPort)@60Hz;
2048x1536 (VGA)@85Hz; 1920x1200@60Hz (single-link DVI-D via cable 45J7915)

My docking station actually has 2x DP out. Do you figure there would be any way to get 2 external displays (in addition to laptop screen), without the Matrox or ViDock solution? Seeing as the Matrox solution will run me about 350$

I think, but can't verify, that you're outa luck. None of the output port specs list a high enough resolution to split the signal into 2x(1920x1200). Different than the W700/W701 boxes.

So, I'd guess you're limited to TWO external monitors, not three as you wanted.

** Update: All of the above said, I looked up the specs for the W700 laptops, and the PSREF is clearly wrong there. Specs understate the actual capacity of the video card; otherwise, I couldn't use the four monitor setup out of DVI/DP ports I listed above. So, if the W700 specs are wrong, who knows about the W510 video specs?

This is outside what I can help with, as I only have W700 laptops. You'd either need to find someone who's tried various combos or mess with it yourself. I've seen Matrox TripleHead2Go splitters on ebay for ~$150-200, so if you shop around used, you might be able to get a DualHead2Go DP splitter for < $200; your mileage may vary

Alright, well thanks very much for the input :] At least I learned some stuff in the process.