Multi display on an old laptop

[crownjules]

A quick and simple question.

I have an older laptop that's got a single VGA output for a monitor. Is there anyway that I could get a multi monitor display ouput using it? I've read about USB-to-DVI/VGA connectors. Do those work reliably or do they introduce issues that are not worth it?

 

[Ken g6]

How old is old? My old Celeron M laptop can use both its own screen and another monitor in a "multi-monitor setup". But I guess that's not what you mean.

I did run across USB monitors the other day. Here's a review of a 22" one! Be aware that it takes some CPU power to run it, though. I'd be wary of it without at least a dual-core processor.

 

[crownjules]

AMD Turion 64 proc. I can do the same. Was just wondering if there was a feasible way to have a second monitor hooked up to it as well.

 

[mfenn]

A USB powered monitor is an option, but generally speaking they kind of suck for anything other than basic 2D graphics. The one that Ken linked is cheap though.

Another option is the Matrox DualHead2Go. It's probably more money than you were looking to spend, but what it does it present a virtual double-wide monitor to your GPU and then split that display across two monitors. The computer thinks it's just displaying to a really wide monitor and the box does all the work.