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New external monitor for laptop

  • 08-09-2009 1:50pm
    #1
    GTE
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 3,915 ✭✭✭


    Hello all.

    I hope this is the correct forum to post this, its a bit of an upgrade.

    At the moment I have a Toshiba P300-150. In my setup at home I have a firewire audio interface (I study sound engineering/audio recording) and I have that under my laptop.

    Long story short the interface gets very warm in use and it doesnt help the cooling of the laptop since the Toshiba is sitting on the hot interface so I have been wanting to move the laptop somewhere else and have an external screen.

    I have a few that I could borrow but they arent widescreen and I have become rather accustom to the wide screen setup however the distance from me to the laptop is a bit far sometimes so I can strain my eyes. I think the laptop has a 17" screen.

    So, I thought about getting a large widescreen monitor, about the 20 to 23 inch mark and since my laptop has a HDMI out I could use that facility and then if needs be I could use the laptop screen as a second and then have a third using the VGA out but I dont plan on doing that just yet if at all.

    http://www.komplett.ie/k/ki.aspx?sku=478998


    How would that rate? 23" may be too large but in general screens of the size and make, what are they like?
    I guess what I am looking for is a sharp resolution, more screen space (is it called desktop space or workspace area?) and I dont want it to be so sharp that I cant really read it. Screens arent my area of expertise.

    Thanks
    bbk

    EDIT:
    I just checked the modes that the graphics card can display and for the VGA out the only one listed is 800 x 600 so I guess I will have to put the extra monitor through the HDMI output.


Comments

  • #2
    GTE
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 3,915 ✭✭✭GTE


    Oh, also.
    If anyone knows where I can get a Texas Instruments firewire card for the laptop, very much appreciated.


  • #3
    Effluo
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 1,890 ✭✭✭Effluo


    Well if cooling is the problem then you could get one of those cooling plates for latops.
    http://www.komplett.ie/k/ki.aspx?sku=447441&view=detailed#ProductTabs

    This might even help cool both the laptop and interface thingy.


    That Acer really seems like a great deal, considering it's price to size ratio. They've been selling them on amazon.co.uk for a long time now and their user reviews are pretty good considering!

    This is the cheapest place to get it for under €140 delivered the next day!

    Just keep in mind that this does not have a hdmi port, but for the kind of thing you're going to be doing on it. That shouldn't be that big of an issue!

    Also when you were saying that you might like to have one screen running from the hdmi port and one from the vga.... Afaik that doesn't works on a lot of laptops. I'm not sure though


  • #4
    GTE
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 3,915 ✭✭✭GTE


    Thanks for the reply.

    Well, since I found out that my VGA out can only do 800x600 I think that kind of resolution on a big screen like the Acer is going to be very fuzzy and just too big.

    With the programs I use having the most screen space I can, so more resolution, without things being too small to read would be considerations to make.

    800x600 on a 23" wouldnt be suitable.

    My laptop screen is running 1,440 x 900 at the moment and these are the max external modes for the HDMI I think. Ill have to see what the story is with that VGA ourtput

    MAX EXTERNAL:
    Max Resolution : 2,048 x 1,536
    Max Refresh Rate : 85 Hz
    Non-interlaced resolution with max refresh rate : 1,600 x 1,200

    I also have a TV-out (s-video), whatever that is.

    Thanks all


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