How can I set up a second monitor?

[Tuxflop]

Here's what I have:
- Dell XPS 8900 desktop
- NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1060
- Dell S2415H monitor

My 1060 has one HDMI out, three DP outs, and a DVI connector. My monitor is hooked up to my HDMI out, and it doesn't have any DP in.

So how do I connect a second monitor to a GPU with these outputs? I was going to just get a second Dell monitor of an identical model to my current one, but if it only supports HDMI, then I wouldn't think I can connect it to my GPU which has only one HDMI out.
So I could use DP instead, right? I'd just have to get a second monitor that has DP in. But if I did this, would there be any issues arising from having one monitor be HDMI and the other DP?

[Tuxflop]

Originally posted by Tonepoet:

Your D.V.I. port almost certainly outputs an H.D.M.I. compatible video signal signal. H.D.M.I. was made to be backwards compatible with D.V.I., with added audio. A $2 adapter cable from ebay can probably do the trick[www.ebay.com]. It’ll only do up to maybe 1920x1200p60 over a single link connection, but that suffices for your chosen model of monitor.

However, with that having been said, I’d maybe consider getting a different monitor. It’s pretty easy to get a 100 hz adaptive sync compatible monitor for under $80, such as this Acer aopen 24SA2y[www.amazon.com], this M.S.I. 24MR400-B[www.bestbuy.com], or this L.G. 24MR400-B[www.bestbuy.com].

Moreover in the $200+ range you can start looking at 3440x1440 ultra-wides, starting with this 34 inch Zer-Lon inch 3440x1440p144 monitor[www.amazon.com]. That won't net you quite as much horizontal resolution as two 1920x1080 monitors, but it only falls a few hundred pixels short. Granted, I might recommend springing an extra $50 to get something from a recognizable brand name, but meh.

Thanks for the links, I'll have a look at those. I've never done this before so I certainly just needed to get some info to get me started.

I actually was sort of considering getting just a super wide curved monitor so that I could have just one big screen that I could split into two 1920x1080s when my work needs me to. That's doable, right? Switching between resolutions and screen numbers? Like I said, I've never done this.

[Blaagh]

in theory my iiyama 34" offers a 10x9 resolution for using half/half of the screen but windows always defaults to 21:9 and the monitor offers no scaling options, so its always a thin line in the middle..
edit: this is with a AMD gpu, no idea if nvidia does it better

[Bad 💀 Motha]

So no one ever heard of just hooking up extra displays via USB then I guess.

[andreasaspenberg575]

none of my monitors supports USB. one supports hdmi(2) and displayport, one supports vga, dvi, hdm and displayport and one supports dvi, hdmi and displayport. none of them supports usb. i can therefore not use usb for monitor.

[Phénomènes Mystiques]

You can use what ever the GPU can utilize.

Mine has two DP, two HDMI, and one DVI port.

I use them all on 4 monitors as the DVI cancels out one HDMI above it...

Two DPs (144Hz) for the gaming monitors and the standbys only go to 60Hz so one gets the HDMI and another standby gets a DVI.

I use a DVI cause I had more of these cables over HDMI - I am more into DP personally.

And NEVER EVER use a funky DP to HDMI hybrid cable, it will zap the ♥♥♥♥ outta your GPU.

[Bad 💀 Motha]

For Laptops, if you need to do Extended Mode (so you have a different Desktop per Screen) and all you have is 1x HDMI Output on the Laptop, you can buy adapters to allow this.

For example:

USB Type-A Male to HDMI Female
USB Type-C Male to HDMI Female

Male side to Laptop
Female side connect HDMI male to male cable between adapter and display.

Now you can do Extended Mode across 3 or 4 screens if you like.

[Tonepoet]

You can use one monitor as if it is two monitors with different video sources if it has picture by picture support[www.samsung.com]. You'd plug two cables from the computer into the monitor.

However, with that having been said, good luck finding a 3840x1080 res. monitor. Closest thing I can find are 3440x1440, but that would end up being like two 1720x1440 monitors. Maybe the 1440 part can be fixed with letterboxing, but your horizontal resolution would still fall 400 pixels short.

A 4k display is like four 1080p monitors sitched together at the corners though.

Originally posted by Bad 💀 Motha:

So no one ever heard of just hooking up extra displays via USB then I guess.

That's generally a suboptimal solution best reserved for laptops that've run out of proper video output signals. On a desktop P.C. with a free x16 slot you'd buy a second G.P.U. to achieve a similar result.

Originally posted by Bad 💀 Motha:

Why bring up TV tuners; how is that relevant at all here?

I'm just pointing out that those connectivity options aren't what defines a monitor because somebody else suggested they are. Why it was mentioned in the first place, you'll have to ask that person. I'd pontificate further, but it's a purely incidental point here, so it's probably best to just drop it.

[Bad 💀 Motha]

Originally posted by Tonepoet:

You can use one monitor as if it is two monitors with different video sources if it has picture by picture support[www.samsung.com]. You'd plug two cables from the computer into the monitor.

However, with that having been said, good luck finding a 3840x1080 res. monitor. Closest thing I can find are 3440x1440, but that would end up being like two 1720x1440 monitors. Maybe the 1440 part can be fixed with letterboxing, but your horizontal resolution would still fall 400 pixels short.

A 4k display is like four 1080p monitors sitched together at the corners though.

Originally posted by Bad 💀 Motha:

So no one ever heard of just hooking up extra displays via USB then I guess.

That's generally a suboptimal solution best reserved for laptops that've run out of proper video output signals. On a desktop P.C. with a free x16 slot you'd buy a second G.P.U. to achieve a similar result.

Originally posted by Bad 💀 Motha:

Why bring up TV tuners; how is that relevant at all here?

I'm just pointing out that those connectivity options aren't what defines a monitor because somebody else suggested they are. Why it was mentioned in the first place, you'll have to ask that person. I'd pontificate further, but it's a purely incidental point here, so it's probably best to just drop it.

I was replying to someone who was using a Laptop.

But to the OP; doesn't matter if you have 3x screens even; plug them all into your NVIDIA GPU. Configure each Display screen res + refresh rate in NVIDIA Control Panel.

[_I_]

usb a to hdmi adapter?
those would be horrible, even for desktop
just plug the monitor into the gpu using dp, dvi, or hdmi

[Bad 💀 Motha]

Originally posted by _I_:

usb a to hdmi adapter?
those would be horrible, even for desktop
just plug the monitor into the gpu using dp, dvi, or hdmi

OMG I was suggesting that FOR A LAPTOP User. Please guys just stop ok.

This is my bad. This is what happens when others chime in with questions. I was never suggested that someone with a Desktop use Displays via USB

[Tonepoet]

Originally posted by _I_:

usb a to hdmi adapter?
those would be horrible, even for desktop

Horrible is an understatement. Try torturous on for size. Here's a U.S.B. A 2.0 to H.D.M.I. adapter.[www.amazon.com] Imagine a graphics card that only has 480 mbps transfer speed, and U.S.B. overhead. I've always heard those things were laggy as heck.

It's sort of a desperate man's last resort. They were made for people on business trips who want a triple monitor setup for productivity reasons, but don't have enough video ports on their laptop to do it the proper way.

Things got better with the U.S.B. 3 standard, in part because you had ten times the data rate, and in part because of Displayport over USB C[www.displayport.org] allowing laptop manufacturers to give you more video outputs without needing to fit in a larger separate connectors, making it less likely that you'd have to resort to such tomfoolery in the first place.

[Bad 💀 Motha]

That's fine, if your Laptop is beefy enough to have DisplayPort to USB Type-C; or supports Display Out via Type-C; many do not. This is not a regular feature yet, only the more expensive laptops have this.

In which case you can use a ThunderBolt Hub that has DP, HDMI, USB ports all on it.