...and it's all TDAs fault. For those that don't know, TDA sold me a nice little laptop a while back. I've had the same desktop for the past 2 or 3 years but it's noisy (8 fans), bright (all the fans have blue LEDS), it puts out a lot of heat and it's a piece of furniture (Antec 1200 case). Since I have a Thermaltake external HDD thingy, I thought I'd remove the HDDs from the desktop and see how well things would work using just the laptop.
Wow. This room is quiet...and about 10* cooler. Here's my 2 fold problem. I've got all the ports on the laptop in use. 24" monitor plugged in to the Displayport (had to buy a DP to HDMI cable), Thermaltake HDD thingy plugged in via eSata, external speakers plugged in to the headphone jack and USB dongle (for my wireless trackball) plugged in to one of the 2 remaining USB ports. I have one USB port open which I need from time to time to plug in: thumb drive, microSD card (music for the bike and/or truck), phone, etc. I have no place to plug in my keyboard.
Second problem. I have ADD so I like/need to surf while I'm watching a TV show or movie (I've put all my movies on HDDs and use Netflix, Hulu, Amazon for TV shows). I've had 2 monitors just for this for the past few years. This laptop won't support 2 monitors.
Are there laptops with more USB ports? Any that will support 2 external monitors? How about supporting multiple HDDs? I'm NOT made of money but I can probably get a few hundred bucks for my desktop (it was top of the line, AMD when I built it a couple years ago) so I might be able to spend $500 or so on a good desktop replacement laptop.
The sad thing is, I was just fine without a laptop before I bought this. Yeah, I always thought I could use one (and now wouldn't want to be without the portability of one) but now, I NEED one.
True, but I can't run a second monitor off of USB and, without buying more HDD enclosures, I can't run more than 1 HDD at a time. I tend to switch between HDDs quite a bit. Info for something on one, movie on another, music on a 3rd (to load up the iPod, etc), etc, etc. Besides, I'm not sure how much 24/7 this laptop will take. It's been on constantly for the past week or so but I don't know if it's got enough "oomph" for day to day stuff. Maybe it does and I'm all wet.
I used that same model laptop for three years of 24/7 action - I used a laptop cooler base (with fans), but I don't think it needed it.
I've got the monitor, brother, just no way to use it (unless I fire up the desktop). No idea you'd used this same model laptop that way. Guess I'm golden. Still, I'd like to be able to figure out a way to use a 2nd monitor. Looks like I need to be on the lookout for a cooler base. Better to be safe than sorry. Hey! You could print one for me!
Would this ( http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBay...VIP:watchlink:top:en ) really allow me to use both monitors? If so, would they have to be mirrored or could they be separate images (movie on one while surfing on the other)? If this would work, I'll buy it. Looks like all it needs is a single USB 3.0 port (which I'm pretty sure I have).
True, but I can't run a second monitor off of USB and, without buying more HDD enclosures, I can't run more than 1 HDD at a time. I tend to switch between HDDs quite a bit. Info for something on one, movie on another, music on a 3rd (to load up the iPod, etc), etc, etc. Besides, I'm not sure how much 24/7 this laptop will take. It's been on constantly for the past week or so but I don't know if it's got enough "oomph" for day to day stuff. Maybe it does and I'm all wet.
I use a hd encloser that I leave the cover off of. Then it's just a mater of unplugging one drive and plugging in another.
[This message has been edited by tebailey (edited 05-21-2014).]
docking station. get a laptop with a docking station current HP laptops with advanced docking station can plug in 3 monitors into the docking station - plus your existing laptop display. yeah. you can also add a 2nd DVD device to some docking stations - not a USB drive - but a proper IDE/SATA drive and, you get additional USB ports. all the audio ports and so on. and when you actually want to use your laptop as a laptop, you can pop it out the docking station, and take it with you without undoing all the connections.
I use a hd encloser that I leave the cover off of. Then it's just a mater of unplugging one drive and plugging in another.
I've got this ( http://www.newegg.com/Produ...Item=N82E16817153112 ) so I can swap HDDs on the go (without shutting anything down or rebooting) but, while it holds 2 HDDs, it only seems to allow a connection to 1 at a time. If I'm watching a movie (from one HDD), I can't access info from another unless I stop the movie, swap HDDs, get the info then swap HDDs again and start the movie from scratch. I run this via eSata. I DO have another regular external HDD enclosure I run off of USB but even then, it would be a pain to swap HDDs.
I know, I know. I'm bitching about nothing. A laptop isn't a desktop. Still, I'd like to make this laptop my desktop. If nothing else, it's QUIET. I can actually hear myself type. It's friggin' awesome! I'll make this work somehow as I think this is the future. I could free up LOTS of space if I sold my desktop, too.
docking station. get a laptop with a docking station current HP laptops with advanced docking station can plug in 3 monitors into the docking station - plus your existing laptop display. yeah. you can also add a 2nd DVD device to some docking stations - not a USB drive - but a proper IDE/SATA drive and, you get additional USB ports. all the audio ports and so on. and when you actually want to use your laptop as a laptop, you can pop it out the docking station, and take it with you without undoing all the connections.
The laptop I have (and the one I'd like to stick with as it's...you know, paid for ) is an HP Elitebook 2570p. According to HP (or CDW, I forget), that docking station I linked to is compatible with my laptop. I just want to make sure it will really give me the capability of 2 separate monitors (one is DVI only, the other is DVI or HDMI...I'm currently plugged in to one with Displayport to HDMI). Like I said, if it will work, I'll buy it now, reformat the SSD in the desktop and sell it next week. It WOULD be nice to be able to pull the laptop out of a docking station and walk away instead of unplugging 10 different things.
Then get a NAS enclosure for your HDDs. Search "NAS" on NewEgg to see what they have that might fit the hardware you already have.
Neither of my monitors have a VGA port. Looks like each monitor would need its own adapter.
I just searched NAS on Newegg. For the money, I'd buy yet another external enclosure and, hopefully with a docking station, just plug them all in and use them that way. I can buy cheap external enclosures for $10 all day, $40 with a fan. The 2 HDDs in the Thermaltake thingy are cool although they're just idling right now.
Originally posted by Monkeyman: The laptop I have (and the one I'd like to stick with as it's...you know, paid for ) is an HP Elitebook 2570p. According to HP (or CDW, I forget), that docking station I linked to is compatible with my laptop. I just want to make sure it will really give me the capability of 2 separate monitors (one is DVI only, the other is DVI or HDMI...I'm currently plugged in to one with Displayport to HDMI). Like I said, if it will work, I'll buy it now, reformat the SSD in the desktop and sell it next week. It WOULD be nice to be able to pull the laptop out of a docking station and walk away instead of unplugging 10 different things.
that item you linked above is not a docking station - it is a port replicator. this puts ALL the I/O thru a single USB port the docking station for that model I think only has 1 monitor output
Hmmm... You're probably right. When I Googled "HP 2570p docking station" I only got 1 choice. If I can't run 2 separate monitors, I'll have to rethink things.
Neither of my monitors have a VGA port. Looks like each monitor would need its own adapter.
I just searched NAS on Newegg. For the money, I'd buy yet another external enclosure and, hopefully with a docking station, just plug them all in and use them that way. I can buy cheap external enclosures for $10 all day, $40 with a fan. The 2 HDDs in the Thermaltake thingy are cool although they're just idling right now.
The adapter plugs into USB on the laptop and converts it to a DVI for the monitor to plug into.
quote
Originally posted by Monkeyman:
The laptop I have (and the one I'd like to stick with as it's...you know, paid for ) is an HP Elitebook 2570p.
It has a Display Port and a VGA connector. Plug one monitor into each. You'd need a VGA to DVI adapter, or use a USB to DVI adapter for the 2nd monitor.
[This message has been edited by Formula88 (edited 05-21-2014).]
This setup consists of (1) Dell Vostro V131, (1) Dell 19" fullscreen monitor and (1) Samsung 21" full screen monitor. The Dell was being ran off the external monitor adapter on the laptop(Which happens to be VGA) and the Samsung is being ran off a USB to video adapter (Also VGA in this instance). The monitors were set up in extended layout so I could view and manipulate 3 different windows/programs simultaneously. It took some clever configuring to get set up, but once the software was set up is was all plug and play, easy peasy. Part of my issue with getting it set up may have been that I wasn't using the proper driver for the adapter I was using as I couldn't find the right driver anywhere, and on occasion, the adapter would freeze when bringing the laptop out of sleep, I also attribute that to using the wrong driver.
I'm both a packrat and have a short memory. Usually, people make fun of me for one or the other. Today, both came in handy. I was sure I had given away my old ASUS monitor that was DVI only. Since I know I'm forgetful, I decided to double check the back of this "new" ASUS monitor. Turns out THIS was the "good" one and I gave away the other one. THIS one has DVI, HDMI and VGA. Since I'm also a packrat, I dug through my box of misc cables and came up with a brand new VGA-VGA cable. Plugged the monitor in and VOILA! I have 2 working monitors!! One is Displayport-DVI and the other is VGA-VGA but they both work! I had to play around with the on screen settings to get pics on both (there seems to be a difference between "clone, monitor+digital television" and clone, digital television+monitor"). I'll have to fix the resolution (I'm 2 feet away from 24" monitors and the text is so small I can barely see it).
Thanks to all who helped. I really appreciate it. Another thanks to TDA for the deal on the laptop to begin with. Now, I just have to figure out how to get all these HDDs to work simultaneously.
For those that don't know, TDA sold me a nice little laptop a while back. I've had the same desktop for the past 2 or 3 years but it's noisy (8 fans), bright (all the fans have blue LEDS), it puts out a lot of heat and it's a piece of furniture (Antec 1200 case). Since I have a Thermaltake external HDD thingy, I thought I'd remove the HDDs from the desktop and see how well things would work using just the laptop.
