Help building a dual-monitor set up with my laptop?

Question

I am getting my own apartment in the summer and want to have a dual monitor set up, but do not know much about it. I have a Dell XPS 15 9560 (i7, 2.8GHz, 16GB) laptop that I would prefer to build off of. I think I’m looking for two monitors, but maybe my laptop itself can serve as a third? The most tedious thing I would need to run efficiently would be to have Runescape 3 on one screen and excel on the other. I don’t need anything top of the line, just enough to run those two simultaneously with no lag or anything. Can my existing laptop be capable of this? What kinds of things would I need to make this happen? If my laptop can’t do it, what kind of set up should I look into? I’ve never had a dual monitor set up so I’m not too familiar with what I need.

Spock (rhp) · Answer

ask Dell [see the specs sheet] if your laptop can do this  odds are it can not  takes a powerful graphics unit to run more than one screen with different content at a time, which is why desktops are used

Starrysky · Answer

Expand by one monitor--
The laptop video port.
Expand by two monitors--
NOT A SPLITTER!!! You will get duplicate screens.
---USB external video adapter for the third screen.  Many are available, not too expensive.
---USB docking station or XPS docking station for a video output or two.  Price varies.
---Matrox Dual Head2Go video box to make two screens from one output line. A bit more expensive. The box gives double the number of horizontal pixels.  But you might be limited by whatever the laptop's video processor can do.  Some might give enough resolution, some might not.
---Another computer's screen, linked over a network and some software.  Many choices are available.  Search Google for programs.
In any case, running a game on a laptop is more than even the XPS can do at high speeds.  Adding screens and other programs showing on them will make the game lag even more.

Help building a dual-monitor set up with my laptop?

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