Seperate monitor from laptop

dougan

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Dougie
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I have a newish Dell 17" Studio laptop which I use for all my photos. Though I find the screen quality excellent, I realise it is not ideal for photo editing.
Could I run a seperate monitor from the laptop? I see I have a HDMI output, could I use that?
The graphics card is a ATI Mobility Radeon HD3650, if thats any help!

Also, could you recommend a monitor that is reasonably priced.

Many thanks
 
As long as it has a VGA or DVI output (blue and white respectively) then the answer is yes.

As for reasonably priced, you'd have to be a little more precise as everyone's idea of that varies! :)
 
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Yes, you can use the HDMI out to any monitor that has HDMI or DVI input (you will need a HDMI->DVI convertor plug for this option though. You will be limited to the max display resolution the onboard graphics will support (check with the specs, but I'd expect over 2k width pixels).

As to monitors, go for IPS panel by Dell. 2209WA, U2410 U2711 (not sure of the U2411 but it is a lot cheaper than the 2410). The first two digits are the diagonal screen size in inches.
 
Thanks for the suggestions. But they all seem fairly expensive, I was hoping not to spend as much as that.
 
The set up I have is desktop extended to the second monitor, drag ps over to the second monitor then drag all the layers histograms ect boxes over to the laptop monitor so the second monitor is just for editing that way a smaller cheaper monitor give the same editing area as a bigger monitor with all the bit on it
 
Thanks for that Neil!
Looks ideal for my needs and wallet!
 
ive a few questions on this subject as i too am looking to buy a monitor..

whats the 2ms mean.

If running a monitor off a laptop will both screens work or just external.

Dragging from 1 screen to the next, hows this done..

cheers
 
ive a few questions on this subject as i too am looking to buy a monitor..

whats the 2ms mean.
the lower this figure the faster the screen responds to moving images, these days anything slower than 5ms is getting a bit ancient and 2ms is fairly common now on non IPS monitors.

If running a monitor off a laptop will both screens work or just external.
Both should work assuming your graphics driver and card support it, which I would think they would.

Dragging from 1 screen to the next, hows this done..

cheers
Once you have your monitors up and running its just like dragging and droppping on one screen i believe i.e. when your mouse reaches the left of one screen it will then appear on the right of the other. Im not sure what would happen were you to "maximise" a window on one screen whether it would then take over both screens. I think the software for the card would take care of this how you want.
 
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