USB-only alternatives are available, but generally less powerful-more expensive options offer more flexible video ports. These gadgets usually aren’t made for specific laptop or tablet models unless they’re explicitly business-oriented examples include Dell’s Latitude line, Lenovo ThinkPads, and Microsoft’s Surface Pro tablets. We covered this briefly under Thunderbolt, but a docking station is a popular alternative to multiple adapters for power users. Specialized adapters-basically mini-laptop docks-are designed for the purpose of regular docking to a multi-monitor setup with mice, keyboard, and other connections.Ī Semi-Permanent Solution for Business and Gaming Laptops: Docking Stations Thunderbolt has a massive amount of video bandwidth, and it’s more that capable of supporting multiple standard monitors (the new Macbook Pros can output to two 5K displays at once, so long as you have the right adapters).

We recommend checking out this Dell Thunderbolt Dock, though there are others out there as well. Note that some laptops, like the small one-port MacBook, do not support running multiple displays from one port using these docks, so check your laptop’s specifications, and if you’re going to try a dock, buy from a store with a good return policy in case it doesn’t work. If your laptop only has one Thunderbolt/USB-C port, you’ll likely need some sort of docking station to connect two monitors to one port.Remember, you’ll need one adapter for each monitor you’re connecting. If you have a laptop with multiple Thunderbolt/USB-C ports but older monitors that don’t have Thunderbolt input, you’ll need some sort of adapter for each monitor, like this USB-C to HDMI or this USB-C to DVI adapter.

Thunderbolt to hdmi dual monitor