Easiest way to a 2-screen set up for PC and laptop?

Question

I bought a new PC and I’m looking for a way to have two monitors connect into my PC so I can game on one and google things on the other one. I also want to be able to quickly switch from having them connected to my PC to connecting them to my work laptop so I can use both monitors to work (And not the laptop because its screen is small). It would also be nice to sync the two monitors to use as one giant monitor when I game, although this is of tertiary importance.

Laptop: x1 HDMI port, x1 USB port, x1 Thunderbolt 3 port (@ work one hdmi goes into my laptop and connects it to two monitors so I’m sure my laptop can handle it).

PC: 3 display ports, 1 hdmi port, 5 USB ports, NVIDIA 2060 graphics card.

Monitors: both have HDMI and display ports.

I’m basically looking for the most effective, least cable-y way to have this set up.

Thanks!

Answer 1

I've a very close setup. I've laptop that I wanted to be transportable so it's not a 15 or 17 inches screen. At home however, I've 2 screens DELL of 27''. I've bought a docking station where I've connected my 2 screens. If I'm plugin my Laptop in USB-C to the docking station I will have my laptop with my 2 big screens. If not connected, the 2 screens are used for my Desktop.

Personally, I'm using Lenovo ThinkPad Thunderbolt 3 because there was a discount on Amazon and as it's Thunderbolt it will work also for non-Lenovo laptop (I'm using a Surface Book). But, you can check DELL or even HP that can propose some good docking stations too. Setup is really easy to do and it should fit your needs.

Answer 2

Afaik one cable for 2 monitors only works with DisplayPort: when one monitor has DP output ("daisy chain" / MST) and the resolution of both monitors is not much higher than 1920x1200 - also the PC/notebook graphics chip need to support MST for this.

If you want to use the same keyboard and mouse for PC and laptop with higher resolutions, then you may combine a dual DP docking station with a dual DP KVM switch.

As the above is not cheap: if one screen is enough for the laptop, you may try the software Synergy to just share keyboard and mouse - I haven't used it myself. When the laptop is turned off, you may need to manually change the monitor input back to the PC.

If PC and notebook don't need to run at the same time (or you are willing to press multiple buttons for every switch), then instead of the KVM switch a cheap USB switch should be enough.