I'll start this question by saying that I'm in no way a gamer, so solutions don't need to take heavy graphics usage into account. My computer is used primarily for processor-heavy tasks, and I built my desktop (with a lot of help from topics in these forums) with that in mind.
My current setup is an Intel i5-2500k (with Intel HD Graphics 3000) and no graphics card running Windows 7 64-bit. I use a single monitor connected through HDMI for most tasks. My TV is connected through a second HDMI. When I need it to watch a movie or baseball game online I change the source on my TV and turn on Extended Desktop (still able to use my primary monitor for internet or whatever I'm working on at that moment).
I'd like to expand my desktop to include a permanent second monitor for productivity but would still like the option to use my TV on occasion. HD Graphics 3000 only supports two monitors.
My initial idea is an HDMI switch with one input and two outputs that I could use to manually switch between my new secondary monitor and my TV as the "extended" display, but I can't seem to find anything that splits a single signal to multiple outputs to switch which display gets the signal, only things that combine multiple signals into one input to switch between sources. Essentially I want to unplug the secondary monitor's HDMI from the desktop and plug in the TV's HDMI (but wanted a sleeker and more polished solution).
Does anyone out there have any idea if what I'm looking for exists? A better solution that doesn't include buying a new graphics card that just supports three monitors? I'd like to keep the solution (not including the new monitor I haven't purchased yet) pretty inexpensive... hopefully under $20, which seems reasonable given the cost of the HDMI switches that combine signals.
Any help would be great. Thanks in advance for the advice!
My current setup is an Intel i5-2500k (with Intel HD Graphics 3000) and no graphics card running Windows 7 64-bit. I use a single monitor connected through HDMI for most tasks. My TV is connected through a second HDMI. When I need it to watch a movie or baseball game online I change the source on my TV and turn on Extended Desktop (still able to use my primary monitor for internet or whatever I'm working on at that moment).
I'd like to expand my desktop to include a permanent second monitor for productivity but would still like the option to use my TV on occasion. HD Graphics 3000 only supports two monitors.
My initial idea is an HDMI switch with one input and two outputs that I could use to manually switch between my new secondary monitor and my TV as the "extended" display, but I can't seem to find anything that splits a single signal to multiple outputs to switch which display gets the signal, only things that combine multiple signals into one input to switch between sources. Essentially I want to unplug the secondary monitor's HDMI from the desktop and plug in the TV's HDMI (but wanted a sleeker and more polished solution).
Does anyone out there have any idea if what I'm looking for exists? A better solution that doesn't include buying a new graphics card that just supports three monitors? I'd like to keep the solution (not including the new monitor I haven't purchased yet) pretty inexpensive... hopefully under $20, which seems reasonable given the cost of the HDMI switches that combine signals.
Any help would be great. Thanks in advance for the advice!
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