USB to VGA (or other methods)?

[zach attack]

Not sure if this is the right place for this but I'll post here since it's related.

Anyway, I ordered a startech USB to VGA adapter. It came in today and I'm using it for dual monitors. However, the quality compared to the regular VGA cable is significantly lower. I'm not using this for any video/games at all. Just for more space for using a sequencer in music production.

Now I know USB doesn't have prime transfer rates but the quality of this second monitor is pretty bad. For just displaying text, it makes it very hard and blurry to read. I have messed with the monitor settings too. So basically, I want to ship this thing back and try something else.

I'm on a laptop, only one VGA output. No way to change cards (Inspiron 1545). I do have a PCI card to Firewire.

I tried looking for Firewire to VGA adapters, I couldn't find any. I then looked for Firewire to HDMI... then HDMI to VGA, but couldn't find a Firewire to HDMI, just HDMI to firewire. Any suggestions on what I should do? What would be a good USB to VGA adapter if one no other solution exists?

Thanks a lot!

 

[Emerald]

Would this work?

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16815136003&cm_re=pcmcia_video_card-_-15-136-003-_-Product

 

[g00fysmiley]

Inspiron 1545 (Inspiron 15)
Released online on January 16, 2009, the Inspiron 1545 is a 15.6" budget laptop that weighs 5.8 lbs. The Inspiron 1545 is the first laptop in Dell's Inspiron line to get Design Studio.

Processors: Intel Celeron 900, Intel Pentium Dual-Core T4200, T4300 or T4400 or Intel Core 2 Duo T6400, T6500, T6600, P7350, P7450, P8600 , P8700 , Intel Core i5 - 520M , AMD Athlon X2 Dual-Core QL-64 , AMD Turion X2 Dual-Core RM-74 or AMD Turion X2 Dual-Core Ultra ZM-82
Memory: 2 GB, 3 GB or 4 GB of shared dual-channel DDR2 SDRAM @ 800 MHz.
Chipset: Intel GM45 Express Chipset.
Graphics Processor: integrated Intel GMA 4500MHD graphics or ATI Mobility Radeon with 256 MB of graphics memory.
LCD Display: 15.6" CCFL-backlit widescreen with a 1366 × 768 and TrueLife or 15.6" WLED-backlit widescreen with 1366 × 768 resolution 15.6" or WLED-backlit display with 1600 × 900 resolution and TrueLife.
Hard Drive: 160 GB, 250 GB, 320 GB, or 500 GB SATA at 5400 RPM.
Optical Drive: 8X tray-load dual-layer DVD+/-RW drive.
Battery: 4-cell (37 Whr), 6-cell (56 Whr), or 9-cell (85 Whr) lithium-ion battery.
Camera: 1.3 MP webcam with optional facial recognition software
Wi-Fi Card: Dell Wireless 1397 802.11b/g half mini-card or Intel Wi-Fi Link 5100 802.11a/b/g/n half mini-card.
Bluetooth: Dell Wireless Bluetooth Internal 365 (2.1 EDR).
I/O ports: 3 USB 2.0 ports, 1 Fast Ethernet port, 1 VGA output, 1 headphone jack, 1 microphone jack, 1 Express Card slot, 1 7-in-1 memory card reader, and 1 power adapter connector.


your gpu in the laptop just doesn't have enough power to push good resolutions on one monitor let alone a second. you're best be is to use the laptop's own display only however if you need the extra real estate of a second monitor your option or emerald's monitor is gonna both be about the same

 

[zach attack]

Would this work?

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16815136003&cm_re=pcmcia_video_card-_-15-136-003-_-Product

I think it would, one problem is that I'm already using my express port for the firewire (necassary for music production interference). Is there a express port to dual express port type hardware?

This laptop was a mistake to get... I should have gone with something with more ports, speed is fine though. I got it really supped up.