Running a 2nd monitor off USB instead of a 2nd true display port (eg HDMI)...

[markzer0]

I'm deciding b/t 2 Asus laptops with these external ports:
1. UX501VW-US71T, $1,499, with HDMI x 1 + Thunderbolt x 1
2. K501UW-AB78 for $869, only HDMI x 1

When I last bought a laptop 4 years ago, you COULD run a monitor off USB 2.0, but the graphics were terrible and laggy - no way you could watch video. But have things improved? I see that for $80 you can buy an external graphics adapter that runs off a single USB 3.0 port and features dual HDMI ports that can run out to 2 external monitors. and you can even daisy-chain them and run 4+ monitors this way. But are the graphics terrible that way?

Long story short, the specs on the cheaper Asus are fine with me so I don't want to pay an extra $650 just for an extra display port. But running multiple external monitors is important to me, so trying to understand whether I'm still better served with 2 true display ports vs 1 HDMI port + 1 USB 3.0.

 

[CircuitDaemon]

It actually depends on what you want to do. I've seen the 3.0 models work a lot better for basic office stuff. But They are still not great with video playback or anything like that. It also depends on the brand and how expensive it is, it seems like the built in GPU varies a lot and obviously affects performance. Since this is not something you can check in the specs of those devices, I'd suggest you check the product reviews, but I still wouldn't recommend one.

 

[kir13y]

I have one of these: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00BN5FI8K/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o08_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1 for running extra monitors (this is with USB 2.0). You can not do any gaming at all on it (and you shouldn't expect to for $30). When watching a video I get anywhere from 20-40 FPS. It will normally stay near 30 and occasionally jump up or fall down a bit. I will attach an image from a twitch stream where I was getting about 30 FPS. (http://imgur.com/a/ldhXU). If you don't mind watching at 30FPS then I would say it is a pretty good option. I haven't had many problems with the DisplayLink software and I would recommend going with one that uses the DL chipset. I mostly use mine for the monitors which I keep skype and discord on as they don't need a high refresh rate. Anyways, enough rambling. If you have any other questions, feel free to ask.

Also forgot to mention, I also have a Pluggable USB 3.0 docking station for 2 monitors which has similar frame rates.