Can I use an external monitor as a laptop main screen?

[Jerry_61]

I was wondering how another monitor works for a laptop. I want to get a 144Hz monitor with 1ms response rate for gaming of course but will there be any lag or delay because it's an external monitor and not the original laptop screen? Also I plan on using it as the main monitor so I'll have the laptop screen off while I use the monitor. Also I was wondering how the resolutions work. My laptop resolution is 1388x720 or whatever it is (I assume you guys know which one I have) but will a 1080 monitor work fine? I assume the 1388x720 is just my laptop screen and has nothing to do with my laptop itself so the monitor should work in 1080 right? I have no knowledge on this but I'm just taking a guess I plug it in and at most I'd have to change the settings to 1080. Oh yeah also I was planning to use an hdmi. One review I saw on an acer monitor someone said there's only 144hz for dual link dvi or something like that. I wanted 144hz for hdmi if that's a thing because I have no idea what dual link dvi is. Looking for any recommendations too. Not trying to spend more than $200.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B00KO4518I#Ask

Some answers on the page says that only dvi is 144hz and some say dvi and hdmi. Is hdmi also 144hz? I was also planning to use it for a PS4. If there's a monitor that has my constraints and it's affordable then I'm all ears to hear any recommendations.

https://m.newegg.com/Product/index?itemnumber=N82E16824236722&nm_mc=AFC-C8Junction&cm_mmc=AFC-C8Junction-PCPartPicker,%20LLC-_-na-_-na-_-na&AID=10446076&PID=3938566

Also looking at this one. 144Hz 1ms for laptop and PS4 is my goal =)

 

[greens]

Your HDMI port likely can't push 144hz.

Unfortunately even with top of the line modern laptops, getting proper monitor output is a chore. For high bandwidth like 144hz or 4k you need to use a mini display port adapter, thunderbolt, or in some cases a USB 3.1 adapter.

You can do everything you want in your first paragraph with an external monitor no problem. The problem is the 144hz over an HDMI port.

 

[Jerry_61]

Alright so after tons of online research I've decided to just get a 60Hz. I want a monitor with low input lag. I've read that response time doesn't really matter because the main factor would be input lag which no company seems to advertise. According to http://www.displaylag.com/display-database/ this monitor https://www.amazon.com/dp/B008DWITHI/?tag=dislag-20&th=1#Ask this monitor is really good. I kind of want this monitor http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16824236583&nm_mc=AFC-C8Junction&cm_mmc=AFC-C8Junction-PCPartPicker,%20LLC-_-na-_-na-_-na&cm_sp=&AID=10446076&PID=3938566&SID= but isn't on the database and I have no idea what the input lag of it is. The newegg one has a nice slim look that I would love but the one on amazon has the database test with the excellent rating. If they are the same, I am going to get the newegg one if not, I will be getting the low input lag one off of amazon. I just want a nice monitor for competitive League of Legends and also for my ps4. Also how often is ghosting a thing? Do monitors today even have that much ghosting or is that now a problem of the past?

 

[greens]

what you think is input lag is actually response time and has nothing to do with input lag.

Think about this, the monitor has nothing to do with input. If you were blind, and kept your monitor unplugged, would your gaming performance improve? No, of course not. Input lag isn't tied to the monitor.

Or think about it this way, the response time still exists even if its plugged into a DVD player, right? Yes it does, because it is the response time of the pixel, and has nothing to do with input lag.

Refresh rate and response time do have an impact in gaming, no doubt, but it isn't input lag.

 

[Jerry_61]

what you think is input lag is actually response time and has nothing to do with input lag.

Think about this, the monitor has nothing to do with input. If you were blind, and kept your monitor unplugged, would your gaming performance improve? No, of course not. Input lag isn't tied to the monitor.

Or think about it this way, the response time still exists even if its plugged into a DVD player, right? Yes it does, because it is the response time of the pixel, and has nothing to do with input lag.

Refresh rate and response time do have an impact in gaming, no doubt, but it isn't input lag.

Your analogies are terrible and further confused me. Does response time even matter at all? What's the difference between 1ms and 5ms when you probably won't even see it? Some people say they see a big difference when really they are brainwashed just by the numbers rather than actual performance. Also you said input lag doesn't affect performance. What if I press a button and it shows up 20 seconds later. The monitor response time would show the picture quick but you have to add the 20 seconds to the 5ms response rate isn't that how it works. If the monitor isn't connected with input lag then how come playing on a TV has a huge input lag and does decrease performance? A TV has 60hz refresh rate such as a laptop and it could also have a 5ms response rate but the input lag would decrease performance. I have no idea what you are trying to say but your analogies are terrible. Also you telling me that refresh rate and response time isn't input lag didn't answer any questions and I don't know anyone who doesn't know that. If you put it this way since you like terrible analogies, think of refresh rate as blue, response time as green, and input lag as red. I have never said in this post that red is green and you haven't answered any of my simple questions and made me more confused which is the opposite of what this forum is supposed to do.

 

[greens]

what you think is input lag is actually response time and has nothing to do with input lag.

Think about this, the monitor has nothing to do with input. If you were blind, and kept your monitor unplugged, would your gaming performance improve? No, of course not. Input lag isn't tied to the monitor.

Or think about it this way, the response time still exists even if its plugged into a DVD player, right? Yes it does, because it is the response time of the pixel, and has nothing to do with input lag.

Refresh rate and response time do have an impact in gaming, no doubt, but it isn't input lag.

Your analogies are terrible and further confused me. Does response time even matter at all? What's the difference between 1ms and 5ms when you probably won't even see it? Some people say they see a big difference when really they are brainwashed just by the numbers rather than actual performance. Also you said input lag doesn't affect performance. What if I press a button and it shows up 20 seconds later. The monitor response time would show the picture quick but you have to add the 20 seconds to the 5ms response rate isn't that how it works. If the monitor isn't connected with input lag then how come playing on a TV has a huge input lag and does decrease performance? A TV has 60hz refresh rate such as a laptop and it could also have a 5ms response rate but the input lag would decrease performance. I have no idea what you are trying to say but your analogies are terrible. Also you telling me that refresh rate and response time isn't input lag didn't answer any questions and I don't know anyone who doesn't know that. If you put it this way since you like terrible analogies, think of refresh rate as blue, response time as green, and input lag as red. I have never said in this post that red is green and you haven't answered any of my simple questions and made me more confused which is the opposite of what this forum is supposed to do.

Get input lag out of your head, that is simply the time it takes for a button press to be registered and has nothing to do with what is on the screen. A keyboard has input lag, a monitor can't - it is an output device. You may feel like it does, or perceive the monitor impacts this, but it doesnt. After all if you're registering say, 1 FPS, you wouldn't be able to see when an enemy was in front of you and pull the trigger. That isn't to say that you couldn't though! Input lag isn't caused by monitors so if you pull the trigger at the right time, regardless of what the monitor displays, you get your hit.

Refresh rate is the number of times the monitor can display a new image in a second, basically. 144hz means 144 images per second, or FPS.

Response time is the length of time it takes for a pixel to change colors.

Input lag is the time it takes for a keystroke to be processed, and can be measured without a monitor.

60hz TVs are perceived to be slower, but there is no additional input lag at all.