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Not sure if this belongs in general hardware or here but I figure it would be better here. If I'm wrong then please feel free to move.

I have been looking at some USB extensions that plug like a video card so you can add monitors without using a vid card. I would like some input from those who have used these if they are ok. What do you like about them or not like about them. Thanks.

What are you planning to use it for? Do you have USB3.0 ports, or just 2.0?

I didn't even think of the USB type but I see the 3.0 drivers are installed and there are blue USB ports in the back. Not sure how to categorize the use since it's not a dumb terminal but information is streamed to them all the time but nothing heavy like streaming videos. I'd like to add 2 to 3 monitors using this method. Are there limitations to doing it this way vs just adding a graphics card. I do have the spare slot to add an extra card but I was thinking if I use the USB method I could transfer these to a future computer.

I really don't know so I thought I'd ask here where so many more know about things than I do.

I wouldn't count on it working well for anything beyond fairly non-demanding 2D applications, especially if the adapters are only USB 2.0. Also note that future portability likely depends on whether the manufacturer decides to port the drivers to newer OSes.

You can use a USB dock like this: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00C63 ... UTF8&psc=1
You have USB3.0 and I'm assuming a modern CPU, so you should be able to drive 2 additional monitors with this device at 1080p with no noticeable lag.
It'll still work with USB2.0, but you might be limited to a lower resolution and refresh rate.
I actually bought this anker model, and I can confirm that it is a nice device. I gave it to my dad for him to use with a surface pro 2 + external monitor.

chµck wrote:

You can use a USB dock like this: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00C63 ... UTF8&psc=1
You have USB3.0 and I'm assuming a modern CPU, so you should be able to drive 2 additional monitors with this device at 1080p with no noticeable lag.
It'll still work with USB2.0, but you might be limited to a lower resolution and refresh rate.
I actually bought this anker model, and I can confirm that it is a nice device. I gave it to my dad for him to use with a surface pro 2 + external monitor.

I'd say that laptops and tablets are a good use for such a thing. A desktop that can have an additional graphics card added on though would probably be more cost effective and more compatible.

I'd just hit eBay for a cheap graphics card with multiple outputs if your system has a free PCI-E slot. I actually bought some Radeon HD 3450 low profile cards in bulk on ebay a few months back. I got 5 cards for $15 and 5 DMS-59 cables (you get 2 DVI connections from one DMS-59) for them for $8. Both were smoking deals. One of the cards had a defect so they gave me $5 back... that comes out to $3.60 per card with the needed cables (plus a spare). The cards work great and aside from the lack of D3D 11 support, probably aren't far off feature\performance wise from the IGP in a recent Pentium or Celeron CPU. eBay is chock full of these cards.

Just saw a product mentioned on Fudzilla that could be useful:

http://fudzilla.com/home/item/35787-clu ... ng-station

Club 3D launches 4K USB 3.0 docking station


Club 3D's bread and butter are AMD based graphics cards but we remember some people at Newegg praising their Display Port dongles and how successful these things where. The company realized that there is money to be made in MTS hubs, USB 3.0 to 4K graphics adapters and similar products and it wants to expand its SenseVision with the CSV-3103D docking station.


The CSV-3103D (not a retail friendly name ed.) is a USB 3.0 to 4K docking station will let you expand your notebook, desktop or professional tablet capabilities and even user 4K monitors that could not be connected before. The CSV-3103D has a USB 3.0 Port with BC 1.2 charging, Ethernet 10/100/1000, DisplayPort (resolution up to 3840x 2160p 30 Hz), HDMI (resolution up to 3840x 2160p 30 Hz), DVI port (resolution up to 2048x 1152 p) as well as USB 3.0 port to source and power jack input. We would love to see 60 Hz support for 4K resolutions but this is a current limitation of HDMI 1.4 and DisplayPort 1.2 and you need HDMI 2.0 or newly announced DisplayPort 1.3 to support such high refresh rates with 4K.


The side of the docking station includes additional two USB 3.0 ports, microphone and 2.1 audio jack. The CSV-3103D uses the latest DisplayLink DL-5000 series USB to 4K SoC and it claims that this is the most capable DisplayLink USB Graphics SoC to date.
BC 1.2 charging is supported on three USB 3.0 will let you charge your devices up to 1.5A. You need to connect the docking station to the power socket and you need one free USB 3.0 on the device you want to expand. It will work with 2.0 and 1.1 USB ports, but this is not something we would recommend as you need USB 3.0 for 4K resolutions.

The Club 3D CSV-3103D 4K USB 3.0 Docking Station will be available worldwide by the end of October 2014 at an RRP of $169 or €130 excluding tax.

I have used a USB 3 to DVI-DL adapter made by Plugable. It worked extremely well, though I have not tried it for gaming.