By now, a dual-monitor setup has turn into commonplace. Multitasking on a single display is simply means too confining. But why cease at two shows?  I can converse from expertise: Having a number of screens (and I’m speaking three, 4, 5, and even six) is simply…superior, and one thing you completely want in your life.

Right now, my primary PC has a triple-monitor setup: my primary 27-inch central monitor, with a 24-inch monitor on both aspect. I take advantage of my additional screens for numerous issues, akin to evaluating spreadsheets side-by-side, writing articles whereas additionally doing analysis, protecting tabs on my social media feeds, and, after all, watching Netflix.

Using one in every of your screens in vertical orientation could make an enormous distinction for scrolling lengthy paperwork. If you’re a gamer, properly, absolutely you possibly can see how nice three-plus screens could be for video games that help multi-monitor setups. You may even use your TV as an extra computer monitor!

But earlier than you bounce in, you wish to give your multi-monitor plan some forethought. This information will stroll you thru all of the components you could consider earlier than establishing three or extra screens.

Further studying: The best monitors for any use or budget

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Step 1: Check your graphics card(s)

Before you run out and purchase a bunch of additional screens, verify to see whether or not your laptop is bodily able to dealing with all that graphics prowess. First, look behind your PC: How many graphics ports (often HDMI and DisplayPort, however typically DVI and VGA on older {hardware}) do you see?

If you don’t have a discrete graphics card, it’s possible you’ll solely see as much as two video ports, should you see any in any respect. Many motherboards include built-in graphics that may solely run one or two monitor setups, whereas many different motherboards lack outgoing video ports in anyway. If you do have a discrete graphics card, you’ll most likely see a minimum of three ports, not together with the ports in your motherboard.

Tip: While it’s potential to arrange a number of screens utilizing ports on each your motherboard and your discrete graphics card, you’ll see a efficiency drop and a few lag if you transfer home windows between screens. If you wish to do that, additionally, you will have to enter your PC’s BIOS and go to Configuration > Video > Integrated graphics machine and set it to “Always enable.”

Just since you see three or extra ports in your discrete graphics card, nevertheless, doesn’t essentially imply you should utilize all of them on the identical time. For instance, many older Nvidia playing cards are unable to run greater than two screens on a single card, even when they’ve greater than two ports. The greatest option to discover out whether or not your graphics card helps a number of screens is to seek out the identify of your card (Control Panel > Device Manager > Display Adapters) and Google it with the monitor setup you’re trying to run (e.g. “Nvidia GTX 1060 four monitors”).

Further studying: The best graphics cards

If your graphics card helps—and has sufficient ports for—the variety of screens you wish to arrange, glorious. If not, it’s possible you’ll have to buy a further graphics card to get the multi-monitor help you’re in search of.

Before you purchase an additional graphics card, you’ll have to be sure you have sufficient area in your tower (and open PCIe slots), in addition to an influence provide unit that may deal with the additional pressure.

If you purchase a graphics card solely for the aim of getting a number of screens, it’s greatest to get a less expensive fashionable choice, as present GPUs can energy a number of shows with out situation. Check out our roundup of the best graphics cards in your greatest choices. (At the time of writing, our favourite finances graphics card is the AMD Radeon RX 6600 and it helps as much as 4 screens.)

Alternatively, screens with DisplayPort multi-streaming help could be daisy-chained collectively from a single DisplayPort connection in your graphics card, utilizing extra DisplayPort cables to attach the extra screens to 1 one other. The varied shows don’t even must be the identical measurement or decision. Finding screens with a DisplayPort output could be troublesome lately, nevertheless, even with higher-end shows.

Step 2: Select your screens

Once you determine your graphics card scenario, it’s time for the enjoyable half: acquiring additional screens. In basic, 1080p screens could be had for pretty low-cost lately. Assuming you possibly can’t finagle a hand-me-down, a 24-inch monitor with an IPS display will run you round $150, such because the Acer K242HYL—our favourite finances 1080p show—proven above.

Meanwhile, it you’re in search of much more display actual property, yow will discover greater shows with increased resolutions simply lately. The Dell G2724D, our favourite finances gaming monitor, comes with a 27-inch show operating at 2560×1440 decision and a blistering 165Hz, all for underneath $300.

Even pixel-packed 4K shows have come down in value in recent times, with the Asus TUF Gaming VG289Q—our favourite finances 4K gaming monitor—costing underneath $300 as properly. If you’re feeling fancy, you possibly can go for extra premium fashions with options like USB-C energy supply and OLED shows, or have a drool-inducing ultrawide monitor be the eye-catching middle of your insane multi-monitor setup.

Of course, the proper monitor for you will depend on a number of components, together with the screens you have already got, the dimensions of your desk, the decision(s) you need, and what you’re planning on utilizing your additional monitor for. We keep a number of monitor roundups that may show you how to discover the most suitable choice in your scenario:

In my case, I already had two 24-inch screens, and I needed a bigger monitor because the centerpiece of my setup, so I picked up a 27-inch monitor and positioned it between my two 24-inch shows. I’m not utilizing my multi-monitor setup to play multi-monitor video games, so the distinction in sizes (and the distinction in heights—my 27-inch monitor’s stand holds that monitor about one inch increased than my 24-inchers) isn’t a difficulty for me. However, should you’re planning on doing numerous gaming or watching movies that span a number of screens, this top distinction will make for a not-so-seamless expertise.

Before you purchase your screens, you’ll additionally wish to be sure that they’ve enter ports that correspond along with your PC’s output ports. While you would use conversion cables, akin to DVI-to-HDMI or DisplayPort-to-DVI, they could be a problem. If you’ve got a VGA port in your PC or your monitor, I recommend staying away from it: VGA is an analog connector, which suggests your image might be noticeably much less sharp and colours might be much less vivid.

Step 3: Set up your PC

Set up your screens, plug them in, and switch in your PC. Voila! A superbly fashioned multi-monitor setup! Well, not so quick. Setup is straightforward, however there are nonetheless a pair extra steps.

The very first thing you’ll wish to do is configure Windows to play properly along with your a number of screens. If you’re operating Windows 7 or Windows 8, right-click on the desktop and click on Screen decision; in Windows 10 or 11, click on Display settings. This will take you to a display the place you possibly can configure the choices you’ve got for a number of screens in Windows.

Here, you possibly can verify that each one your screens are detected. Click Identify, which is able to trigger a big quantity to seem on every of your shows, so you possibly can decide which display is which. Select the monitor you’d prefer to function your primary show (which will even decide the place your taskbar and Start button seems). A drop-down menu allows you to select whether or not to duplicate your desktop or prolong your desktop throughout all of the screens. In most multi-monitor setups, you’ll wish to prolong your desktop throughout all three (or 4, or no matter) of your shows.

Alternately, you possibly can arrange your multi-monitor configuration in your GPU’s management panel. Right-click your desktop and select both the Nvidia or AMD management panel (relying in your graphics card), and discover the Display part, which is able to provide related choices as Windows.

Gaming

It’s one factor to make use of a number of screens to do work and watch Netflix. It’s one other factor completely to make use of a number of screens to play video video games. If you wish to use your snazzy new multi-monitor setup to do some three- or four-panel gaming, there are a number of additional belongings you’ll need to take into accounts.

Gaming on a number of shows without delay requires much more graphical firepower than gaming on a single display alone, as a result of the GPU has so many extra pixels to push—so should you’re not operating a sufficiently sturdy graphics card or playing cards, you’ll virtually actually see lag and artifacting in your multi-monitor video games. Once once more, take a look at PCWorld’s guide for choosing the best graphics card for gaming.

Before you can begin taking part in your video games throughout a number of panels, you’ll have to arrange your graphics card and your recreation. Nvidia customers might want to arrange Nvidia Surround, whereas AMD customers might want to create an Eyefinity group for his or her screens.

You’ll additionally want to enter your recreation—not all video games are multi-monitor appropriate—and configure the video or show settings to the proper decision in order that the sport spans throughout all your screens as a substitute of staying squished on only one. You’ll additionally wish to mess around with different settings as the sport permits, together with area of view (too low, and there might be an excessive amount of happening round you; too excessive and all the pieces in your left and proper screens might be massively distorted).

For gaming, it’s simpler in case you have a number of equivalent shows, as a result of in any other case you’ll run into points with decision, distortion (in case your shows aren’t on the identical top), and colour calibration, all of which could be troublesome to work with should you’re attempting to play in a “seamless” surroundings.

If working with a number of shows looks like extra hassle than you wish to hassle with for gaming, perhaps you’d be higher off with a single ultrawide monitor. Check out our article on the professionals and cons of dual displays versus a single ultrawide, in addition to our roundup of the best ultrawide gaming monitors.