2 Dual Monitor for Inspiron 5593

Question

I have the Inspiron 5593 plus two external monitors (Dell E2020H). Looking to use the monitors as extended desktop. It appears the monitors came with a displayport cord and the laptop looks like it has HDMI input only. I don't want to waste money on the wrong product. What is the best product to purchase to allow both monitors to be used along with the laptop screen? Dual DP to HDMI? Would a docking station work better? If anyone has specifics on products that would work, I'd greatly appreciate it!

jphughan · Answer

@MtgProcessor Unfortunately there's a lot of bad news here:

HDMI outputs do not support running multiple independent displays from the same output, and a single HDMI output is the only display output connector you have on that system. So you don't have any normal options for running dual external displays.
DisplayPort to HDMI adapters/cables allow you to connect a DisplayPort source to an HDMI input, not the other way around as you would need given that you have only an HDMI output on your laptop and only a DisplayPort input on your displays. (You also have VGA on those displays, and there are HDMI to VGA adapters, but that will look noticeably worse because VGA is analog.)

If you want to run dual external displays, then the Inspiron 5593 really wasn't a good choice, because it has no connector for a proper docking station, and its only video output is a single HDMI output -- and on the Inspiron xx93 models, that HDMI output is limited to 1080p rather than the much more common 1440p or 4K these days. And if you only have an HDMI output, then the E2020H displays weren't a good choice either, because they don't have an HDMI input and you can't use their DisplayPort inputs with that system. The E Series displays are Dell's budget option, and the likely reason HDMI was omitted was because HDMI (the company) requires manufacturers to pay a royalty on all HDMI connectors/ports they install on a product, so Dell may have decided to cut that cost on their low-end displays.

The only option you really have would be a non-traditional docking station like the Dell D6000 or the older D3100. Either would be adequate to run those two displays, and both of them can plug into a regular USB port, but that's because both of them use "indirect display" technology called DisplayLink (not to be confused with DisplayPort). That's why those docks can handle displays over a regular USB connection, which isn't normally possible, but DisplayLink has a lot of drawbacks that I wrote about in the post marked in the answer in this thread. However, given that your system only has one "traditional" display output connector and even that one isn't workable for the specific displays you have, DisplayLink is pretty much your only option with this system. I just wanted to make sure you knew what you might expect if you go that route. If what I described in that thread isn't acceptable to you, then unfortunately you've got the wrong system for your purposes. Also note that neither of these docking stations will charge your system because systems can't charge through regular USB ports, and your system doesn't have a USB-C port, which on some systems can be used to charge.

jphughan · Answer

@MtgProcessor Happy to help! Just wish I had better news for you. In terms of your follow-up questions, if you got at least one display that had an HDMI input, then you could connect that one display directly to your system. At that point, if you wanted to run a second external display, you could get a simple DisplayLink USB dongle, like this one that gives you a DisplayPort output, or this one that gives you an HDMI output. At that point only one of your displays would be subject to DisplayLink's drawbacks, and of course the dongle would cost less than a full dock if you only wanted the dock to connect external displays -- although that dongle also of course offers less functionality than a dock, so if you might want a dock for the other connectivity it offers, then you might still decide that a dock is a better choice overall.

If you do decide to look into other systems, I would suggest looking at a system that has a USB-C port that supports video output and system charging. Both of those capabilities are optional on USB-C ports, and not all systems with USB-C ports offer both of those capabilities through that port. The exact display setups that you'd be able to run through a video-capable USB-C port would depend on the capabilities of the GPU running the USB-C output and whether you were using a docking station that wanted to run USB 3.0 data simultaneously (which cuts total available video bandwidth in half) or using a setup that allocated the full USB-C bandwidth to video. But at a minimum, even when using a docking station you'd be able to run dual displays up to 1080p each or a single display up to 1440p. Without a docking station, the minimum would rise to dual displays up to 1440p each or a single display up to 4K 60 Hz. Some USB-C systems now when used with a dock can handle dual 1440p displays or a single 4K 60 Hz display, and without a dock would be able to do dual 4K 60 Hz displays. Better yet would be a system that supports Thunderbolt 3, which significantly increases the amount of display bandwidth available compared to regular USB-C. (It also allows external PCIe-based peripherals such as external GPUs and very fast SSDs, although that may not matter for your use case.) With TB3, at a minimum you'd be able to run dual displays up to 4K 60 Hz even through a dock -- at least with any Dell system. (Technically TB3 can be set up so it only offers a single GPU interface, but all Dell systems with TB3 have dual GPU interfaces wired to their controllers, which is how they can at a minimum dual 4K 60 Hz displays even through a dock.)

MtgProcessor · Answer

@jphughan

Hm. Not quite what I wanted to hear, but you're not wrong about the pieces not being compatible.

The D6000 looks like it could work. I'm doing office work, not gaming. Will have to compare cost of dock vs cost of higher laptop model vs different monitors.

Question - the Inspiron 5593 has the HDMI. Are you saying if we got monitors that have HDMI ports (or HDMI to something else adapters), we still wouldn't be able to extend the desktop to 2 other monitors because HDMI only can do that for 1 monitor? It looks like the monitor has a VGA port if that helps.

Ideal setup would be 3 screens to use, but I could get by using the laptop as one monitor and 1 additional monitor as a second screen if it is possible as well.

Sincerely appreciate the input!

MtgProcessor · Answer

Spoiler

@jphughan

I don’t want to have to make my boss return anything if we don’t have to.

I found an HDMI to DP adaptor for around $35. This would connect us to one monitor, right?

My coworkers daughter had an idea to use the regular usb to power the other monitor. She would get a usb to vga then vga cord to the second monitor.

Does this sound like it would work? No docking station, no returning items.

I don’t want to have to make my boss return anything if we don’t have to.I found an HDMI to DP adaptor for around $35. This would connect us to one monitor, right?My coworkers daughter had an idea to use the regular usb to power the other monitor. She would get a usb to vga then vga cord to the second monitor.Does this sound like it would work? No docking station, no returning items.

jphughan · Answer

@MtgProcessor  That is an active HDMI to DisplayPort adapter.  There are a handful of those on the market, and they work by incorporating an active converter chip (which is why USB connector is there, solely to provide power to run the converter chip.)  But as a result, they can be a bit more finicky.  But if you want to try that out, I'd recommend this equivalent adapter instead.  Cable Matters has a solid reputation for quality products, whereas I've never even heard of FOINNEX, and at least on Amazon in the US, the two adapters are essentially the same price.  But if you decide to shop around for other options, be aware that there are ALSO active versions of DP to HDMI adapters, i.e. adapters meant to go in the opposite, much more common direction.  Those active adapters exist to support situations where Dual Mode DisplayPort isn't available or allowed, such as AMD EyeFinity setups, but they wouldn't be helpful for your situation.

MtgProcessor · Answer

@jphughan
last question
Look up FOINNEX HDMI to DisplayPort Adapter. “HDMI to Displayport Adapter allows you to connect HDMI device such as laptop, PC, DVD Player, Blu-Ray Player, PS3, PS4, Nintendo Switch, XBOX, video game console to DisplayPort monitors directly. Plug-and Play.”

Im not sure why it wouldn’t work? It appears to be able to do exactly what I’m looking for?

jphughan · Answer

@MtgProcessor As I said, DP to HDMI adapters/cables can only connect a DisplayPort source to an HDMI display, not the other way around. This is because most (but not all) DP sources support "Dual Mode DisplayPort" that allows them to send a native HDMI signal. But HDMI sources do not support sending a DisplayPort signal, and DisplayPort inputs will not accept HDMI signals.

The USB to VGA adapter you're suggesting would be an "indirect display" adapter that I described earlier, so you'd have the potential issues that come with that. And VGA is an analog signal, so that will look noticeably worse than any other option. If you're going to go the USB dongle route, I'd at least get one that offers a DisplayPort output.

Inspiron

2 Dual Monitor for Inspiron 5593

Was this post helpful?