Using multiple monitors on XP13 9380

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@AU1984 wrote:

Hey, all:

I have a new Dell laptop, the XP13 9380, and I'm trying to set up multiple monitors.

I've set up one external monitor and have a couple of questions:

1. Can I shut my laptop and still use the external monitor?

2. How do I get sound to come from the monitor rather than the laptop?

 

After that, I'm hoping to connect a second monitor to use with the dock (the Dell universal dock). Should I be able to use an adapter? The first external monitor is already using the HDMI port on the dock. I'm thinking I'll have to get some sort of USB 3 / HDMI adapter to use the second monitor. DOes that sound right?

Sorry if these are basic questions. I'm stuck.

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1. Assuming you do NOT want to use a dock, then to use the laptop with the lid closed, you'd have to set your Lid Close Action to "Do Nothing" under Power Settings.  If you keep it at the default Sleep setting, then the system will go to sleep when you close the lid and you won't have a way to wake it up again without opening the lid to press the Power button.  If you use a dock like the WD15 or TB16, you'd be able to use it with the lid closed without having to change that setting because those docks have Power buttons that control the system, and that setting is only evaluated when the lid transitions from open to closed, so you can wake it back up after the lid is closed using the dock button.

2. Go to Control Panel > Sound.  Under the Playback tab, right-click the display and click the Set Default button.  You might also have to close and relaunch any application that generates audio.  Once you do that, the system will automatically revert back to its normal speakers when that display is disconnected, and then switch BACK to the display when the display is connected.  Note that this assumes your display is connected via HDMI or DisplayPort and that it supports receiving an audio signal.  Not all displays do.

3. Which "Dell Universal Dock" are you referring to?  The ideal docks to use with that system are the WD15 and TB16, with the main difference being the display configurations they support.  The WD15 supports dual displays up to 1920x1200 each, while the TB16 supports dual displays up to 4K resolution and even some triple display configurations.  If you have a dock like the D3100 or D6000, that's really not a great choice because those docks use DisplayLink technology for video output rather than tapping into native GPU outputs like the WD15 and TB16 do.  See my first post in this thread for more information about why DisplayLink isn't a great choice.  But to answer your question, I believe every Dell dock made remotely recently supports at least dual displays at least up to 1920x1200 resolution each, so you should be able to connect both of your displays directly to the dock, without using any USB adapters.  USB video adapters also use DisplayLink or a similar technology, so again you should try to avoid that if at all possible.  It would help if you would specify the exact dock you're using and the exact displays you're using, since that would allow more precise answers on cabling options because that would make it clear what video outputs your dock offers and what video inputs your displays accept.