9 Legend

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14K Posts

April 5th, 2020 12:00

@672193  you can do that, although you might find that they both have to be connected to the TB3 ports on the left when using dual displays, rather than having one display connected to the port on the regular USB-C port on right edge.  Someone else just discovered that, and they were running either a 9370 or 9380 (can't remember which).  It's also possible to run multiple displays from a single port without a docking station.  If your displays support DisplayPort input and at least one of them has a DisplayPort output to create a daisy-chain, you can use a USB-C to DP cable to connect to Display #1, then connect Display #1 to Display #2 also using DisplayPort, and you're running both displays (as independent displays) from that single port.  I've been doing that for years with a variety of systems.  But you have to use DisplayPort along the entire chain for that, not HDMI.  Another option would be to get a USB-C DisplayPort MST hub, or a Thunderbolt 3 to Dual DisplayPort (or dual HDMI 2.0) adapter.  An MST hub and TB3 adapter look similar, but the latter can tap into twice as much display bandwidth as the former, which might be important depending on the resolution(s) of the display(s) you intend to run.

Lastly, unless your displays only have HDMI inputs or you want those cables to be able to plug into TVs, in general I recommend USB-C to DisplayPort cables instead.  The reason is that the system is sending a DisplayPort signal anyway, which means that a USB-C to HDMI cable has to incorporate an active converter chip to switch that signal to HDMI, which is just one more thing to pay for and potentially go wrong.  USB-C to HDMI cables also tend to be more expensive (all else being equal) partly because of that chip and also because HDMI ports require that the manufacturer pay a royalty fee for every HDMI connector they create, whereas DisplayPort is royalty-free.

1 Rookie

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2 Posts

April 5th, 2020 12:00

Thanks so much jphughan. I've actually read some of your other posts on dual monitors and your responses are great. The details you provide are very helpful. 

9 Legend

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14K Posts

April 5th, 2020 13:00

@672193  happy to help, and thanks for the kind words!

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