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Cosmos Mom

8 Posts

2417

May 8th, 2019 00:00

XPS 8500, AMD 7570, two U2717D monitors

​I have a XPS 8500 running Windows 10 Pro with an AMD Radeon HD 7570 1GB GDD R5 video card that I purchased in 2012 that I use in my home office. I don't do gaming and I'm not technical. I just purchased two U2717D monitors (resolution of 2560 x 1440) and did not know that the DisplayPort cables would not work on my XPS. But I was able to hook up one monitor to my XPS using an HDMI to DVI cable. I have not installed the second monitor yet. ​

​I would prefer to daisy chain the two monitors using the DisplayPort cables. But my XPS does not have a DisplayPort outlet. After reading other posts, it appears that I can buy and install a new video card that has DisplayPort outlets. What is recommended? ​

​In addition to have dual monitors to my XPS, I would also like to plug my Network Video Recorder for my security system into one of the monitors via an HDMI cable. Is this possible?​

RoHe

10 Elder

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43.8K Posts

May 8th, 2019 11:00

Would be helpful if you told us what ports are available on your add-in AMD Radeon HD 7570  card...

But, if you can successfully connect one new monitor from the HDMI port (video card) to DVI (monitor), you should be able to do the exact same thing using the onboard HDMI port on the PC, instead of replacing the video card. Onboard HDMI is #17 here:

8500.jpg

But before you connect monitor #2, reboot and immediately press F2 to open BIOS setup. Use the arrow keys to navigate around BIOS setup to find the Intel Multi-Display option. Set that option to Enabled. Do not change anything else in BIOS setup, but be sure to save the change to Multi-Display before you exit setup, and then let the PC reboot.

When you're back at the desktop, shut down normally. Now connect monitor #2 to the onboard HDMI port using the HDMI>DVI cable. Note that at least one monitor must be connected to the Radeon card first, before you can connect/use a second monitor with an onboard video port.

Maybe somebody else can answer your questions about the video recorder, because I don't know...

 

RoHe

10 Elder

 • 

43.8K Posts

May 9th, 2019 14:00

It has to be onboard HDMI behind the plate because the specs say onboard VGA and HDMI, no mention of onboard DP.

Your add-in AMD video card must have more than just a DVI output. It's likely to have DP so the DP(PC)>HDMI(monitor) adapter I suggested will work if you want to connect both monitors to the AMD card.

If you decide to use the PC's onboard HDMI port and a standard HDMI cable, be sure to enable Intel Multi-Display in BIOS setup first.

If you want to connect the NVR to a monitor via HDMI, you're going to have to use a different port on that monitor to connect to the PC because the monitor probably only has one HDMI port. So it depends on what other inputs your monitor accepts and finding suitable adapter cables. If monitor has VGA, you can use a standard VGA cable directly from the PC's onboard VGA to one monitor, keeping in mind that VGA is the lowest quality video signal and doesn't carry audio like HDMI does. And you have to enable Intel Multi-Display in BIOS setup too.

Once you get it all wired up, go to the Windows Display screen to set which monitor is #1, and how you want Windows to use them: (1) display exact same screen on both, (2) spread one screen over 2 monitors, (3) display totally different screens on each monitor.

Cosmos Mom

8 Posts

May 17th, 2019 17:00

Hi Ron,

Your suggestions were very, very helpful.  This is what I did:

  1. Looked at the back of my XPS 8500 and found out that the #17 is an onboard HDMI port.
  2. Purchased 2 HDMI cables and a Kinivo 301BN HDMI Switch from Amazon.  I did some googling and learned about HDMI splitters and switches.  I determined that a HDMI switch is what I needed and the one I purchased was recommended by a number of sites.  
  3. Following your suggestion in the 2nd post, I went into the BIOS and enabled Intel Multi-Display.  I had a hard time with getting into the BIOS and I tried 3-4 times restarting the XPS & pressing F2.  Finally, I shut down completely and then pressed the F2 key immediately and was able to get into the BIOS.  I had never gone into the BIOS before so that was an interesting experience.  But I was able to find some how to instructions in the Dell site that helped me to enable Intel Multi-display.
  4. Yesterday, I installed the second Dell monitor using one of the HDMI cables and I was able to successfully get both monitors set up by going into the Windows Display screen as indicated in your last post.
  5. Today, I installed the Kinivo 301BN HDMI Switch. I plugged the HDMI cable from the second monitor into the output port and I plugged the HDMI cable from the XPS into the input port.  And I was able to successfully use both monitors.

I'm loving my two new 27" Dell monitors.  Now I am waiting for my security camera guy to come to my house to install the HDMI cable from the NVR to my HDMI switch. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that the HDMI switch will work.  

Thank you for all your help and great suggestions.

Cosmos Mom

8 Posts

May 8th, 2019 21:00

I actually connected monitor #1 from the HDMI port (on the monitor) to the DVI (on the back of the XPS) in the #20 area.

#16 is a VGA connector that was covered up with a black cap.  I'm not sure if there is an onboard HDMI port at #17.  It looks like there's a black plate that is covering that section and next to it is the words "HDMI".  Does this mean that I can connect monitor #2 using a HDMI cable (from monitor) to VGA (at #16)?  

I would still like to get an answer from someone about whether I can hook up my Network Video Recorder (NVR) to either monitor #1 or #2 using a HDMI cable.  I think that if I replace my current video card with one that uses DisplayPort then I will still have a HDMI port available on either monitor #1 or monitor #2 to connect to my NVR.  If this is possible, then what kind of video card should I order.

Thank you.

RoHe

10 Elder

 • 

43.8K Posts

May 9th, 2019 13:00

That's why you need to be specific about which port is where...

You cannot use VGA(PC)>HDMI(monitor).

The specs say this PC model has both an onboard VGA port and an onboard HDMI port. The "plate" over the onboard HDMI port probably should be removable. Dell frequently covers the onboard video ports to make sure users connect the first monitor to the add-in video card.

If the other port on your video card is DisplayPort, you can get a DP(PC)>HDMI(monitor) adapter cable for the second monitor. DP>HDMI adapters work only in ONE direction. So you have to make certain the adapter is DP(PC)>HDMI(monitor), and not the other way around. An example here.  Shop around...

What are you trying to do with the NVR? Play back stuff already recorded by the NVR on the monitor, or record the monitor's screen on the NVR? The monitor's HDMI port should accept video signal from the NVR, but it's doubtful the NVR will get a video signal from the monitor. The monitor's HDMI port is HDMI-IN to accept incoming HDMI video signals, but doubtful it's also an HDMI-OUT port which is needed to send video signals out to the NVR. Suggest you contact the NVR manufacturer for further advice.

As for upgraded video cards, search these forums to see what other cards users have successfully installed in the XPS 8500, and then see what ports each of those cards offer.

Cosmos Mom

8 Posts

May 9th, 2019 14:00

Hi Ron,

Thanks for your response.  You have been very helpful.  I pulled the black plate off the XPS and there is either a DisplayPort  or HDMI connection.  I need to look at the back of the XPS more carefully and then order/install the right cable.  For the NVR, I want to play back video already recorded by the NVR on the monitor or view recording in real time on the monitor.  I will update this post once I have everything working.

RoHe

10 Elder

 • 

43.8K Posts

May 17th, 2019 17:00

:Yes: :Yes:

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