Boost your productivity with multi-monitor set ups. Learn how to connect multiple monitors to your PC/laptop, how many monitors can be connected and the different technologies that enable them. Click here for a quick guide.
Ever heard of daisy chaining? It's connecting your monitors to each other in series using the DisplayPort or Thunderbolt connectors, rather than connecting each monitor directly to the PC. Push your productivity through the roof with a multi-monitor setup without cable clutter, and with the simplicity and convenience of single-cable connectivity.
To daisy chain, you'll need to make sure your hardware is up to the task. With either DisplayPort Out with Multi-Stream Transport, or Thunderbolt 3 or 4. If you're daisy chaining via Thunderbolt, both monitors need to have Thunderbolt upstream ports, and the primary monitor needs to have a Thunderbolt downstream port, while for DisplayPort daisy chaining, only the primary monitor needs to have DP Out connectivity.
We've shown how to connect two monitors. Interested to find out how many more you can connect? That depends on the GPU capability, PC output source, and monitor input port of your system as well as the resolution of the monitors. For example, DP 1.2 can support up to four FHD monitors at 60Hz.
DP 1.4 can support up to three QHD monitors at 60Hz without Display Stream Compression, and up to four 4K monitors at 60Hz with Display Stream Compression. Thunderbolt can support up to two 4K at 60Hz and up to two 6K at 60Hz with Display Stream Compression.
When using DP 1.4 to daisy chain your 4K monitors, you'll need to make sure Display Stream Compression is enabled. But what exactly is Display Stream Compression, you might ask? It's the technology that decreases the bandwidth demands between high-resolution displays and their input sources, while keeping visuals as sharp as ever. So to get the most from your daisy chaining setup, check that your system is equipped with an Intel 12th generation processor or newer that supports DSC.
Now that we've covered video daisy chaining, let's move on to data daisy chaining. Data daisy chaining activates the USB ports on the secondary monitor. To activate the USB ports on the monitors connected via DisplayPort, you'll need to connect a USB upstream cable between the two monitors.
The advantage of using Thunderbolt is that it automatically enables daisy chaining of both video and data, without the need for a USB upstream cable. So now you know about DP with Multi-Stream Transport, Thunderbolt 3 or 4, and Display Stream Compression. You can start daisy chaining today and enjoy reduced cable clutter, freed-up video ports, and incredible productivity gains.
