In need of advice on monitor setup

[SandmanEnters]

Hey guys,

So I have a friend with an interesting problem, I just like to get some advice from anyone that has had a similar experience.

She's trying to set up a second external monitor on a Lenovo Ideapad Gaming 3. I've done some research and it seems it can only handle two monitors, one being the native monitor of the laptop itself and one external. Seems (according to posts online) most usb to hdmi converters don't work as the laptop only supports data transfer through usb 3.2, not video or audio. I did, however, find one on a reddit thread that seems to work, as it has the ability to act as an external gpu, and works with software. This will probably be the solution to the problem, but it's an expensive adapter and I wanted to ask you guys if you think its worth it to try a cheaper, unbranded one first? It claims to do the same, but I'm not convinced as I don't know whether it comes with software.

Any device is much appreciated, thank you kindly.

Links:
Reddit forum:

https://www.reddit.com/r/Lenovo/comments/krp8z7/how_to_connect_a_third_monitor_to_an_ideapad

Expensive adapter:

BENFEI USB 3.0 to HDMI Adapter, USB 3.0 to HDMI Male South Africa | Ubuy

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Cheap adapter:

USB 3.0 to HDMI Adapter

Produuct Type: USB 3.0 TO HDMI ADAPTER Interface:USB 3.0

www.geewiz.co.za

 

[Switch]

Use the hdmi or usb-c port?

 

[SandmanEnters]

Use the hdmi or usb-c port?

That specific laptop model only supports sending data through the usb-c, not visuals or audio, but this adapter claims to be enable it through software. It also only has 1 hdmi, but we'll try the adapter. Thank you for your reply.

 

[Oj0]

That specific laptop model only supports sending data through the usb-c, not visuals or audio, but this adapter claims to be enable it through software. It also only has 1 hdmi, but we'll try the adapter. Thank you for your reply.

It does. What it doesn't support is DisplayPort over USB/Thunderbolt. You can use any dock with HDMI/DP/DVI/VGA/whatever you need outputs. That's why the adapters you linked would work.

 

[moedeez]

That specific laptop model only supports sending data through the usb-c, not visuals or audio, but this adapter claims to be enable it through software. It also only has 1 hdmi, but we'll try the adapter. Thank you for your reply.

What is the exact model spec?

 

[SandmanEnters]

It does. What it doesn't support is DisplayPort over USB/Thunderbolt. You can use any dock with HDMI/DP/DVI/VGA/whatever you need outputs. That's why the adapters you linked would work.

Thank you for the reply. It seems like a lot of people have trouble with HDMI as well, and a few forum posts claimed to not be able to get it going, but maybe that was display port and I read it too fast. My friend will get the adapter for herself end of month, I will update once we have an answer. I appreciate the advice.

 

[SandmanEnters]

What is the exact model spec?

What is the exact model spec?

Lenovo IdeaPad Gaming 3 15.6-inch FHD AMD Ryzen 7 7735HS 16GB RAM 512GB SSD Win 11 Home Laptop 82SB00P9FU as far as I know it's this one. I don't have access to it physically so I googled the model number

 

[dirko.van.schalkwyk]

• 1x USB-C 3.2 Gen 2 (support data transfer, Power Delivery 3.0 and DisplayPort 1.4)
• 2x USB 3.2 Gen 1

If the link you gave is correct: One of the 3 ports support DP alternate mode (i.e. DP 1.4 fed from your RTX 4050) and should be marked as such

You can read about Alt modes here:
What's up with HDMI and DisplayPort over USB C?

Only DP remains, HDMI alt mode is dead :
RIP HDMI Alt Mode, we hardly knew ye

Therefore all HDMI adapters that use this will be converting DP to HDMI

You most prob. will see them as being sold with both interfaces e.g. Dell USB Type-C to HDMI and DisplayPort Adapter with Power Pass-Through 470-AEGY and they usually state that no drivers are required, "plug and play", but you need to plug them into the correct usb-c port (the one that support DP alt mode)

Alt mode type mean you will be able to game on the monitor as it will be using your RTX 4050 to generate the signal

Alternative as everyone has pointed out is software driven adapter, and as others have pointed out a usb-c universal docking station is the best alternative.

Most of these are drivern by DisplayLink chipsets. You can lookup a flavour and suppliers here :

DisplayLink | Synaptics

DisplayLink Graphics Our DisplayLink technology makes it simple to connect any display to any computer that supports USB or Wi-Fi and provides universal solutions for a range of corporate, home and embedded applications where easy connectivity of displays enhances productivity. With DisplayLink...

www.synaptics.com

This will be using some of you CPU and main system ram to drive the display via driver, so no fancy gaming, but it's fast enough on modern hardware for HD video etc.

 

[SandmanEnters]

• 1x USB-C 3.2 Gen 2 (support data transfer, Power Delivery 3.0 and DisplayPort 1.4)
• 2x USB 3.2 Gen 1

If the link you gave is correct: One of the 3 ports support DP alternate mode (i.e. DP 1.4 fed from your RTX 4050) and should be marked as such

You can read about Alt modes here:
What's up with HDMI and DisplayPort over USB C?

Only DP remains, HDMI alt mode is dead :
RIP HDMI Alt Mode, we hardly knew ye

Therefore all HDMI adapters that use this will be converting DP to HDMI

You most prob. will see them as being sold with both interfaces e.g. Dell USB Type-C to HDMI and DisplayPort Adapter with Power Pass-Through 470-AEGY and they usually state that no drivers are required, "plug and play", but you need to plug them into the correct usb-c port (the one that support DP alt mode)

Alt mode type mean you will be able to game on the monitor as it will be using your RTX 4050 to generate the signal

Alternative as everyone has pointed out is software driven adapter, and as others have pointed out a usb-c universal docking station is the best alternative.

Most of these are drivern by DisplayLink chipsets. You can lookup a flavour and suppliers here :

DisplayLink | Synaptics

DisplayLink Graphics Our DisplayLink technology makes it simple to connect any display to any computer that supports USB or Wi-Fi and provides universal solutions for a range of corporate, home and embedded applications where easy connectivity of displays enhances productivity. With DisplayLink...

www.synaptics.com

This will be using some of you CPU and main system ram to drive the display via driver, so no fancy gaming, but it's fast enough on modern hardware for HD video etc.

Thank kindly for all this info and advice, you made me realize that the link can't be correct, as the GPU is a GTX 1650, that's poorly done from my side, I apologize. The correct one is:

Lenovo IdeaPad Gaming 3 15.6-inch FHD Intel Core i5-11320H 8GB RAM 512GB SSD GTX 1650 Win 11 Home Laptop 82K101GFSA

Lenovo IdeaPad Gaming 3 15.6-inch FHD Intel Core i5-11320H 8GB RAM 512GB SSD GTX 1650 Win 11 Home Laptop 82K101GFSA and more Lenovo IdeaPad Laptops available directly from Lenovo Online Shop SA.

www.lenovo-online.co.za

Older generation, which is why the confusion I think.