Perhaps you want a 3 monitor docking station for your PC, or a laptop triple monitor setup? Then you’re in the right place! Join us, as we lay out all the steps needed to connect three (or more) monitors to your laptop using a docking station!
What Is a Docking Station?
If you want to connect multiple monitors to your PC, a docking station is the easiest way to do it!
1 What Is a Docking Station?1.1 Why Should I Use a Docking Station?1.2 Can You Use a Docking Station on a Laptop?2 How Do You Connect 3 Monitors to a Laptop Using a Docking Station?2.1 Step 1: Buying the Hardware2.2 Step 2: Setting Up the Hardware2.3 Step 3: Connecting the Monitors2.4 Step 4: Changing the Order of the Monitors2.5 Step 5: Rotating the Monitor Orientations3 Conclusion
A docking station is a device that has several video output ports that you can plug displays into. The docking station is then plugged into the video output port on your PC, and it relays the video signal to the displays that are plugged into it. Note: If you have only 2 monitors and would like to hook them up, please read our guide on How to Connect Two Monitors to One Computer With One HDMI Port.
Why Should I Use a Docking Station?
Although there are several ways you can connect multiple monitors to your PC, a docking station is the simplest and most convenient way to do it. For example, if you connect multiple monitors directly to your laptop, you’ll be limited by the number of video ports your laptop has (which is typically 1 or 2 at best). Meanwhile, if you daisy chain your monitors, you might be limited by the types of video ports you have on your laptop since some video connections are harder to daisy chain. But if you use a docking station, all you need to do is plug it into your laptop and connect as many monitors as you want!
Can You Use a Docking Station on a Laptop?
Yes, you can! Thanks to its simplicity, a docking station can be used on both desktops and laptops.
How Do You Connect 3 Monitors to a Laptop Using a Docking Station?
To connect three (or more) monitors to your laptop or PC with a docking station, you need to follow five separate steps: buying the hardware, setting up the hardware, connecting the monitors, changing the order of the monitors, and rotating the monitor orientations
Step 1: Buying the Hardware
Before you can start setting up the hardware, you’ll need to check if your video card can support multiple monitors. If not, you may need an upgrade. You’ll also need to buy a docking station. The type you’ll buy will depend on what video connection you want to use for your displays. If you want to use HDMI, you’ll need to buy an HDMI docking station. If you want to use DisplayPort, you’ll need to buy a DisplayPort docking station. If you want to use VGA, you’ll need to buy a VGA docking station. And if you want to use DVI, you’ll need to buy a DVI docking station. Buying decent quality cables is a worthwhile investment to avoid your monitor randomly going black. Poor quality cables can also cause your monitor to flicker on and off, which is very annoying! After you’ve bought all the needed hardware, you can start setting it up!
Step 2: Setting Up the Hardware
For this step, it’s all about arranging your workstation so that you can make the most of your monitors and keep things tidy. To set up your hardware, you can follow these steps:
Place your monitors on your desk and arrange them how you want. Plug your docking station into your laptop. Plug each monitor into the docking station using the appropriate video cables. Connect each monitor to a power source. Turn on the monitors. Turn on your laptop.
Now you should be able to adjust the display settings on your laptop!
Step 3: Connecting the Monitors
Sometimes your monitors will automatically be detected by your laptop. But if not, you’ll have to do this by yourself. To connect your monitors, you can follow these steps:
Log in to your profile. Right-click the screen. Click on Display settings. This will open a new window. Look for the “Rearrange your displays” section. Click on the Detect button underneath it. This should detect the monitors and connect to them. Go back to Display settings. Navigate to Multiple displays. If it asks for the number of monitors, input the number of monitors plugged into the docking station. Click on the dropdown menu and look at the options. Choose Extend these displays if you want to use several monitors to act as one large monitor. Choose Duplicate these displays if you want every monitor to show the same screen.
You should now be able to see your laptop screen on the monitors!
Step 4: Changing the Order of the Monitors
However, that’s not the end of the process. Now it’s time to tweak the settings so your monitors display how you want! To change the order of the monitors, you can follow these steps:
Go back to Display settings. Go to Rearrange your displays. It should show your monitors as rectangles with numbers. Click on the monitor that you want as your primary monitor so that it’s highlighted in blue. Go to Multiple displays. Check the box in front of Make this my main display. Go back to Rearrange your displays. Drag the rectangles around until you have them in the positions you want.
Your monitors should now be organized the way you want them to be!
Step 5: Rotating the Monitor Orientations
The last thing to do is to tweak the monitor orientations. This can be especially useful if you want to use a monitor for viewing tall images. To rotate the monitor orientations, you can follow these steps:
Go back to Display settings. Navigate to Rearrange your displays. Click on the rectangle for the monitor you’ll rotate. Look for Scale and layout. Under that section, look for Display orientation. Click on the dropdown menu and select the orientation you want. Choose portrait if you want the display to be more tall than wide. Choose landscape if you want the display to be more wide than tall.
And that’s how you connect multiple monitors to your laptop!
Conclusion
A docking station allows you to connect multiple displays to one video output port on your PC. It can be used for both desktops and laptops. There are five steps to connect three monitors to a laptop using a docking station: buying the hardware, setting up the hardware, connecting the monitors, changing the order of the monitors, and rotating the monitor orientations. The first step consists of checking if your video card supports multiple monitors and buying a docking station. The second step consists of plugging the docking station into your laptop, then plugging your monitors into the docking station. The third step consists of going to Display settings, detecting the monitors, and choosing how they will display your screen. The fourth step consists of choosing your primary monitor, and rearranging the order of the monitors. The fifth step consists of changing the monitor orientations to either portrait or landscape.
