Adding a display to a laptop

The Pool Man · 30 Nov 2016

Greetings,

I have a new Asus Zenbook Flip. Core M, 512SSD, 8Gbs of RAM. I have an aging iMac and am considering trying a switch completely to Windows. The way I could do this is docking the laptop (where my iMac lives) and hooking up an external 1080p monitor. With a keyboard and mouse in tow. Probably all connected to a hub and then connected to the Zenbook via USB-C.

I've got my head around that part. (I think -- lol.) The part that's still a head scratcher is how the Zenbook will react to being connected to a monitor. I've never done this before and so --

1. -- will my laptop get hot driving the monitor? Or does the monitor run itself and the laptop only gets hot as normal?
2. -- is it expected that the external monitor will flicker a lot? Or be as stable as a 'native' monitor?
3. -- are the color dynamics of the monitor limited to the color dynamics of Zenbook? (In English: if the Zenbook has crappy colors will the 'fancy' monitor recreate crappy colors?)
4. -- is it unwise to get a monitor with higher resolution than the Zenbook? Or will the PC love it and use it?
5. -- I presume there's a mode where if connected I can make the Zenbook screen go dark while the monitor stays lit?
6. -- do you think I'd get better support for this idea if I bought an Asus monitor to go with Asus Zenbook?

These type of questions folks. What do you think?

NavyLCDR · 30 Nov 2016

1. It's possible the laptop will get a little bit warmer if you are doing heavier graphics because the GPU (graphics processing unit) will be doing more to process the graphics. If you leave your computer idle, it will run cooler than if your computer is crunching away at calculating Pi to 10,000 decimal places because during calculations the CPU is doing something. It's the same with graphics and the GPU - the GPU will produce heat when it is actually processing graphics and that is true whether it is the built in LCD display or an external monitor. But you might do more graphical intense processing with an external monitor because you have a better resolution to view.

2. Modern LCD monitors will not flicker. Hook up an old CRT type monitor and you will get the CRT tube flicker.

3. The quality of the monitor will affect the color quality, but the quality of the color will be the best the weakest link in the chain can provide and the weakest link will probably be the relatively weak GPU built into the Zenbook.

4. It is wise to get the highest resolution monitor that you think you will ever upgrade the PC graphics card to, which will be much greater than the zenbook. I would not get anything less than full 1080P Hi-Definition.

5. Probably. Windows 10 will support it if the graphics processor in the Zenbook will.

6. Nope.

The Pool Man · 30 Nov 2016

You're an officer and a gentleperson, NavyLCDR. Big thanks

alphanumeric · 30 Nov 2016

If you are going to use a Docking station to drive the monitor etc from just the one USB port on the PC, said docking station will have its own GPU in it. That GPU will dictate the max resolution you can use for the monitor. Assuming your going to us an HDMI etc port on the docking station. Doing it that way means the GPU in the laptop is only driving the built in display and it won't get any hooter than it normally does.
If you use a USB connected monitor, it has its own GPU in its case. Same deal here, the GPU in the laptop is only driving the built in display and it won't get any hooter than it normally does.
The only time your laptops GPU is used to drive a second monitor is if that monitor is plugged directly into the PC and uses the laptops HDMI, DVI, etc monitor connector.
Once its connected and identified. you just press the Windows logo key

and the P key to select which mode you want, Extend will let you use both monitors and run different programs on each one.

On my laptop I run a USB 3 connected external portable monitor. Power and data all go through the USB 3 port on my laptop. That monitor has its own internal GPU. I usually leave it unplugged if I need to run on battery as it will drain the battery faster if connected. I went this route because this display is portable and fits in my laptop carry bag. It's only a 15 inch display. My laptop has a 17 inch screen. I don't use this laptop as a desktop replacement.