Random thoughts.... [Tech Edition]

NooDle said:
Another question for you tech geeks : I have a 2x24" screen setup now for my home computing needs. One is connected through Displayport, the other through HDMI, and both work fine.
However, due to working from home being here to stay, I'm getting a laptop from work since that is a lot less hassle to get connected. My idea would be to connect this laptop through a docking station to those SAME 2 screens I have setup now (since both have an extra HDMI port free).

My question is this : given that both PC's are on at the same time, how do I tell my screen(s) which input to use? Am I correct in assuming that if only 1 input is being used, the screen automatically displays this? Would be a hassle always replugging cables and such, so I'm looking for alternatives.
Also, I don't have enough space to put the laptop somewhere where it's folded open, so would this work with the laptop closed? I'm assuming you can turn off the "auto sleep when closing the lid" function?
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Get work to buy you a dock if you can, I have a Dell WD19 here which is a USB-C connection and supports HDMI and DP. You would hope that the screens will switch over automatically, it's kind of pot luck though in my experience. Maybe best to try one monitor with your existing two connections just so you won't be surprised or disappointed. If it doesn't switch then all is not lost. I've used many HDMI auto switches in the past. You'd need two and DP to HDMI adapter cables for your setup, not too expensive but a bit of a pain.

With Windows 10 you want to go into the additional power options and 'choose what to do when I close the lid'. Since the dock will always provide power you can turn off the default sleep setting for mains.
 
NooDle said:
given that both PC's are on at the same time, how do I tell my screen(s) which input to use? Am I correct in assuming that if only 1 input is being used, the screen automatically displays this? Would be a hassle always replugging cables and such, so I'm looking for alternatives.
Also, I don't have enough space to put the laptop somewhere where it's folded open, so would this work with the laptop closed? I'm assuming you can turn off the "auto sleep when closing the lid" function?
Click to expand...
For manually switching inputs when both PCs are on, there's usually either a dedicated button or a menu in the screen settings. That's a hassle though.

When only one input is active, almost all monitors will auto-switch to that. LG seems to be an exception to the rule though - my ultrawide always needs manual switching, and so does another older LG monitor I've used at work. Annoying.

Most laptops can be used when closed. However, with many it's a problem for cooling - make sure all air intakes and vents are accessible and not blocked by the closed lid (used to be a big issue on Macbooks). Alternatively, you could look into an elevated laptop stand that still allows to keep the desk space below, and keep the laptop open (and even improve air intake from below).
 
Ok thanks guys, I’ll be getting a docking station aswell which is elevated, so I think cooling will be ok.

Will try-out your suggestions and get one of those switch thingies if need be
 
NooDle said:
Had a short drive just now, and while it constantly displays the "dial emergency services" button in the center of the screen, it did not dial this time.
Very strange also that the screen doesn't turn off, unless I push the button... may be something to do with my car settings, I dunno.

Another question for you tech geeks : I have a 2x24" screen setup now for my home computing needs. One is connected through Displayport, the other through HDMI, and both work fine.
However, due to working from home being here to stay, I'm getting a laptop from work since that is a lot less hassle to get connected. My idea would be to connect this laptop through a docking station to those SAME 2 screens I have setup now (since both have an extra HDMI port free).

My question is this : given that both PC's are on at the same time, how do I tell my screen(s) which input to use? Am I correct in assuming that if only 1 input is being used, the screen automatically displays this? Would be a hassle always replugging cables and such, so I'm looking for alternatives.
Also, I don't have enough space to put the laptop somewhere where it's folded open, so would this work with the laptop closed? I'm assuming you can turn off the "auto sleep when closing the lid" function?
Click to expand...
Sounds like you'd need a KVM switch. There are simple ones with just a button for each input or a clicking knob like changing channels on an old dial TV with just 2 channels.

Edit: oh, I see there were more posts after this i didn't see...
 
It seems a bunch of Google services are down right now?
Gmail still works for me, but contacts, calendar, news, youtube are all broken... :|
 
Last edited:
Good, it's not my home network setup.

It's weird that embedded youtube videos work, but trying to open them in the app fails.

Edit: And now it seems fixed.
 
That was quick.

Whew.
 
What's up with shipping dates for all of the M1 Macs being way into late January...? I kind of want to replace my trusty old (late 2010) 13" MacBook Air with an M1 Air. I know I was slow to respond here, but damn, the FOMO is quite bad.
 
marcos_eirik said:
What's up with shipping dates for all of the M1 Macs being way into late January...? I kind of want to replace my trusty old (late 2010) 13" MacBook Air with an M1 Air. I know I was slow to respond here, but damn, the FOMO is quite bad.
Click to expand...
It's almost like there's demand for them. :p
 
NecroJoe said:
Sounds like you'd need a KVM switch. There are simple ones with just a button for each input or a clicking knob like changing channels on an old dial TV with just 2 channels.

Edit: oh, I see there were more posts after this i didn't see...
Click to expand...

All is well! No extra switch needed! Turns out (despite our IT department telling me 2 extra screens werent supported) it’s just plug & play. For some reason dual hdmi won’t woek but hdmi + dp does. Still have an old vga cable lyibg around for the home setup, and switching monitors works on the monitors themselves. Just need to remember which is connected to what.

Here’s a pic of my slightly ridiculous setup
bb6e09bee96c6c2bf9d234434d81adca.jpg
 
NooDle said:
All is well! No extra switch needed! Turns out (despite our IT department telling me 2 extra screens werent supported) it’s just plug & play. For some reason dual hdmi won’t woek but hdmi + dp does. Still have an old vga cable lyibg around for the home setup, and switching monitors works on the monitors themselves. Just need to remember which is connected to what.

Here’s a pic of my slightly ridiculous setup
bb6e09bee96c6c2bf9d234434d81adca.jpg
Click to expand...

Yeah, if it has intel gpu made in the last decade, 3 screen support is build in (max resolution gets down i think), but i like the setup you have.
 
Galantti said:
Yeah, if it has intel gpu made in the last decade, 3 screen support is build in (max resolution gets down i think), but i like the setup you have.
Click to expand...

Well the trouble isnt the gpu, its the ports. It has just one hdmi out, the docking station however has 1 hdmi + 1 displayport. Some colleagues got it working with 1 hdmi directly into the laptop and the other in the docking, but for some reason that doesn’t work for me. Plus I’d like to see as little wires as possible, so I just connected to the docking station instead.

Just checking the specs on this laptop, it’s hilariously overkill, since it’s replacing a thin client and therefore needs no local computing power....

Core i5 10th gen, 8gigs of ram, even 4 gigs of Vram.... for connecting to a server, opening emails and looking at pdf and xls files....
 
NooDle said:
Core i5 10th gen, 8gigs of ram, even 4 gigs of Vram.... for connecting to a server, opening emails and looking at pdf and xls files....
Click to expand...

work supplied me with an i7 and 24gigs of ram to mainly use MS office :dunno: they only supply one of two configs: either this total overkill 14" machine or a more sensible 15.6" laptop with all the charme, portability and battery life of a literal brick. so yeah, i had to take the 14" overkill version...
 
We're currently getting lots of requests for high powered machines with built in Quadro GPUs (Dell Precision 5540s are what we buy) despite the fact that these people have perfectly functioning desktop machines they can remotely connect to. Should be having a conversation about two of them this afternoon, expect that the request to spend £1500+ (x2) for no reason will be turned down.

The inability to use dual HDMI on the dock is odd, why put two HDMI ports on it then? AFAIK the Dell WD19TB that I have for my work laptop can have two DP displays at once, it only has one HDMI but also thunderbolt. I just have the one UHD display on it, needed the thunderbolt version to get 60Hz.
 
You guys are getting new laptops?

it’ll be 3 years with this cheap-o Intel Pentium Dual Core Laptop That cries when I launch Teams.
 
NooDle said:
Well the trouble isnt the gpu, its the ports. It has just one hdmi out, the docking station however has 1 hdmi + 1 displayport. Some colleagues got it working with 1 hdmi directly into the laptop and the other in the docking, but for some reason that doesn’t work for me. Plus I’d like to see as little wires as possible, so I just connected to the docking station instead.

Just checking the specs on this laptop, it’s hilariously overkill, since it’s replacing a thin client and therefore needs no local computing power....

Core i5 10th gen, 8gigs of ram, even 4 gigs of Vram.... for connecting to a server, opening emails and looking at pdf and xls files....
Click to expand...

hmm, well if its thunderbolt dock, then the ports are directly from the gpu, so the inbuild ones might not work.
But for someone gotten it working, maybe he has the intel driver installed/updated.
 
93Flareside said:
You guys are getting new laptops?

it’ll be 3 years with this cheap-o Intel Pentium Dual Core Laptop That cries when I launch Teams.
Click to expand...

It’s my first and only work laptop ever... I was using my own desktop PC that I got from a company getting rid of old hardware so it cost me literally 50€.

But since it’s clear that ‘working from home’ will be a standard thing and bot something that lasts a few weeks/months, I’m happy to get the upgrade

Edit : oh its a usb c dock so no thunderbolt here
 
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