I need basic information on display adapters.

I want to start building a multi-monitor system and feel confused on what I actually need to purchase. I don’t want anything going into my computer accept 1 USB 3.0 cable and the power supply. The rest I want to run off USB. I have a DVI-D connection on an existing monitor. All the adapters I’ve seen are DVI-I. What’s up?

Hi Rick - Thanks for asking!

DVI-I is a standard connector that supports both DVI(-D), HDMI, and VGA with a simple converter, all off a the same DVI-I connection. More detail here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Digital_…

So the DVI-I output on our USB graphics adapters like the UGA-3000 (http://plugable.com/products/uga-3000/) will support your DVI monitors but can also support HDMI or VGA monitors using passive adapters included in the box.

Note that DVI-I does not have pins for audio signals. So you’ll need a separate USB audio device for that. Our UD-3900 docking station has all that integrated http://plugable.com/ud-3900 – including 2 monitors (one DVI-I port with VGA adapter, one HDMI port), audio, network, 2 USB 3.0 ports, and 4 USB 2.0 ports.

You could also “assemble your own” USB dock by combining individual graphics adapters like the UGA-3000 with a powered hub like our USB3-HUB10C2 (http://plugable.com/products/usb3-hub…) and a USB audio adapter like ours http://plugable.com/products/usb-audio

Either the dock or the hub+adapters choice will get you to what you’re wanting: a single cable to your Windows laptop or tablet, with everything connected and powered off that.

Hope that helps. Thanks again for asking!
Bernie