what adapter use for 2nd and/or 3rd monitors for HP TouchSmart 610-1190f all-in-one PC

USB Graphics Adapters USB-VGA-165
1

HP TouchSmart 610-1190f all-in-one PC doesn’t have VGA port for 2nd and/or 3rd monitor.
What is the best adapter for this purpose and will not change much of the quality of the image.

Thanks!

2

Hi Kelvin,

Thanks for posting! The TouchSmart 610-1190f is a nice system - with that Core i7 (or i3/i5) processor, you have plenty of CPU power for this kind of solution.

Either our $45 USB to VGA adapter (http://plugable.com/products/usb-vga-…)
or our $65 USB to VGA/DVI/HDMI adapter (http://plugable.com/products/uga-2k-a/)

Would be a good choice and would work well on that system.

The pixel quality will be at the full native capability of the monitor. The pixel update speed is limited by USB 2.0 - it’s great for web and applications, but we never recommend motion video or 3D gaming over USB (an occasional frame drop is noticeable).

Hope that background helps. Let us know if you have any other questions. Thanks for asking!

Bernie

3

Hi Bernie,

Thanks a lot for your reply and recommendation.

I have visited Amazon.com for the adapters. It shows 3 adapter could be used for this purpose.

You have recommended 2 of 3 adapters (items 2 & 3 below):

  1. Plugable UGA-125 USB 2.0 to VGA/DVI/HDMI Adapter for Multiple Monitors up to 1280x1024 / 1440x900 Each (DisplayLink DL-125 Chipset).

  2. Plugable USB-VGA-165 USB to VGA Adapter for Multiple Displays up to 1920x1080 / 1600x1200 Each (DisplayLink DL-165 Chip).

  3. Plugable UGA-2K-A USB 2.0 to VGA/DVI/HDMI Adapter for Multiple Monitors up to 2048x1152 / 1920x1200 Each (DisplayLink DL-195 Chipset).

You did not mention item 1 above and I would think there is a reason for it. Do you mind advice me which one of the above is the one perform the best and the reason for it.

I have ordered Plugable USB 2.0 10 Port Hub (with Power Adapter). It is an excellent product and I love it very much. All my accessories plug to it and I have only one usb cable and one power supply connect to Plugable usb hub. The desk is Clean and neat now.

Do you recommend connecting 2 more monitors by using 2 Plugable adapters to my HP TouchSmart? Would it change the quality of image if more than 1 external or extra monitor is connected to this PC?

Thanks again!

Kelvin

4

Hi Kelvin,

The UGA-125 is a great choice for monitors 1440x900 or 1280x1024 or lower - it will also work fine with larger monitors, just at the next lower resolution that both the monitor and adapter supports.

The UGA-125 has one other difference - and it’s the only other difference between the DL-125, 165, and 195 chips - and that’s their max data rate over USB. The 165 and 195 chip have the same max data rate (around 330Mbps, achieved with dual pipelines). The DL-125 chip has only one pipeline enabled, making its max data rate around 230Mbps.

In practice, because the UGA-125 runs at lower resolutions, that ~230Mbps data rate is fine.

Adding two monitors (and even up to 6) is no problem, and actually when the overall solution is most impressive. Even though those extra adapters are sharing the same USB bus, you’re typically hoping from monitor to monitor, working on one while the others are static. Data only goes over USB when pixels are changing, so that kind of scenario will perform much like if you’re just working on a single USB monitor - it doesn’t slow things down. It’s only when you do something like play a motion video on each monitor, that the adapters have to slow down more than usual because of the contention on the USB bus.

We typically run with many monitors here, because we love having a bunch of browsers open, reference material on one or two monitors, while working on a document in a 3rd and having email up on a 4th – for information workers (like many of us are), it’s great.

I hope the technical and scenario background helps paint a useful picture. We’re about to sell out of the USB-VGA-165 (will be back in stock early next month). Just a note if that happens to be the one you’re looking at!

Best wishes,
Bernie

5

Hi Bernie,

I couldn’t thank you enough for the technical explanation of the adapters.

Yes, just like what you have pointed out, using several monitors is a very convenient way to do the work. I am also intended to use several monitors in future since I found that banking online, accounting with Excel, and revising the data with Access already use 3 monitors. Not mentions about doing other stuff at the same time.

Using one monitor to do only one thing sometimes we have to jump from one monitor to the other. It is inefficient and tire and it also waste a lot of time jumping here and there and the worst part is it is very easy to get confuse and mistake sometimes leading to unrecovered disaster.

In between 2 adaptors you recommended, which one would perform better and what is the reason:

  1. Plugable USB-VGA-165 USB to VGA Adapter for Multiple Displays up to 1920x1080 / 1600x1200 Each (DisplayLink DL-165 Chip).

  2. Plugable UGA-2K-A USB 2.0 to VGA/DVI/HDMI Adapter for Multiple Monitors up to 2048x1152 / 1920x1200 Each (DisplayLink DL-195 Chipset).

I will order the best adapters suited for HP TouchSmart for my others 3, very possible 4 monitors for my job. Do I need one adapter for each monitor, or does Plugable make hub for several monitors?

There is a Chinese saying:

If you wanted to do the best job, you should sharpened your tool (means need best tool).

Thanks again for your advice.

Best regards!

Kelvin

6

Hi Kelvin,

Thanks! It’s one adapter per monitor, beyond those monitors connected directly to your PC.

The UGA-2K-A is the most flexible (because it supports both DVI and HDMI, in addition to VGA). And it supports a higher mode or two (up to 2048x1152 with a digital connection). It’s the no-compromise way to go.

Thanks again!
Bernie

7

Hi Bernie,

Thanks a lot for your prompt reply.

I am still waiting for the HP TouchSmart (i7) to arrive and will try to hood up monitors one by one by using the adapters you recommended.

I will post the result again here and will talk to you again soon.

Best wishes!

Kelvin

8

Hi Bernie,

As what you told me, I have ordered

Plugable UGA-2K-A USB 2.0 to VGA/DVI/HDMI Adapter for Multiple Monitors up to 2048x1152 / 1920x1200 Each (DisplayLink DL-195 Chipset),

from Amazon.com and hooked up to my new HP 23" LED monitor and new HP TouchSmart 610 and it works fine. I bought a 2nd HP 23" LED monitor today and wanted to order another adaptor from Amazon but they are out of stock. I would like to know when will be the same adaptor available.

If Amazon.com doesn’t have it, can I order direct from Plugable?

Thanks!

Kelvin

9

Hi Kelvin,

Yes, sales of the UGA-2K-A have gotten ahead of us, and we went out of stock today, sorry!

We have a few thousand more in transit, and the first of those will reach Amazon in about three days (Friday 9/9/2011), so should be back on sale by Saturday at the latest.

Glad you’re up and running with the first adapter. Thanks for going out of your way for us on the other!

Bernie

10

Hi Bernie,

Thanks for your reply.

It looks like UGA-2K-A is a hot sale item.

I am so glad that a good product makes us more convenient and easy to use. The Plugable USB hub that I ordered is also a good product and makes me so organize. I am very happy about the Plugable product.

Best regards!

Kelvin