Today, laptops typically have screen sizes of 13 to 18 inches, which is sufficient for everyday usage. Nonetheless, if you need wider view, higher resolution and refresh display for gaming, watching movies, multitasking between a number of screens or improving ergonomics, an external monitor may transform your experience totally.
Investing in this accessory not only upgrades your workspace but also boosts productivity by giving you a second screen. It helps reduce neck and back strain during long work hours, offers higher resolution, and provides a larger display, especially useful for creative tasks like design and editing.
Below are guides and tips on how to connect your Windows laptop to an external monitor and configure display settings.
1. Check Your Laptop's Video Output Port
The first thing you need to do is identify the video output port on your laptop (look around the ports on the sides and back of your laptop). Modern laptops typically come with one or more of the following port types:
| Port | |
| HDMI |
|
| DisplayPort |
|
| USB-C |
|
*Note: You can check your laptop USB-C port specification – support Thunderbolt or DP.
–Port Specs Example–
While older laptops may still have ports like VGA and DVI, these are gradually being phased out and less common in modern devices, so I will not discuss them further.
Multiple Video Output Ports: Which One Should You Use?
1. Determine HDMI and DisplayPort version on your laptop:
You may visit the manufacturer’s website and look for your laptop model, then check your ports specification.
Table below showing the resolution range and the corresponding refresh rate range for each HDMI and DisplayPort version.
| Resolution | Version & Max Bandwidth | ||||
| HDMI | DP | ||||
| 1.4 (10.2 Gbps) | 2.0 (18 Gbps) | 2.1 (48 Gbps) | 1.2 (21.6 Gbps) | 1.4 (32.4 Gbps) | |
| Supported Refresh Rate (Hz) | |||||
| 1280 ✕ 720 (720p) | 30 – 120 | 30 – 120 | 30 – 120 | 30 – 240 | 30 – 240 |
| 1920 ✕ 1080 (1080p) | 30 – 144 | 30 – 240 | 30 – 240 | 30 – 240 | 30 – 240 |
| 2560 ✕ 1440 (1440p) | 30 – 75 | 30 – 144 | 30 – 240 | 30 – 165 | 30 – 240 |
| 3840 ✕ 2160 (4K) | 30 | 30 – 60 | 30 – 144 | 30 – 75 | 30 – 120 |
More the bandwidth of the video output support, the greater its capability to handle higher refresh rates at higher resolutions. You need to know what is max refresh rate your laptop can handle at each resolution.
Here you can prioritize your connection ports for the best experience:
HDMI 2.1 > DP 1.4 > DP 1.2 > HDMI 2.0 > HDMI 1.4
2. Have a dedicated graphics card on your laptop:
If your laptop have dedicated graphics card, usually have specific video output ports that are directly connected to the GPU to handle higher resolutions, faster refresh rates, and better graphics performance for tasks such as gaming, video editing, or working with high-resolution monitors.
For example, your laptop is equipped with an RTX 3060 GPU on your laptop, you can open “NVIDIA Control Panel” > “Configure Surround, Physx”
Under the PhysX settings, HDMI port is being utilized by the RTX 3060 GPU, then the HDMI port will be the optimal choice for connecting your external monitor, fully leveraging the power of your dedicated graphics card.
2. Determine Your Monitor's Input
Just like the video output ports on your laptop, external monitors commonly have input types including HDMI, DisplayPort (common found in gaming monitors that support higher refresh rates and resolutions ), and USB-C in newer models.
It’s important to check that your laptop’s output matches the monitor’s input (including their HDMI/DP version) to avoid compatibility issues and ensure optimal display quality. Once you determine both connection ports, you can use the appropriate cable to connect them and turn on your monitor power.
If the ports do not match, you’ll need an active converter cable or adapter to make the connection work. Hence, if your laptop has a USB-C terminal but the monitor takes only HDMI, then you will want to get an active USB-C–to– HDMI cable or adapter and use it for your connection with the screen.
*Note: To ensure your monitor’s optimal performance, make sure your laptop’s video output port, monitor input port and connection cable must support the necessary bandwidth to deliver both the desired resolution and refresh rate.
3. Change Display Modes (Fast Way)
1. Press Windows key + P
2. You will see a sidebar appear with these options at right corner screen:
- PC screen only (uses only the laptop screen)
- Duplicate (mirrors the display on both screens)
- Extend (spreads the desktop across both screens)
- Second screen only (uses only the external monitor)
Alternative, you can go to Start > Settings > System > Display or type “Display Settings” in the Windows search bar and select it from the results.
Use the dropdown menu to choose your preferred display mode.
*Note: In “Duplicate” mode, the refresh rate of the external monitor and the laptop screen will be the same. If laptop screen supports a lower refresh rate (say 60Hz) than an external monitor in use (say 144Hz), the monitor will be limited to the refresh rate of the laptop screen, which is 60Hz.
To fully utilize the monitor’s 144Hz refresh rate, especially for gaming, select “Second screen only” mode. This setting allows the monitor to operate at its full refresh rate without being constrained by the laptop’s display limitations.
4. Adjusting Resolution and Orientation
You can click the “Identify” button to determine which number corresponds to each screen display. Click on a display to adjust its resolution and orientation.
My Display 1 refers to the laptop display, while Display 2 refers to my monitor display. So, I click on Display 2 for further adjustment.
Scroll down to the “Scale & layout” section. Here you can adjust your display scale, resolution, and orientation.
5. Advanced Display for Monitor
Scroll to the bottom of the display settings and click on “Advanced display settings.”
- Select your monitor display to view its detailed information such as the active signal resolution, refresh rate, and bit depth.
- You can change the refresh rate of your display. Selecting a higher refresh rate can provide smoother motion (beneficial for gaming and artwork like 3D modeling or CAD).
6. How to Use Monitor with Your Laptop Closed
1. Open the Control Panel.
2. Go to Power Options.
3. On the left-hand side, select Choose what closing the lid does.
4. Under When I close the lid, select Do nothing from the dropdown menu for both On battery and Plugged in.
5. Click Save changes.
I hope this article has helped you gain a clearer understanding of how to connect an external monitor to your Windows laptop and the various considerations involved.
Experimenting with different setups and configurations can help you find the best arrangement for your needs. Don’t hesitate to explore and adjust settings to achieve the most effective and enjoyable use of your external monitor.
