Anyone have PCIE DisplayPort experience?
Posted by Simon_Inaki@reddit | buildapc | View on Reddit | 11 comments
Hey everyone, I have an older AMD Ryzen 5 5500 build with 64gb of ram and 2x Titan XP cards. This 2017 tower is great and does everything I need. But for my work, I required to plug a laptop into my existing four monitor configuration, and the laptop is segregated and under enterprise policy.
Due to subtleties of DisplayLink being only available on intel IG it is a little difficult for me to switch readily from my tower to the notebook. So I was considering to get an AM4 motherboard with more lanes and to get a DisplayPort alt mode card and wiring it to one of the graphics cards so that I can connect to a USB bidirectional KVM and from there to a Hub
And daisy chain to all my monitors, while preserving this hot swap and minimizing cables.
Am I ridiculous to upgrade this machine?
Anyone had a similar experience before?
ProvenWord@reddit
If the goal is less cable mess, a USB-C dock plus a simple USB switch might be easier than a PCIe DP card. Just make sure the dock can do the monitor count/resolution you need, since some top out fast
thefuzzylogic@reddit
Yeah for four monitors they probably need a Thunderbolt dock rather than a USB-C dock with inbuilt DisplayPort MST hub.
Or possibly two cheap docks driving two monitors each, that might be more cost effective than one expensive TB dock.
thefuzzylogic@reddit
I don't think the laptop will be able to drive four monitors from one cable, can it? Mine can barely do the internal screen plus two at 1440p.
ThatOnePerson@reddit
DisplayPort MST means you can drive a lot of monitors off a single cable. But most graphics cards cap out at driving 4 displays total.
Probably worse with integrated graphics.
Simon_Inaki@reddit (OP)
Yeah you are right but even so, it would be fine for me. The biggest thing is the cable madness and clicking to switch inputs on separate kvms and monitors
thefuzzylogic@reddit
In that case, wouldn't a single 2x2 kvm work for you? Two of the monitors would stay permanently connected to the desktop but two would switch from one to the other. That's the solution I have on my desk. The laptop is connected via a USB-C dock that has 2 DisplayPorts, Ethernet, some USB-A ports, and a USB-PD input. The desktop is connected using the usual cables. The KVM is all wired in a tray under my desk so there's a single USB-C for the laptop and a single button that switches inputs.
Simon_Inaki@reddit (OP)
But it’s too many clicks (for me)
thefuzzylogic@reddit
One is too many clicks? How else would you trigger a changeover?
Simon_Inaki@reddit (OP)
I just found out there’s such a thing as 2x2 kvm
thefuzzylogic@reddit
Yeah, there are even three and four monitor KVMs, they just get more expensive as they support more monitors and PCs.
likkachi@reddit
it would be a lot easier to do a dock situation. assuming your monitors have both displayport and HDMI, you can get a dock that will support whichever of those your tower doesnt use. get a cheap kb./mouse set so the dongle is plugged into the dock, and away you go!
i have a dock for my work computer to utilize my gaming monitors when at home and keep an ergo kb/mouse set at home too. just have to change inputs if i dont shut off my desktop while im working