What are my options to do this? I don't want cloning: I want each to be a fully functional desktop. My laptop has the following: 1 VGA out, 1 HDMI out, USB out (duh). External Monitor #1: DVI, VGA External Monitor #2: VGA Option #1: This Matrox DualHead2Go adapter is nice. It has favorable reviews on Tom's Hardware. It will solve my problem, but costs ~150$. Essentially you plug it to your laptop's VGA slot, and it provides you with 2 more VGA slots. Their software manages the underlying desktop display issues, and it works well. Option #2: Use a standard VGA connection for one monitor. For the other monitor, use a USB-VGA adapter. The problem with this is that, that external monitor will become an "email checking ONLY" monitor due to the low bandwidths of the USB connection. Running anything more than that on this adapter will start flickering. This is about ~70$. Option #3: Buy a converter from HDMI to DVI (or HDMI to VGA). Then use the laptop's VGA output for the other monitor. Would this work? Would I get the effect that I want - 3 monitors with independent, connected desktops? (If it works, this could be done for ~10$). For reference, the GPU is a NVidia GeForce 8400M GS. There are also more expensive options. Option #3 seems the best if it works. #1 being next, and #3 being a last option. Thanks for the help.

Does your laptop have ExpressCard/34 slots? I'd assume any laptop with a G80 would be at least as expandable as a Macbook Pro...

If so, you can purchase one of these breakout boxes (beware, they are remarkably expensive).

Or you can do what I do and simply run a desktop with dual displays alongside your laptop.

I have a sneaking suspicion you can't run both an HDMI-out display and a VGA-out display at the same time. Before you spend the dosh on option #3, I'd check the manual. I've had a few laptops before with two video-out ports, but only one would work at a time (at the time, this was because they only had like 2MB of VRAM).

Yea, it has a ExpressCard/54 slot. I saw the Cineport thing, but there's no way I will pay 1200$ for it. That's more than the laptop cost me. I guess option #1 is the best/cheapest. I will call some tech support lines to see if #3 is doable.

Edit: Answer - #3 doesn't work. The graphics card can only support 2 displays; it doesn't matter how they are connected (I just tested this using a VGA and DVI slot). The DualHead2Go treats the external monitors as a single display, so that's how it works.

[Edited by - Doggan on August 24, 2007 4:48:56 PM]