Let’s say that even though you don’t have the best laptop for gaming from your group of friends, you can still run some games on it, such as Zombie Army 4, Batman: Arkham City, and more. But what if you connect a powerful monitor to your laptop in order to run those favorite games of yours at better quality?
A monitor connected to your laptop can sharpen those colors a lot, and it doesn’t have to be a difficult task. It can surely sound intimidating at first, but once you get used to it, you will realize that connecting monitors to laptops can be your next job.
Step 1: Check the video outputs of your laptop
First of all, you need to see what video outputs your laptop has before connecting it to a monitor. Most laptops will have either an HDMI, DisplayPort, Mini DisplayPort, or USB-C port that you can use for connecting a monitor.
Step 2: Check the inputs of your monitor
In a similar way, you need to check what inputs your monitor supports. Most of the modern monitors available on the market will have DisplayPort, HDMI, or VGA inputs.
Step 3: Get the right cable or adapter
You will also need a cable or adapter in order to connect your monitor to your laptop. For instance, you will need to get an HDMI cable if your laptop has an HDMI port and your monitor has an HDMI input. On the other hand, you will have to get a Mini DisplayPort to HDMI adapter or a USB-C to HDMI adapter if your laptop has a Mini DisplayPort or USB-C port and your monitor relies on an HDMI input.
Step 4: Connect the cable or adapter to your laptop
For the fourth step, you will have to plug one end of the cable into the right port on your laptop. Also, you need to make sure that you’ve paid your electricity bill, but that won’t be a problem, hopefully.
Step 5: Connect the cable to your monitor
For the fifth step, you will have to simply insert the other end of the cable into the right input on your monitor.
Step 6: Turn on your gears
It’s time to see if the method works, so go ahead and turn on both your laptop and your monitor!
Step 7: Switch the input on your monitor
If there are multiple inputs on your monitor, it means that you may need to manually switch to the input that your laptop is connected to. This operation can usually be done using the on-screen menu of the monitor.
Step 8: Configure the display settings
If it is necessary, you may have to configure the display settings. Depending on what operating system you use, your laptop may automatically detect the external monitor and extend your desktop onto it. But in case it doesn’t do it, or if your goal is to change the display settings such as orientation or resolution, you can usually do so from your system settings.
If you follow the steps mentioned in this article, connecting your laptop to an external monitor should be like a walk in the park. However, if you face any problems during the process, you will have to double-check the connections and make sure the adapters and cables are working as they should.
Tim M. Hill helped bring Digital-Overload from a weekly newsletter to a full-fledged news site by creating a new website and branding. He continues to assist in keeping the site responsive and well organized for the readers. As a writer to Digital-Overload, Tim mainly covers mobile news and gadgets.
