Windows – How to use 2 monitors with 1 HDMI port

hdmimultiple-monitorswindows 10

I have a Windows 10 computer with 1 HDMI port (it also has a VGA port but that's irrelevant as I don't want to use it).

I have ordered an additional monitor.

What do I need to order to be able to extend the desktop over 2 monitors using a single HDMI port?

There are some cheap adopters on Amazon but I'm not sure whether these extend the desktop or just mirror it, so that it's the same screen on both monitors?

Best Answer

Typically the cheap HDMI splitters simply mirror the displays. There are some adapters that create a single virtual desktop over your two displays, but

  1. they are expensive-ish
  2. I think you have to have the same resolution for both displays or you will have issues
  3. they are pretty terrible. The ones I've used before got extraordinarily hot and would cut out. Further, window snapping doesn't work as expected since Windows treats it as one monitor rather than two.

I know it's not what you are looking for, but I would really suggest just purchasing a cheapo graphics card. I'd imagine you could easily find a dual HDMI GPU for 50 dollars or so.

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