[Buying Advice] Notebook for three monitors on Slackware -current
by denydias from LinuxQuestions.org on (#6J8V8)
Hi everyone... I'm here to ask you for advice on buying a new notebook to be my daily driver. The thing is I want to use three monitor attached to it: the built-in one plus two full HD (1920x1080). There are a plethora of standards (USB-C, Thunderbolt and all its versions) and devices (adapters and docking stations) claiming to achieve it, but my research indicates there are some pitfalls to overcome.
Note: Slackware -current here.
To start, these are the machines I'm considering ATM:
- Asus Zenbook 14X OLED, model UX3404VA-M9296W (preferred)
- Dell XPS 13 Plus, model X9320WP2200RW
Both are pretty limited on ports, but comes with 2x Thunderbolt 4 with DisplayPort and Power Delivery support. Asus thing also includes a single HDMI 2.1 TMDS, which is not present on Dell one.
The way I intend to attach the two external monitors is to buy a Thunderbolt 4 docking station with two DisplayPort connectors and setup a cable to each monitor. These docking stations are pretty expensive, but they looks like the easiest way to achieve my goal: having a three monitors setup on Slackware -current.
The intended resolution and refresh rate setup will be (I'm a developer, not a gamer):
- Monitor 1: native built-in display resolution and refresh rate, whatever that is;
- Monitor 2: 1920x1080@60Hz (landscape mode), connected via DisplayPort 1 on docking station;
- Monitor 3: 1080x1920@60Hz (portrait mode), connected via DisplayPort 2 on docking station.
My fear is that for some obscure reason the Linux kernel don't support this setup with these somewhat new standards like Thunderbolt 4.
So, I kindly ask you:
1. What are the chances I get troubles with the above setup?
2. What kind of trouble I may face?
3. I read that some Thunderbolt and USB-C docking stations require DisplayLink drivers. Although there are drivers for Linux, they are focused on Ubuntu and looks like very hard to install on any unsupported distro. How do I avoid this requirement so the above setup works out of the box?
4. What kind of docking station should I get? Thunderbolt, USB-C, none?
5. Are there any specs with cables and such?
The reason I'm asking here is because this is quite an expensive setup. I don't want to suffer the pain to expend lots of money on things that may be cumbersome to use on a daily basis, or even doesn't work at all.
Thanks anyone in advance for any advice.
Note: Slackware -current here.
To start, these are the machines I'm considering ATM:
- Asus Zenbook 14X OLED, model UX3404VA-M9296W (preferred)
- Dell XPS 13 Plus, model X9320WP2200RW
Both are pretty limited on ports, but comes with 2x Thunderbolt 4 with DisplayPort and Power Delivery support. Asus thing also includes a single HDMI 2.1 TMDS, which is not present on Dell one.
The way I intend to attach the two external monitors is to buy a Thunderbolt 4 docking station with two DisplayPort connectors and setup a cable to each monitor. These docking stations are pretty expensive, but they looks like the easiest way to achieve my goal: having a three monitors setup on Slackware -current.
The intended resolution and refresh rate setup will be (I'm a developer, not a gamer):
- Monitor 1: native built-in display resolution and refresh rate, whatever that is;
- Monitor 2: 1920x1080@60Hz (landscape mode), connected via DisplayPort 1 on docking station;
- Monitor 3: 1080x1920@60Hz (portrait mode), connected via DisplayPort 2 on docking station.
My fear is that for some obscure reason the Linux kernel don't support this setup with these somewhat new standards like Thunderbolt 4.
So, I kindly ask you:
1. What are the chances I get troubles with the above setup?
2. What kind of trouble I may face?
3. I read that some Thunderbolt and USB-C docking stations require DisplayLink drivers. Although there are drivers for Linux, they are focused on Ubuntu and looks like very hard to install on any unsupported distro. How do I avoid this requirement so the above setup works out of the box?
4. What kind of docking station should I get? Thunderbolt, USB-C, none?
5. Are there any specs with cables and such?
The reason I'm asking here is because this is quite an expensive setup. I don't want to suffer the pain to expend lots of money on things that may be cumbersome to use on a daily basis, or even doesn't work at all.
Thanks anyone in advance for any advice.