Looking for a cheap USB only monitor, any suggestions? - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / general

author: XOIIO
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: March 28, 2015, 05:13:29 pm
content: Hey all, with a recent upgrade to a gaming laptop (yes, I would have much preferred the money go to a desktop but I had to get a laptop) I am now forced to make some changes to my setup, with my desktop sitting mostly unused right now. I have three 22" monitors on it, one through displayport and two via DVI. My laptop however has a VGA output, mini displayport/thunderbolt and HDMINow, I would like to get adapters to use all three monitors with it and have it closed up, but I'm not sure if there is a cable to convert HDMI to displayport or DVI, and the VGA output won't be quite as nice as the DVI on my desktop video card.Anyways there is also the fact that now it's a portable gaming rig, and lugging one of those monitors with me would be annoying even if I wanted to just set it up on my bed, and I had seen a video or two regarding those USB only external monitors, plug them in and off you go. They seem great as a small 8" screen is all I would need to display my teamspeak window or resource usage as I am gaming, something which I haven't done yet.I was wondering if anyone here knows of a cheap (sub or close to $100) USB monitor, 8" in size, touchscreen isn't really an issue. I know there are some quite nice ones for more but something cheap/affordable would be good. It doesn't need to be of massive quality as it will only be used to display teamspeak or the task manager/some other program to see system resources.I looked on aliexpress but didn't really have any luck finding something that would suit my needs, I'm wondering if maybe there is some cheap ebay version available.

author: wraper
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: March 28, 2015, 05:39:23 pm
content: What I could find on taobao. Bit over your budget + getting it through agent would cost significant money too.http://item.taobao.com/item.htm?spm=a230r.1.14.63.xvQGWY&id=17769349880&ns=1&abbucket=13#detailSeems much easier/cheaper to get something bigger like this:http://www.amazon.com/AOC-E1649FWU-USB-Powered-Portable-Monitor/dp/B005SEZR0G/ref=sr_1_7?ie=UTF8&qid=1427564126&sr=8-7&keywords=8%22+lcd+usb+monitor

author: XOIIO
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: March 28, 2015, 05:41:19 pm
content: Interesting that the 16" one is cheaper, usb powered only which is nice so I could use it in landscape mode I suppose taking up less space that way.

author: Lightages
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: March 28, 2015, 06:31:17 pm
content: Another option is to buy a USB-HDMI adapter and use the monitor of your choice. An example:http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16815150177&cm_re=displaylink-_-15-150-177-_-Product

author: tom66
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: March 28, 2015, 06:52:30 pm
content: You could also consider using an Android tablet as an additional monitor. There are apps available, then you'd use either wifi or ethernet via USB OTG (if you do this, you may need to think about a tablet with extra USBs...)

author: rolycat
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: March 28, 2015, 07:29:08 pm
content: If a 7" monitor is sufficient, theLilliput UM70comes in just under budget at $99 delivered.

author: Howardlong
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: March 28, 2015, 07:48:01 pm
content: You may well be aware of this, but you should be aware that the update rate on a USB connected screen isn't going to approach that of a traditional direct attached unit.I use two USB 3.0 DisplayLink adapters on a Mac Mini on top of the Thunderbolt/DisplayPort connection to give three 4K screens which is awesome for development and CAD, but for playing realtime video not so much, you need to play full screen video on the native DisplayPort connection. Also note that the DisplayLink driver (DisplayLink do most of the USB video chipsets) uses a fair a amount of CPU to work when the screen's changing a lot like in video or gaming.I don't do gaming so it's not a problem for me, but when playing videos full screen I make sure it's on the directly connected DisplayPort monitor.

author: MatthewEveritt
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: March 29, 2015, 12:07:51 am
content: Hdmi is electrically compatible with dvi-d, so converter cables are seriously cheap. Doesn't help with portability of course.