Thursday, October 31, 2013

Dell 9020 3 displays

I have a customer that would like 3 monitors, for whatever reason.
The Dell 9020 is capable of this, and this is how I got it to work.
No additional video cards.
Using VGA and both display ports.
The customer has VGA monitors (as opposed to DVI)
So first, I bought two displayport to VGA cables:



I found it cheaper on their website: http://www.monoprice.com/Product?c_id=102&cp_id=10246&cs_id=1024609&p_id=6019&seq=1&format=2

Its running the latest BIOS (A03) and the intel 4600 video driver from Dell:
http://www.dell.com/support/drivers/us/en/04/DriverDetails/Product/optiplex-9020-desktop?driverId=1PRMJ&osCode=W864&fileId=3281932246&languageCode=en&categoryId=VI
No other changes were done in BIOS.

I had originally tried to use a PCI dual monitor card and the on-board, but this wasn't possible.  So I had to remove the display driver and reinstall the Intel driver.  After the reboot it worked and I now have display on all three.

Tada ( I tried to get the monitors cables and computer in the same pic)
at

14 comments:

  1. cobrapupFebruary 11, 2014 at 1:02 PM

    AWESOME! This worked perfectly. We have been messing around with this for a couple of days and didn't just try to plug up 3 monitors. Thanks

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. AlexanderFebruary 19, 2014 at 12:50 PM

      Sweet, I'm glad I could help. I often forget real people read this thing haha.

      Delete
  2. mlevFebruary 20, 2014 at 9:43 AM

    the links you put up are inactive. Care to share them again please? I would very much like to connect a 3rd screen to my 9020

    thanks

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. AlexanderFebruary 24, 2014 at 11:37 AM

      Updated. Not sure why the go to link changed to blogger.com/null... weird.

      Delete
  3. UnknownMarch 3, 2015 at 6:33 PM

    THANKS A MILLION! Without that driver, this would have not been possible. Funny its older than the one I replaced too.

    ReplyDelete
  4. UnknownMarch 25, 2015 at 4:40 AM

    I'am trying your solution !!!!!

    ReplyDelete
  5. UnknownMarch 25, 2015 at 5:03 AM

    It really works, but i just use 2 monitors ! Thank you so so much for figure it out.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Terry NelsonJune 10, 2015 at 6:58 AM

    I have several users with this configuration, but have recently realized a problem. Periodically, the monitor connected via VGA will not wake up after having been to sleep. A reboot returns it to use, but it will likely do the same thing in the near future. Does anyone know why this would happen and what I can do to fix it?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. AlexanderJuly 7, 2015 at 10:02 AM

      I've had this happen on a few that are just using dual monitors using the VGA and the single display port or HDMI port depending on the model of tower. Dell 3010s and 3020s. I haven't really looked into why its happening because its been so sporadic, here's hoping they don't all fail at once :)

      Delete
  7. UnknownSeptember 25, 2015 at 10:00 AM

    So that needs to be done for the 3 monitors to work, is download the drivers from the above link, install and restart the computer and that should work? You don't have to enable anything else, anywhere?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. AlexanderSeptember 29, 2015 at 10:55 AM

      Its been a while since I've done this, but I believe that was it. Flash BIOS and windows will see all three monitors.

      Delete
  8. AllenJune 3, 2020 at 5:43 PM

    Hi -- writing on June 3 2020 and your post is still helpful! I am considering buying a used 9020 and will be running Linux Mint. Do you think I would be successful? I have considered the PCI option you mention but as you indicate that wasn't an option per your testing of it. Thanks! -Allen

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. AlexanderAugust 16, 2020 at 11:02 AM

      I love Linux. I'm more an Ubuntu fan myself.
      As far as the three screens, it should work since it was a bios setting and not a windows driver issue. Let me know what you find out!

      Delete
  9. meowJanuary 9, 2021 at 6:37 PM

    Will A05 work as well?

    ReplyDelete

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