Can I use my laptop as a monitor for my PC
Home » Gaming Monitor » Gaming Monitor How To » How To Use A Laptop As A Monitor How To Use A Laptop As A MonitorExtended Display, Gaming And More Show
Table of ContentsWePC is reader-supported. When you buy through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Learn more Last Updated: June 28, 2021 Having an extra monitor at your disposal is a fantastic way of boosting work productivity. It can open up a whole new window of opportunity both physically and metaphorically. No longer will you have to squeeze all your applications onto one screen or prioritize certain applications over others. This being said, just like buying a new GPU for your already fully functional gaming PC, purchasing an extra monitor solely for a dual display setup can be a hard pill to justify. Well, fear not, using a laptop as an additional monitor is now easier than ever and were going to walk you through exactly how to do it. Connecting Your Laptop To Your DesktopMost people reading this will probably think using your laptop as a secondary monitor is as simple as connecting your desktop to your laptop via an HDMI cable. Unfortunately, that isnt the case. The HDMI output on your monitor, is precisely that, an output. You can use it to display your laptop image on a monitor or TV, which is great, but not what were looking to do here. If you want to use your laptop as a secondary monitor, were going to have to take an alternative route. Dont worry, though, this method is still extremely simple to complete. In this easy step-by-step guide, were going to show you a number of different ways to use your laptop as a second monitor and the benefits of doing so. The methods will range from; using built-in Windows features to make your laptop a secondary display, to streaming a game onto your laptop from your desktop. Lets jump into the first method. Using Miracast With A LaptopThe first method requires using the built-in Windows feature, Miracast. Were going to use Miracast to transform your laptop into a secondary monitor. Heres how: Steps For The Laptop You Wish To Use
Steps For The Main PC That You Want To Use Alongside The Laptop
Miracast Connectivity IssuesBE AWARE It has been noted that some people have struggled to use the Miracast method as it requires your laptop to have Intel HD graphics. Some people with dedicated graphics cards have not been able to use this feature because of this reason. Furthermore, your desktop PC will need to make use of a wireless connection to connect to the laptop. I know a lot of gaming PCs make use of an ethernet cable to reduce latency issues. In this case, you will need to purchase a wireless network card or some form of wireless adapter. Using a Third Party ProgramA much more tried and tested method, which doesnt have the same limitations as Windows Miracast, is to use a third-party program such as Space Desk to do your multi-screen bidding. There are many free virtual KVM programs such as Space Desk, Input Director, Sharemouse, and so on, which will allow you to utilize your laptop as a secondary display. Were going to touch upon Input Director for now though, as its simple, free, and intuitive. You will need to start by downloading and installing Input Director, from their website, on both laptop and PC. The installation process will give you the option of being the Master or the slave. For our scenario, you will want to install the Master on the Pc and the slave on the laptop. Once this is done, restart both computers and load up the software. On the laptop, you can configure the properties of the laptop display and change them to become a secondary monitor to the primary, master software. You then need to add the slave IP to the master software by using its network IP, which can be easily found within the Input Director window. You will see Input director reconfigure your displays and you will now be able to control the laptop via the desktop PC. Taking a slightly different path, you always have the option to make your laptop the primary device. With this, you will be able to control the desktop PC via the laptop. This, obviously, isnt using your laptop as a secondary monitor, but it can be useful for people wanting to make use of the PCs power and so forth. The great thing about connecting remotely to your desktop from your laptop is that its a really simple process that doesnt require a great amount of technical know-how. You accomplish the task by using a third-party program, of which there are many, such as TeamViewer or Input Director (the one from above). Lets look at Teamviewer here though:
Connecting To Your Desktop From Your LaptopStreaming Games To Your Laptop From Your DesktopLong gone are the days of needing a high powered gaming PC to run your favorite Steam games, well, sort of. Let me explain. Steam has a streaming function (different to Twitch) which allows you to stream your games from a desktop onto a laptop. Its a great way of being able to use your laptop, or a lesser powerful computer, to play your games on. Fundamentally, you are streaming a video of your desktop playing your favorite game, on your laptop (I think that makes sense). The only difference is that you are actually controlling the game with the laptops keyboard and mouse, and not just watching a video of your desktop. However, the feature has its downsides and latency problems can cause a real issue, especially if youre playing multiplayer games. I personally think the In-home streaming service, as they like to call it, works great for single-player games though, and this, is how to get it setup:
Closing ThoughtsThese are the most common methods of utilizing your laptop as a secondary display device. There are loads of other cool things you can do if you have a spare laptop lying around, especially from a display point of view. Let us know how you found the guide and whether or not the methods worked for you by leaving a comment in the section below. Any questions will be answered as soon as we can. Share this articleShare on facebook Share on twitter Share on reddit Share on email
Youtube Facebook-f Tiktok Twitter Instagram Related How To Check & Change A Monitors Refresh Rate In WindowsCharlie Noon How To Overclock Your MonitorShaun Conroy The Author Who Worked On This ArticleMonitor & PC Product Specialist at WePC Charlie NoonFor as long as he can remember, Charlie has always been interested in computers and gaming. It all started with the Sega Mega Drive and then evolved into PC gaming in his early teens. CS 1.6 was his first go at competitive gaming which soon evolved into CS:Source and now CS:GO a game that he still plays (almost exclusively) today. Throughout that period he has also been a keen PC builder and enthusiast dedicating a large portion of his time to the craft. My current rig is an ASUS 5700XT with AMDs Ryzen 3600X. Independent, transparent, rigorous and authentic, our reviews are the most thorough and honest in PC gaming. Learn about our review process. You Might Be Interested InHow To Test Your Monitor For Backlight Bleed Backlight Bleed TestCharlie Noon How To Setup Dual MonitorsCharlie Noon 2 thoughts on How To Use A Laptop As A Monitor
Leave a Comment Cancel replyComment Name EmailSave my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. Website
|