Can my 2007 Macbook Pro 17 inch Drive 3 External Displays?

[Romeo604]

Hey Guys

I have a 2007 Macbook Pro 17 inch Intel Core 2 Duo 2.4 GHZ, 8600GT 256MB.

Would it be capable of driving 3 External Displays @ 1920 x 1200 each?

I know driving 2 External Displays will work but will a third one work? I will be using the USB to DVI adapters (I know it will not be smooth for gaming but it is just for more workspace, not for streaming, movies etc).

Technically right now it is 3 displays already if you include the laptop screen, so therefore if I connect 3 External Displays plus my laptop screen it would be 4 Display screens if I leave my laptop open. Is this possible?

Would it strain the graphics chip which is already faulty (replaced already just in time last year through that 4 year extension warranty).

Any help appreciated! Thanks!

 

[Intell]

The USB to video adapters don't use any resources of the GPU. It'll work just fine.

 

[Romeo604]

thanks for the input!

 

[Romeo604]

Are all USB to DVI adapters the same? Even the higher range ones from Matrox... etc that come with dual dvi output... or is the usb 2.0 limited no matter what external adapter I buy?

I am running 3 externals now and the secondary and third displays are pretty choppy with the USB to DVI adapters. Any ideas guys?

The USB to video adapters don't use any resources of the GPU. It'll work just fine.

 

[Intell]

I think most if not all are driven by a DisplayLink chip. I don't think they can do fancy graphic things like 3D stuff or graphical accelerations.