I'm in the process of building my own setup, and I have a laptop that features a single USB-C port. I'm looking to connect two 2K 32'' monitors that can handle 144Hz, but I can't seem to find a Type-C hub that supports this configuration. I'm hoping to recreate a setup similar to my work environment, which has a hub with dual HDMI outputs. However, I also want to game on these monitors, so I need to ensure they can support a refresh rate higher than 60Hz. Does anyone have any recommendations for a suitable hub?
3 Answers
Does your laptop have Thunderbolt support? That would significantly help in finding a suitable hub for your dual monitor setup.
To run two 1440p monitors at 144Hz, you typically need at least a Thunderbolt 3 or USB 4 USB-C port. A standard USB 3.2 10Gb can handle a single 1440p 60Hz, and 20Gb can do dual 1440p 60Hz or single 1440p 144Hz. You need that 40Gb capacity from Thunderbolt 3 or USB 4 to achieve dual 1440p at 144Hz.
That sounds a bit concerning. What happens if my laptop doesn’t support Thunderbolt—am I basically out of luck?
You're trying to push a lot of pixels with a laptop GPU, which can be tricky. Is it essential for you to use HDMI? If you're open to it, you might have better luck with hubs that support DisplayPort.
My monitor has both HDMI and DisplayPort. I'm primarily hoping for a hub with two HDMI outputs, mainly because I want to game on them and I need at least 144Hz refresh rates.
I don't think it has Thunderbolt. It only has one USB-C port.