[DisplayPort Quick Guide] Daisy Chaining 2 to 4 Monitors

Daisy chaining is the act of connecting many monitors using only one cable on one DisplayPort 1.2 Output and then one short cable between each DisplayPort 1.2 monitors. On most DisplayPort 1.2 video card, CPU integrated graphics or laptop port you may connect up to 4 monitors running at resolution of 1920 x 1080 or 1920 x 1200

Maximum monitors that you can daisy-chain to a DisplayPort 1.2 MST (broken down by monitor resolution):

Display Resolution (standard 60 frames per seonds refresh rate)	Maximum Number of Monitors Based on DisplayPort 1.2 Bandwidth
1680x1050 (WSXGA)	5
1920x1080 (1080p) or 1920x1200	4
2560x1600 (WQXGA)	2
3840x2160 (4K) or 4096x2160 (4K)	1

What you'll need:

1- DISPLAYPORT CABLES

Your FIRST cable, the one that reach from the computer to the first monitor should be 6 or 10 feet long and all the ones that connect from one monitor to the other should be shorter (3 feet) otherwise you'll have too much cable hanging around.

Examples of great, high quality DisplayPort cables:

• 10 feet DisplayPort cable
• 6 feet DisplayPort cable
• 3 feet DisplayPort cable

2- DISPLAYPORT 1.2 OUTPUT

You'll need a DisplayPort 1.2 or above output on a Desktop video card or a laptop. It can be a Mini DisplayPort or a standard DisplayPort (see image below). Your output MUST be DisplayPort 1.2. If the video card, desktop or laptop is newer than 2014, it should be 1.2. Check your owner's manuals for more information.

Examples of DisplayPort 1.2 video cards:

Note: Some video cards or CPU integrated graphics could be limited to less then four 1080p monitors. Check in your manual for more information.

Here are some examples of setups:

DisplayPort On A Desktop Motherboard:

Note: on-CPU graphics can be artificially limited to 2 or 3 monitors instead of 4, read your manual for more information.

DisplayPort On A Desktop Computer Case:

Note: If you have more than one video card, always connect the DisplayPort cable at the first one at the top of the case, which is also the one nearest to the CPU.

DisplayPort On A Desktop Video Card:

DisplayPort On a Laptop:

3- CONNECTING THE MONITORS

Examples of monitors with DisplayPort 1.2 or above + MST:

Connect a 10 feet (3 meters) or less DisplayPort cable (ideally 6 feet / 1.8 meters) from the video card or laptop to the first DisplayPort 1.2 monitor in the "DisplayPort IN" port (#3 or #4 in the example below).

Now use a SHORTER 3 feet DisplayPort cable and connect it in the DisplayPort OUT of the first monitor and in the DisplayPort IN of the second monitor. If you have 3 or 4 monitors in total, repeat the process until done.

Note: ONLY the LAST monitor can be DisplayPort 1.0 or 1.1 or use an adapter. So you could have 3 DisplayPort 1.2 monitors and the last one could be connected with a standard passive DVI adaptor.

Note: Some monitors, like the Dell U2414H MUST have DisplayPort selected in the display menu system, otherwise it won't work.

Note: You can daisy chain up to FOUR 1920x1080 or 1920x1200 monitors at once on most DisplayPort 1.2 outputs.

Again, here is the maximum monitors that you can daisy-chain to a DisplayPort 1.2 MST (broken down by monitor resolution):

Display Resolution (standard 60 frames per seonds refresh rate)	Maximum Number of Monitors Based on DisplayPort 1.2 Bandwidth
1680x1050 (WSXGA)	5
1920x1080 (1080p) or 1920x1200	4
2560x1600 (WQXGA)	2
3840x2160 (4K) or 4096x2160 (4K)	1

Note: If you have any problem, READ the manuals from: your CPU, your motherboard, your video card. Any of those could have specific DisplayPort limitations you might not know.

Note: You may connect monitors of any brands, model and resolutions together, as long as they don't require more bandwidth then what is allowed (typically four 1920x1200 monitors will take almost all available bandwidth).

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