Unlocking Productivity: How to Daisy Chain Monitors for a Multi-Screen Setup

How to Daisy Chain Monitors

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One of the best ways to run multiple monitors from your laptop or any device where your output options are limited is with daisy-chaining. Connecting multiple monitors on a single cable chain instead of with multiple cables going to the same source device cuts down on cable clutter in a big way and helps keep your desk neat and tidy. 

In some setups, daisy-chaining monitors is the only way you’re going to be able to enjoy a multi-monitor setup. Whether your laptop doesn’t have enough outputs, or you don’t have long enough cables to go from your laptop to every display, using a daisy chain system of connection can be far simpler and just as effective.

What is Daisy Chaining?

Daisy-chaining, officially known as multi-stream transport, or MST (in the case of DisplayPort technology) involves connecting a monitor to another monitor instead of directly to your system’s video out port.

It's a great way of minimizing cable clutter and extending the range of your monitors from the source system. There are some limitations to it since the maximum bandwidth of the single cable between the first monitor and the host system will need to handle the video stream for all daisy-chained displays, but there are plenty of high-end cables to help you daisy chain monitors while making the most of their display resolutions and refresh rates.

Daisy chain monitors are no different from any other monitors. There's nothing special about the displays themselves. It's all about how you manage the cables and Cable Matters has just what you need to make it possible.

Note: USB-C daisy chaining for extended displays is supported on Windows only. On macOS, Thunderbolt 3 is required for extended displays; daisy-chaining through USB-C only will result in mirrored displays.

What Are the Benefits of Daisy Chaining Your Monitors?

Daisy chaining your monitors together makes having a multi-monitor setup much easier. Instead of having cables that trail across your desk to reach your laptop or desktop, all of the cables can stay between the monitors.

A clean a tidy work area helps many people concentrate, further augmenting the productivity boost you get from having multiple monitors.

Daisy chaining also means that your monitors only need to be near one another (and a power source) rather than the computer. That makes it easier to have your monitors at a greater distance from your laptop or desktop since you aren’t restricted to the length of a single cable; the third monitor in the chain can be three cables’ distance away if you like. That can be really useful for unique orientations, too, such as vertically mounting your monitors or using one or another in portrait mode.

For creative professionals who use a lot of external drives for photos, videos, and other important files, daisy chaining with USB-C cables, like USB4 and Thunderbolt 3 and 4, lets you plug accessories into them too. That means you can use one of the monitors as a USB hub for your devices, further cutting back on cable clutter and simplifying your network of connected devices.

How to Daisy Chain Your Monitors

To daisy chain your monitors, you need a few specific things.

First, you need two or more monitors that support at least DisplayPort 1.2. Displays that will act as a middle link in the chain must include DisplayPort output ports as well as input ports. You also need DisplayPort cables, preferably high-quality ones, though they can be 1.2, 1.3, or 1.4, generation, they're entirely interchangeable. You can also use a newer DisplayPort 2.0/2.1 cable if you prefer, though there are only a handful of devices and graphics cards that support that newer, higher-bandwidth standard.

Alternatively, you can use USB-C cables, but HDMI cables do not support daisy chain monitors.

DisplayPort is the more established daisy chain medium, as it has been supported since DisplayPort 1.2, which debuted in January 2010. To daisy chain DisplayPort monitors, all you have to do is connect the first display to your host system using a compatible DisplayPort cable, and the second display to the first's secondary DisplayPort output connection.

Note: Some monitors may need you to select the higher-end DisplayPort configuration (at least DP 1.2) to utilize extended monitor modes. Otherwise, you may be restricted to mirror mode, where both displays show the same content.

If your graphics card or laptop supports it, you may be able to increase the number of your DisplayPort daisy chain monitors even further, so that you have three, four, five, or even six displays – although that's typically reserved for the highest of high-end graphics cards. Unless you're running relatively low resolutions across all those screens too, you may start to run into bandwidth issues with the DisplayPort cables. For example, a DisplayPort 1.2 daisy chain can handle four 1080p screens, and two displays running at 2,560 x 1,600. DisplayPort 1.3 and 1.4 can daisy chain DisplayPort monitors up to 4K resolution, though only two of them at the highest resolution and only at 60Hz (even though DisplayPort does support higher refresh rates). They could do up to six 1080p daisy chain monitors, however.

Note: Intel’s current integrated graphics card supports up to 3 displays (this includes the laptop's built-in display). To use 3 independent external displays, you must close the lid of your laptop. 

For the ultimate in daisy chaining monitors, you’ll need one of AMD’s RX 7000 series graphics cards – ideally the RX 7900 XT, or 7900 XTX, although the newer RX 7600 should suffice. You’ll also need DisplayPort 2.1 cables and DisplayPort 2.1 compatible monitors – which are few and far between. If you can, though, the capabilities are near limitless. DisplayPort 2.1 can technically support up to three monitors running at 10K resolution at up to 60 Hz. Although there aren’t any monitors with those sorts of stats at this time, they’re likely coming down the pipeline and when they’re available, daisy-chaining them together will be possible. 

Even though you can’t have 10k daisy-chained monitors just yet, if you want to daisy chain ultra high-definition displays, DisplayPort 2.1 is the best cable and connector for the job.

Step-by-Step Guide to Daisy Chaining Monitors

Connecting the First Monitor

  • Start with a Compatible PC: Ensure your PC has a DisplayPort (DP) or USB-C video output with Multi-Stream Transport (MST) support. This is crucial for daisy chaining.

  • Choose the Right Cable: Use a DP to DP cable, Mini DisplayPort to DisplayPort cable, or USB-C to DisplayPort cable, depending on your PC's port type.

  • Connect to First Monitor: Plug one end of the cable into your PC and the other into the DP input on your first monitor.

  • Power On and Settings: Turn on the monitor and PC. Right-click on your desktop, select "Display settings," and ensure that the first monitor is detected.

Adding Subsequent Monitors

  1. Connecting Additional Monitors: Connect the DP output from your first monitor to the DP input of the second monitor using a suitable cable.

  2. Repeat for More Monitors: If adding more, daisy chain each monitor in sequence, (Monitor 1 to Monitor 2, Monitor 2 to Monitor 3, etc.), as long as your hardware supports the number of monitors you want to connect.

  3. Power Them On: With all monitors turned on, they should synchronize and display duplicates of your primary screen.

Adjusting Settings on the Computer

  1. Access Display Settings: Again, right-click on your desktop and select "Display settings."

  2. Arrange Monitors: You'll see multiple displays numbered. These represent your monitors. Drag and drop to arrange them according to their physical placement on your desk.

  3. Settings Customization: Click each display to customize its resolution, orientation, and scaling. You should also set the "Multiple displays" setting to "Extend these displays" to use them as an extended desktop.

  4. Apply Changes: After adjusting, click "Apply." A prompt may ask you to confirm the changes. Select "Keep changes" once everything looks right.

  5. Testing Functionality: Move your cursor across screens or drag a window to ensure the setup is functional as per your arrangement.

This walkthrough should give you a basic daisy chain configuration, offering a vast desktop area, thereby unlocking higher productivity potential through an enhanced multi-screen setup.

How to Daisy Chain Your Monitors with USB-C

USB-C connections offer a similar multi-monitor solution to DisplayPort daisy chain technology. It has the option to extend and duplicate displays, useful for different scenarios, and cuts back on cabling while extending the range of your displays from the source system.

This is thanks to USB-C's alternate mode functions. Alternate mode simply allows a video signal to be sent over a USB connection, which was previously reserved for data only. In this case, it's the same DisplayPort 1.4 protocol, but over USB-C instead of the DisplayPort connector.

As well as using a high-quality USB-C cable, you'll also need to use a converter. You can use a cable with DisplayPort connectors, an adapter, or a multi-port hub, depending on your daisy monitor needs. Whichever solution is right for you, though, the USB-C output on the master display, must then output to the DisplayPort connection on the first or subsequent slave displays.

Note: Because DisplayPort cannot provide power for the subsequent displays in your daisy chain, you will need to provide a separate power cable for them, rather than relying on just a single USB-C cable for everything. That can mean the monitor charges your laptop though, which does at least eliminate the charging cable for that device.

Once set up, you shouldn't notice much of a difference with daisy chain monitors that use USB-C instead of DisplayPort. The only difference may be in terms of the maximum resolution or number of monitors you can support using the USB-C connection, as it doesn't have the same bandwidth as DisplayPort 1.4. That may mean running your daisy chain monitors at a slightly lower resolution or refresh rate to maintain full support for your multiple monitors.

That’s not the case with newer USB4 and Thunderbolt 4 connections, though. They offer some of the highest bandwidth possible from any cable standard, rivaling HDMI 2.1. Newer Thunderbolt 4 and USB4 cables have even been demonstrated as capable of up to 80 Gbps data rate, so you should soon be able to enjoy the highest resolution and refresh rates when daisy chaining monitors using USB-C.

Which Cables Do You Need?

For daisy chaining monitors, you’ll need DisplayPort cables to connect the monitors, and a DisplayPort cable to connect your first monitor to your host – either over DisplayPort or USB-C. Cable Matters recommends high-quality DisplayPort 1.4 cables to ensure you get the most feature-rich cable possible although DisplayPort 2.1 cables are viable too. To add a stylish look to your gaming setup and ensure that you're getting the longest life out of your cables, Cable Matters recommends a braided cable. The braided outer cable jacket provides extra flexibility, protecting the cable from kinking. It also adds an extra layer of protection from an unexpected impact damaging the cable core. 

FAQ

Still confused about daisy-chaining your monitor, or have some follow-up questions? No problem. Here are some of the most common questions we’ve received about daisy chaining monitors, along with our best answers.

Can you use Mini DisplayPort for daisy chain monitors?

Yes. The three main cable types for daisy chaining monitors are:

  • DisplayPort – the standard, full-size DisplayPort connector.
  • Mini DisplayPort – the miniaturized version of DisplayPort that looks a little similar to older USB-B connectors.
  • USB-C – Needs to be USB4 or Thunderbolt 3 or 4 for full bandwidth support.

You’ll need input and output ports on the monitors, but when it comes to the output on your laptop or desktop, any of the above will do.

Do HDMI cables support daisy chaining?

No. One of the biggest advantages of DisplayPort as a standard, is that it supports daisy chaining, while HDMI does not. Technically you could use HDMI over USB-C for the final monitor in the daisy chain, but there would be little reason to when DisplayPort alt mode is so capable.

Do all daisy-chain cables have to be the same?

No. As long as all of the cables you’re using support Multi-Stream Transport in some capacity – be they DisplayPort, Mini-DisplayPort, or USB-C with DisplayPort Alt Mode – then you can use them all as part of a chain. You could use a USB-C cable to go from your laptop to the first monitor, and then a DisplayPort cable to go from the first monitor to the second. 

Why are my displays mirrored instead of extended?

Plugged everything in and all you see is the same desktop across each display? If you’re on Windows, head into the Display options by navigating to Settings > System > Display. Scroll down to the section headed “Multiple displays,” and change the drop-down to read “Extend these displays.” You might also want to configure which display is the main one and drag and drop the different displays into the right position, depending on your setup.

If you’re on MacOS, only one external display is technically supported by most modern Macs and MacBooks, so you may get no picture at all on the second, or a mere duplicate of the original screen. There are workarounds to make the displays extend using DisplayLink software, but you’ll need to configure that yourself.

Why won’t my daisy chain setup work?

This is a tricky question to answer as it could be lots of things, but the first things to check are: 

  • Are you using cables and connections that support daisy chaining? Remember, HDMI doesn’t support daisy chaining.
  • Do your monitors support MST? Older monitors don’t always support it, so your monitor may not be compatible.
  • Have you updated your graphics drivers? It’s possible that a corrupted or out-of-date driver is causing you problems. Try updating yours. The latest Nvidia graphics drivers can be found here. You’ll find AMD’s drivers on its website, here.
  • Are you trying to use too many displays? Some onboard graphics chips only support up to three displays. If you are using your laptop screen and two more, a third might put you over your limit. You’ll need to detach one of the others or disable the laptop display to get the third working properly.

Comments (21) -

  • Hello!

    My laptop has one HDMI port and one Mini-DP port.
    As is written, HDMI port doesn't support daisy chain monitors.
    But what about Mini-DP ports?
    • Hi Francesco,

      As long as your laptop’s MiniDP port supports DisplayPort Multi-Stream Transport (MST), it should support daisy chaining.
  • Hi,

    Looks like that should work! Just make sure your computer supports DP Alt Mode over USB-C. You might also need to enable the "USB Type-C:MST/USB Type-C:SST" mode in your monitor's settings menu. You can find it by opening the On-Screen Dispaly and selecting System > DP OUT.
  • I am using 2 HP monitors that are daisy chained together using Display port. I wish to add a third display but I have used all of the display ports available on the primary input monitor. Is there a way to link my third screen using HDMI? My tower does not have an HDMI Jack. It only has DP which I’ve used all of, and USB
  • Can I link my computer to monitor 1 with HDMI and then link monitor 1 to monitor 2 with DP? Or does it need to be DP all the way?
  • I tried to daisy chain two monitors following this guide. The second monitor says "DP No Input", while both cables are correctly connected. What could cause this?
  • Hi,

    I have a Dell Laptop www.dell.com/.../vostro-15-5502-laptop
    Connections: 7. HDMI 1.4b | 8. USB 3.2 Type-A port | 9. USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-C™ (DP/PowerDelivery)

    Currently,

    I have 3 monitors
    (1). Dell Ultrasharp DC2719C - USB -C Connection / Power to Laptop - 1440p
    (2). Old AOC 21" Monitor - Daisy Chain Display Port Cable from (1) - 1080p
    (3). Asus Proart 24" - HDMI Connection (Direct) - 1080p

    I would like to upgrade my monitors (2) and (3) and add a (4) and looking at some lower price range 24-27" Monitors 1440p preferable, Dells, and any other brand as long as it's thin bezeled, and thinner / newer, that could connect my 4 monitors together.

    I believe USB-C can be daisy chained up to 6 monitors 1080p (is that correct?) Preferable 1440p.

    What's the best way for me to upgrade my configuration to allow it to be powered from the laptop?
    Do I need a laptop dock?

  • I have a Macbook Air Silicon laptop and a Dell laptop, and I've just recently gotten a second monitor. My Dell has a USB-C DP port and my Macbook has whatever kind of USB-C Macbooks have. I can connect both of my laptops to my monitor which supports USB-C. Can I then just connect a DP cable from my primary monitor to my secondary monitor and extend the display? Would it work for both laptops or just for the Dell?
  • Can the first connection from the laptop to monitor be usb-c then the second connection from the master monitor to the slave monitor be DisplayPort?
    • Yes it can, currently works this way on my table.
  • My laptop has one USB-C port with DP alt mode.

    I'm considering buying a 2 pieces of a USB-C monitor with these ports:
    DisplayPort 1.2 x 1, HDMI 1.4 x 1, USB-C 3.2 Gen 1 x 1 (upstream, power delivery up to 65W)

    If I buy those monitors, can I daisy-chain them like this?

    LAPTOP <--> usbc <--> MONITOR1 <--> displayport <--> MONITOR2
    • Dan
      Did this solution ever get confirmed to work?

      LAPTOP <--> usbc <--> MONITOR1 <--> displayport <--> MONITOR2
      • yes. works great on mine. Laptop's usb-c ports must support usb-dp (so that M1 is connected by the "dp" standard). and what was not known to me is that monitor 1 needs to have a dp-out port, which is in general different from dp-in. dp-out needs to connect to dp-in on M2.
  • Hi,

    Is it possible to daisychain from the DP-out port on monitor 1 to hdmi-in on monitor 2? I've seen displayport to hdmi cables and I was wondering if this setup would work. Monitor 1 is connect to my laptop with an usb type c cable.
  • Hi

    just wondering, i am having lag issues with my mouse when running a couple of samsung 27 inch monitors daisy chained from an HP envy laptop. I am using a USB-C cable between laptop and first screen.

    I think i need to invest in a better quality USBC cable, but are you suggesting in the above article i would be better to use a converter or USBC to DP cable to go straight into the DP IN port of the first monitor?

    Cheers MT
  • I've got two Dell monitors that are daisy chained and working fine with monitor 1 connected to laptops via mini display port cable. I'm about to switch to apple mac and understand that I have to get usb-c to mini display port cable to connect to monitor 1. Will the daisy chaining still work?

    thanks
  • Hello- this is a year late, so hopefully someone still monitoring the feed.

    I understand the technology, but I can't seem to find monitors that have both a display port and out (I need three monitors connected).

    Can you recommend some?  
  • Hi, i try to connect 3 Monitors in a chain. My Laptop has DP 1.4
    1: HP Z27u with DP 1.4 + DP Out
    2: Samsung S60UA with DP 1.2 + DP Out
    3: Acer With DP 1.2

    Combination of 2+3 works well
    Combination of 1+2 works well

    But as soon as i connect 1+2+3 in a row and activate MST on 2, 2+3 stay dark. Windows recognizes all with correct WQHD resolution and stuff.
    For the full resolution i need DP 1.4.
    I hoped it is ok for the first Monitor to use DP 1.4 and the second DP 1.2 since this is enough for 2 WQHD Displays. It seams changing the DP-Version inside the chain does not work completly. Has anyone a clue if this can work?
  • I am trying to daisy chain my monitors but I am having some issues with the display on monitor 2. The font is extremely large and I cannot change it for some reason. I am using a Display cable, monitor 1 is Out and Monitor 2 is In. Monitor 1 is connected to my laptop with USB-C. I can extend or duplicate, no problem.
    Could it be that Monitor 2 is too old and does not support daisy chain?
    I have now changed to old fashion connection of each monitor to laptop (USB-C and HDMI).
  • "If you’re on MacOS, only one external display is technically supported by most modern Macs and MacBooks..."

    Macbook Pro with a Pro chip supports 2 external monitors. Macbook Pro with a Max chip inside supports 4 external monitors. I know they have at least since the M1 chip came out in 2020.
  • Hi, I've bought a new monitor and want to daisy chain them together. Will this be possible if i connect my primary monitor to my pc with a displayport and connect the other monitors with an hdmi?

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