I'm doing homework on a 15" laptop and it's come to the point where I need a second screen at least.

HP 15-ay018nr 15.6-Inch Laptop (Intel Core i7, 8GB RAM, 256GB SSD) is the machine I have and it's a good unit but looking at two pages is a pain. It has 2 USB Ports and 1 HDMI. I'm not opposed to a docking setup and two larger monitors if that's an EASY setup.

Nothing huge but that will last and be usable into the future after school, at which point I won't need a home computer much at all. I really need a desktop and two large monitors but they'll only be used for 2-3 years and then gather dust.

Thanks!

Does it have a docking port to hook into a docking station?

We're a Dell shop at work, so that's all I have experience with & we're mostly on Display Port. Was a bit tougher to find HDMI compatible monitors at the peak of Covid when supply was really low.

Work gave me a Dell with 14" monitor. Ever try to build a 60 page document which includes source data from three other documents?

Home computer is also a Dell and, both computers have a thunderbolt connector (flat oval type connector, might have a "C" designator in there).

I went online, found an excellent docking port which has two HDMI connections, an audio out, and four USB ports. This coupled with two 22" monitors and I am rocking all day long without any headaches (literally and figuratively).

wife's work computers are all Dell,

when she worked from home, she brought home a couple of monitors, and a docking setup,

basically a powered box that just plugged in her machine and the monitors worked off of the device,


if I can rememmber, I'll look see when I get home what the model is

I've got dual 24" monitors at home & work.
Much better than trying to do work on a 13" laptop screen.

Not really Rocket Surgery ~ just get one with a compatible connector to your laptop ie: HDMI, mini HDMI, RGB...etc.

I've been generally happy with ASUS 27" monitors, albeit connected to Macs (laptops, minis, etc.) For me, anyway, you can't go too big or too high rez. (given budgetary limitations, I'm not going to pay into five figures for a "best-you-can-get" monitor). For me, the 27" represents the sweet spot between big enough and too much desk space, I would not consider anything smaller.

And I would definitely recommend hooking up via a docking station if your laptop supports one, doesn't have to be OEM, there are many good aftermarket manufacturers.

My work Lattitude can support two externals along with the internal screen, if all are 1920x1200 or lower. So I have two 24" Dell FHD externals at 1920x1080, same as the internal screen. I have the monitors flanking the laptop. Makes a lot easier to to Zoom/Skype, Email, and take notes.

One of the 24's was free from work for the "work at home" period that started in mid-March and is still going on. I bought the other one for like $160 to have two. Both are HDMI - one in the laptop HDMI port, the other through a dongle (HDMI, USB, Ethernet) on the USB-C port. I have USB-C dock at work and would prefer one at home, so that might be next if I can get it approved.

At work I have a Dell QHD monitor (2560x1440) that I think is 27", and it's quite a bit sharper. I would rather have one of those at home because the sharpness allows you to shrink things down a little more and have more workspace for large documents, but that wasn't an option. They went with the 24" FHD because they are inexpensive and they had to provide thousands of them.

You might look at

HP S14 14” portable monitor for ease of use while mobile.

HP E243d Docking monitor
HP E24d G4 Docking monitor

HK Ag

Thank you all, this appears to be easier than expected.

If you have USB C, you can buy a number of one cable docks that support multiple displays and USB peripherals. Just plug it in and you've turned your laptop info a desktop. For monitors, I would strongly consider two identical ones. It makes the multiple display setup more seamless.