When I purchased my Framework 13 laptop I was absolutely trilled by its features, portability, speed and so forth. Truly, a fantastic machine but the fact remained, I needed more screen real-estate. The singular 3:2 Ratio 13.5″ screen was just not enough. Much like the HP EliteBook before it and the Dell Latitude E6440 before that, a singular screen was just not enough but since those machines, things have changed a bit, I had to become more portable, my location had to be more flexible and I started to wonder, how hard can I push this little machine.
I will preface that I have no regrets with this arrangement but it is also not the most practical either. This did require some 3D printed components and a number of modifications to make work much better and I do have issues docking up all the monitors from time to time. That said, for the time being, this is the best configuration I have yet used on any computer system.
Laptop Size and Screen Sizing
The Framework 13 is very close in screen size to the HP EliteBook 840 G7 that I previously used and I also needed the additional screen real-estate with that as well. It worked well and I used it with my Framework 13 but it just didn’t quite work as well due to the differences in screen size, resolution and ratio.
Stacked Dual Screen
I found this stacked dual screen to be very portable and easy to execute but the problem I did have with this arrangement is that the laptop screen had to be at just the right angle to not have the hinge give way to the mass of the portable monitor perched on its edge. It was also a little fiddly going from portable to “docked” with this arrangement and I was sometimes discouraged from using it. As a digital nomad, this was, indeed, spectacular.
This stacked arrangement didn’t quite work as well with the Framework 13 as the screen is just a bit wider than the laptop. It was functional but not great at all. I also found that I really needed more screens than just the two to really be productive in my new role.
Portable Triple Monitor
Scouring the internet for portable monitors, I kept finding a variety of 2-screen, horizontal arrangements that were free standing. After some deliberation I purchased a portable, KPKUE 13″ triple monitor device using USB-C to power and display from a single connection. This worked very well and I was very happy with how it performed with only one criticism being that the dynamic and viewing angle of these monitors were not nearly as good as the Framework 13’s internal monitor.
Example on ebay
The other issue that I had with this was that it forced me to move from using X11 to Wayland in order to take advantage of variable scaling per display. The Framework 13 display has to be set at 125% with the side monitors at 100% in order for things to feel right with it.
Four Screens are Better
I used this quite happily for a while but after some time… I again thought that I could really use a 4th display. This triple display set up has a sturdy enough frame that adding a monitor on top would be quite trivial, since I had already done this before and I could leverage the existing CAD files for an improved and flexible interface to the top of this monitor stand. This would allow me to easily pivot the top monitor to the ideal angle for best viewing.
Modifying the dual-stacked monitor design was pretty trivial. Unfortunately, FreeCAD is not very robust when making engineering changes so I had to delete a lot of the features and rebuild them to make these changes.
This new mounting strategy had two benefits. The first is to provide the additional viewing real-estate, the second was, it helped the triple-monitor stand balance much better and not tip forward when the computer was pulled away from the stand.
Having modified the previous stacked monitor design to work with this moderately sturdy base and with the additional feature of having a pivot. The usability was greatly improved over the fixed stack that I had used on the previous laptop. Also, this made for a much easier set in place, dock and use, disconnect and walk away.
Four screens, were an incredible enhancement. Having the screen above might be my favorite screen to use, even over the Framework due to the height of it and as I used it, I couldn’t help but notice how much I thought an additional screen or two would be great but I also know that 4 is the physical display limit of the Framework 13 with the 13th Gen Intel i7. As a consequence, I started to experiment with with DisplayLink as a possibility. I did some experimentation and figured out how it could be effectively used with Tumbleweed Linux.
Six Screens
Since I was so happy with the tilting screen interface for the center screen and decided to replicate that for the wings. Using the same dimensions as the center, 4th screen for the cylindrical shape on which it sits, I would make such a thing on the top of each of the display “wings”. They seemed robust enough to handle a little more weight. I went to work designing a monitor stand interface using OnShape.
I also took the time to find the right screen use. I found these 1080p, HP (v14) 14″ Portable Widescreen, DisplayLink Monitors (3TN62A8) on ebay.
These were purchased for about $30 each plus shipping and didn’t come with their front protection or stands but that didn’t matter. I was designing a stand for them and I can put these face-to-face to protect them too when needed. Using OnShape, yet again, I made these monitor brackets that would clip, nicely, on the top of each of the wings.
When I all put together, this was simply fantastic! Four screens were great but having six screens were far better. Having this much display real-estate has made working on more complex problems much easier to engage. I would also like to mention that these DisplayLink monitors can be pushed by the Framework 13’s i7-1360p at very acceptable frame-rates.
I can play Minecraft on the display just as smoothly as I can on any other screen. Sure, the CPU does kick up quite a bit when pushing a lot of graphic work on one of those screens but the point is, it can be easily done. Overall, I was very happy with the display arrangement bit it wasn’t perfect. The center top screen did have a slightly different width and was scaled differently than the Framework 13 laptop display.
But then, a new kickstarter from JSAUX, the FlipGo with what appears to be the exact same panel as the Framework 13 display, 3:2, 2256×1504 with the same brightness specifications and the like. The construction of this FlipGo is also fantastic. It feels very durable and as a bonus, it can present itself as a single 3:4 2256×3008 monitor or as two 3:2 2256×1504 monitors. For my purposes, a single monitor works best.
The crown to my six screen (maybe seven) has made for a prime workspace to do my work and fun and everything in between is to stack this FlipGo display on top of the KPKUE monitor stand.
As great as this has been for me, it is not without its flaws. There are indeed a few warts. The lower side monitors are just a bit too small. The 14″ 16:10 ratio screens are a better size. Even better, the FlipGo 3:2 display panels have much better brightness, color contrast and viewing angles than KPKUE panels as well. The DisplayLink monitors work very well but they are, by far, the most stressful on the setup. Not just their weight on the KPKUE stand but also they do require the display server to be restarted in order to behave properly. The irritations do not outweigh the benefits but they are there.
CAD
Feel free to download and modify for your purposes. The goal here is to inspire and support quality of life improvements for you and your workstation.
Thingiverse.com
https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:6795398
Printables.com
https://www.printables.com/model/1037416-six-screen-semi-portable-laptop-display-system
Cults3d.com
https://cults3d.com/en/3d-model/gadget/six-screen-semi-portable-laptop-display-system
Stability
Addressing 6 displays is stable in this arrangement. I can effectively work all day long on this but with occasional issues when connecting my Framework 13 into the dock station. The issue is generally limited to screens being in the wrong location. Not a huge issue, just occasionally annoying.
I have decided, while experimenting with a new USB-C dock station to see if there is any new stability gains by using a certified Thunderbolt 4 dock. Due to the added stability, I decided to pull out a my Dell D3100 DisplayLink dock that can drive two screens. For documentation purposes, I added my findings here on 26 Oct 2024 for the purpose of recording my findings with pictures.
7 Displays
With this new dock station and improved stability in the displays, I thought I’d try 7 screens again with my portable monitor and it works out much fairly nicely. I am not sure that I will keep it here but it does work well and I am glad to know that I am able to successfully drive 7 displays.
As far as the stability of this goes, I would be confident I could use this if I really needed the extra display. There hasn’t been any extensive work on this other than doing some mild stress testing.
8 Displays
This is absolutely not a stable arrangement the 8th screen, which may be due to being an older 4:3 ratio screen using an HDMI to SVGA conversion is not stable. The last screen does start flashing from time to time when added last. It is usable and reminds me of the early days of having USB-C dock stations where they might work but also might not.
I won’t likely keep this arrangement and I do need to really get a proper arm for the last screen because it just doesn’t look good on the edge as it is. I really prefer a 4:3 ratio screen since that monitor is primarily used for my genuine Commodore 64 that sits on the keyboard tray below the desktop.
I did have better results with stability using a slightly newer, 16:10, ratio screen using the DVI connection to HDMI from the Dell D3100 DisplayLink dock. I did have some flickering initially when connecting to this screen.
Since I didn’t have the blinking like the previous, SVGA, screen, I thought I’d give it a bit more stress than just a Windows 98 VM and run Minecraft on it. Surprisingly, with everything else running on this Framework 13, it was incredibly smooth and quite playable.
Bottom line, 8 displays are marginally stable. I am able to push 4 screens with the iGPU on the laptop and an additional 4 displays with DisplayLink. After playing with this, I believe this could be an interesting experiment in the future.
What I Like
This display system is extremely functional and practical for the area that I have this set up. I have 3 workstation locations for my Framework, this one is arguably the best of the 3. It’s not perfect but it does work very well.
The top rows of screens are easily tilted towards me to make for comfortable viewing. I find that the 4 uppermost panels are my favorite to use for detailed work. The Framework laptop’s display is still where my eyes go most but usually to push my target applications upward from there.
The HP DisplayLink screens are surprisingly awesome. They produce a great picture and perform very well. Although not the ideal use case, they work fantastically well for playing games, such as Minecraft, which is a surprise.
What is very beneficial with the multiple screens is how easily I can pop windows to full screen on each display. It’s a quick snap to location and love how slick that is in the Plasma Desktop.
What I Don’t Like
Nearly every time I plug this thing in, the devices tend to re-enumerate themselves so I have to set the display locations logically to match the physical. This is annoying but doesn’t happen often enough to make me dislike this setup, it just annoys me.
Sometimes when the DisplayLink device becomes available, the two monitors swap logical locations. It does not happen all the time but it is enough to make my eyes roll on its occurrence. It is also irritating when the DisplayLink drivers don’t fully engage and are only half way working. By that, I mean, the screen is there, the Plasma desktop recognizes it as a valid display but the screen is not outputting any video.
The 14” 1080p screens have to be scaled differently than the higher DPI Framework display. This does cause issues with some applications. It should also be noted that the varied aspect ratio does make for a little grinding at my OCD because the screens are not perfectly lined up.
The six screens are not so portable. I cannot take this setup and operate on battery power alone. It is easy enough to pack up and move but I would need a more portable docking station for this to be successfully portable. I would have to have some sort of external power supply, be it battery or grid power to be fully operational.
Final Thoughts
This setup is overall pretty great. It is very practical in as such that it didn’t cost me much to put together. I use the screens all the time and I know that I am a lot more productive when connected to this hodgepodge collection of screens and 3D printed fixtures.
It does require two USB-C connections to run all the screens. The dock station aspect needs to be worked out to make it more portable. Perhaps, something to revisit in the future. It also may be that the dock station, something several years old, is at its limit routing the signals. There are also issues with the FlipGo monitor not completely turning on but this is very rare and usually power cycling the device will correct that. This also may be dock station related. Ideally, some USB-C powered hub with USB-C + DP displays would be ideal. Something that I can easily take with me and therefore all 6 of the screens. I’ll keep my eyes out and hopefully will find something that will fit the bill.
I realize that everything shared here is very unique to my own set of hardware. What I would say I learned from all this is that DisplayLink works quite well for productivity applications, any more than two screens causes instability (worth another article). The Intel i7-1360p does a great job of pushing 4 displays from the GPU. It would be worth trying to use three external FlipGo displays to see how well that would work. Nothing against DisplayLink but it does add a level of complexity to the workstation that can cause issues when docking and undocking, especially combined with suspend and resume states.
References
https://jsaux.com/products/flipgo-portable-dual-monitor
Framework 13
Stacked Dual Screen on a Laptop
eBay Link for list of KPKUE portable monitors
Reddit discussion on this post
Leave a Reply