Here is what I currently have.

Microsoft Surface 4 Laptop:

• Processor 11th Gen Intel(R) Core(TM) i7-1185G7 @ 3.00GHz 3.00 GHz
• Installed RAM 16.0 GB (15.8 GB usable)
• System type 64-bit operating system, x64-based processor
• Pen and touch Pen and touch support with 10 touch points

Microsoft Surface Dock 2:

• Two front facing USB-C ports
• Two rear facing USB-C Gen 2 ports
• Two rear facing USB-A ports

Acer 23.8" Monitor (x2):

• 1 HDMI, 1 DVI, 1 VGA

I know these monitors are nothing special but they work fine for my needs. I bought them a couple years ago when COVID first hit when I was working for a previous employer. I don't do any video editing, graphic design, photoshop, etc... I spend 75%+ of my day in excel.

When I got this new laptop/dock I ordered some USB-C to HDMI cables to hook up the two monitors. I bought a USB-A hub that uses one of the USB-A slots in the rear of the dock and I have all of my dongles, charging cables, etc. in that. The other USB-A slot is used up by an external webcam. So all four slots on the back of the dock are used up as of now.

My setup for the last couple months has been the two Acer monitors in front of me with my laptop on a stand angled off on the right side.

My company just sent me a new monitor: Dell P2422H. I'd like to add this monitor to the mix and ideally run the three external monitors plus my laptop screen.

Seems a simple google search would figure this out but I feel like I have read so many conflicting answers. I'm wondering if I can order an additional USB-C to DisplayPort or USB-C to HDMI cable and hook it to the one of the USB-C ports on the front of the dock? Or do I need to order something like this DisplayPort Hub? Or is it not possible at all without buying new monitors/dock?

Any help or advice appreciated.

Not sure about all the cables and stuff but when I tried to run 3 external monitors from my work laptop, pretty sure I was limited by the video card or usb c bandwidth to the docking station. I could only get my third monitor to show in a terrible resolution.

Might be something for you to consider too, maybe not.

Yup - ran into same issue with one of the 3 monitors taking a resolution hit with my hub so be sure to research as best you can on it.

Go buy a 43" 4k tv for $260 and thank me later.

You could probably force them to the correct resolution. That's what I did with my G9 on my work laptop but it should be okay in 1080p across all 3. Honestly if you're doing that much Excel the TV suggestion or going to a two screen set up with one of them being an ultrawide isn't bad. If you have the disposable income the superultrawide for huge spread sheets is freaking amazing.

Usually the limitation is graphics card / output connections. Some Dell monitors have a technology called MST that allows you to daisy chain them. Just fyi. Works great.

The graphics processor in the laptop can only drive so much. Typically, they can drive quite a bit of resolution at lower refresh rates, or higher refresh rate at lower resolution.

DisplayPort has a feature that allows daisy chaining. Not all monitors have input and output displayports, but some do. The overall resolution is still limited by the graphics card.

What is the graphics card in that laptop? Or is it using the intel onboard graphics?

I have almost same setup with same laptop maybe a little more specd out but I could only run 3 monitors. I have 2-37"wide dells using mst and the surface. After that laptop has issues

kb2001 said:

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The graphics processor in the laptop can only drive so much. Typically, they can drive quite a bit of resolution at lower refresh rates, or higher refresh rate at lower resolution.

DisplayPort has a feature that allows daisy chaining. Not all monitors have input and output displayports, but some do. The overall resolution is still limited by the graphics card.

What is the graphics card in that laptop? Or is it using the intel onboard graphics?

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Intel(R) Iris(R) Xe Graphics

I think I am leaning towards just sticking with the 2 external monitors + laptop screen. In the future, may look at add an ultrawide to replace one of the 24" monitors.

I saw the daisy chaining method but I'd have to replace all my monitors I think to do that as they don't have the appropriate DP ports.

Appreciate everyone's input & discussion on this.