Laptop with dual monitors and thunderbolt 3

[Polmohr]

Hey Techists

So i've been thinking about buying the Lenovo Legion Y-720 (has thunderbolt 3) gaming laptop, 2 monitors, headset and a mouse and a keyboard.
Since i'm a student i'm going to bring my laptop to school everyday. So what i want with this is to be able, every day when i get home, to just plug the thunderbolt 3 into my laptop wich i will place on a shelf under my desk preferably closed, during gaming and homework hours.

My question is:
Can this be done with a thunderbolt 3 adapter, or do i need a thunderbolt 3 dock? If i want to turn on the laptop, without actually flipping it open.

And will i be able yo play heavy FPS games, such as Battlefield and COD etc?

Been thinking about maybe getting the Lenovo thinkpad thunderbolt 3 dock or something simular for this.

Thanks in advance. All help is appreciated [emoji5]

 

[PP Mguire]

Laptops have heating problems due to tight thermal variables being well....laptops. If you game with a laptop closed in a desk it's going to cook and shut itself off constantly. As to the dock, I'm not really sure. Before I left my previous position at work Dell, HP, and Toshiba were starting to bring us TB3 dock solutions for their notebooks but I didn't see any of them with an option to turn it on from the dock like some of the HP docks for older notebooks.

If this is the dock you're thinking about using it LOOKS like it has a power button on it.
ThinkPad Thunderbolt 3 Dock - US | Universal Cable Docks (USB) | Lenovo US

Since you can't actually blow the picture up I can't tell for sure. The thing about that is, their site doesn't say what wattage the laptop uses / what wattage the laptop PSU is. The USB-C standard has a max of 100W charging capacity so if the laptop goes over that the dock won't charge and run the laptop at the same time.

WIll you be able to play those games? Yes, easily at 1080p.

 

[Polmohr]

Laptops have heating problems due to tight thermal variables being well....laptops. If you game with a laptop closed in a desk it's going to cook and shut itself off constantly. As to the dock, I'm not really sure. Before I left my previous position at work Dell, HP, and Toshiba were starting to bring us TB3 dock solutions for their notebooks but I didn't see any of them with an option to turn it on from the dock like some of the HP docks for older notebooks.

If this is the dock you're thinking about using it LOOKS like it has a power button on it.
ThinkPad Thunderbolt 3 Dock - US | Universal Cable Docks (USB) | Lenovo US

Since you can't actually blow the picture up I can't tell for sure. The thing about that is, their site doesn't say what wattage the laptop uses / what wattage the laptop PSU is. The USB-C standard has a max of 100W charging capacity so if the laptop goes over that the dock won't charge and run the laptop at the same time.

WIll you be able to play those games? Yes, easily at 1080p.

Thanks for the reply, it's helpfull! But this is really not my strong area, therefore i would appreciate if it could be dumbed down to the following.

If we were to say the venting system was at the back or on one of the sides of the laptop, wouldn't it be able to cool itself while being closed then?

And yes that's the dock i'm talking about and it's indeed a power button

Will i also be able to play those games on the monitors going trough the dock?
It's thunderbolt 3 inn, but it will still just be a hdmi(or whatever i'll get) out to the monitors.

 

[PP Mguire]

thunderbolt 3 into my laptop wich i will place on a shelf under my desk preferably closed,

My bad dude, I replied after I woke up and took this statement like you were putting the laptop in a closed desk.

And yes that's the dock i'm talking about and it's indeed a power button

So then one can assume it will turn the laptop on without you needing to open the screen. At least that would make sense.

Will i also be able to play those games on the monitors going trough the dock?
It's thunderbolt 3 inn, but it will still just be a hdmi(or whatever i'll get) out to the monitors.

If the laptop is closed and you have your monitor set as the main monitor then yes the games will output to those monitors. You will only be able to game on one monitor, while the other(s) will be secondary. Keep in mind that if you have a 'better than average' monitor like a 144hz monitor it won't run at 144hz via the Thunderbolt connection while other devices are utilizing bandwidth.

 

[Polmohr]

My bad dude, I replied after I woke up and took this statement like you were putting the laptop in a closed desk. [emoji38]

So it's cool? (No pun) 😊

So then one can assume it will turn the laptop on without you needing to open the screen. At least that would make sense.

Awsome 👌

Keep in mind that if you have a 'better than average' monitor like a 144hz monitor it won't run at 144hz via the Thunderbolt connection while other devices are utilizing bandwidth.

As i recall, the dock could run dual 4k monitors at 60hz. As i don't know how many hz is needed for smooth gaming and heavy 3D modelling programs, or if it has any effect on the above, this will be my last question.

Is 60hz sufficient?

 

[PP Mguire]

So it's cool? (No pun) 😊



Awsome 👌



As i recall, the dock could run dual 4k monitors at 60hz. As i don't know how many hz is needed for smooth gaming and heavy 3D modelling programs, or if it has any effect on the above, this will be my last question.

Is 60hz sufficient?

The bandwidth required between all screens depicts the resolution and refresh at which the device can handle. If you only have 60hz screens then you'll be fine.

 

[Polmohr]

Thanks alot!
You've been very helpfull PP Mcguire

[emoji4] [emoji106] [emoji108]