USB Graphics Compatibility

Hardware Requirements and Recommendations

  • CPU: Dual-core or 2GHz processor or better recommended on Windows Vista, Win7, and Mac (Single core ULV or Intel Atom class processors or better are recommended for Windows XP and Linux)
  • GPU: Used for 2D/3D rendering on Windows Vista and Win7, requiring a single Intel, nVidia, or ATI primary WDDM driver. Not recommended in combination with ATI Eyefinity multi-display technology.

Driver and OS Version details

See the DisplayLink User Manual for full details and setup tips

WINDOWS VERSION COMPATIBILITY:
Drivers are provided automatically via Microsoft’s Windows Update mechanism with approved drivers across all of Windows XP, Vista, and Windows 7. 64-bit and full Aero support on Vista and Windows 7. Windows XP 64-bit not supported. Note that Microsoft limits multiple display support in Windows 7 “Starter” Edition and Windows Vista “Home Basic” Edition to mirroring screens.

For Server 2008 (32 and 64-bit) and Server 2008 R2 (64-bit), drivers are not provided through Windows Update. To function, Aero theme must be enabled (which is not the default), and a WDDM capable primary graphics driver installed (some server hardware comes with low-end graphics hardware like Matrox GPUs, which do not support WDDM). To insure everything is in place, Windows’ built-in Aero troubleshooter should run without issues. Once it does, download and install DisplayLink drivers .

MAC VERSION COMPATIBILITY:
Up to 4 DisplayLink devices can be used with a Mac.

DisplayLink’s Mac driver for OS X Lion 10.7, Snow Leopard 10.6, Leopard 10.5, and Tiger 10.4 is available at http://displaylink.com/support/mac_downloads.php. DisplayLink notes the following limitation: “This driver does not support 3D acceleration. Some features of Mac OS X-based applications that require hardware OpenGL acceleration, such as Keynote presentations and iPhoto slideshows, will not function properly.”

See http://displaylink.com/mac for more info

LINUX COMPATIBILITY:
As of Linux kernel 2.6.31, this adapter has open source drivers in the kernel staging tree. As of 2.6.38, the driver was promoted to the main kernel tree. Configuration of X Windows for USB displays is still distribution and scenario dependent, however, and only for very adventurous users. Plugable is involved with Linux development work, see https://plugable.com/category/platform/linux/ for details.