Best External Monitors for Dell XPS 17 in 2020

Dell XPS 17 9700
Dell XPS 17 9700 (Image credit: Dell)

Dell made sure the display on the XPS 17 is something special, but it may not be enough for your daily tasks. 17 inches of screen real estate is a fair amount for a portable PC, but should you need more, there are plenty of external displays that are ready to increase productivity. We've rounded up some of the best options for the Dell XPS 17.

Choosing the right external monitor

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Any monitor recommended in this collection will work well with the XPS 17, depending on your budget and what sort of monitor you're looking for. If we were to make a single recommendation, it would be the Dell UltraSharp P2720D, not just because it's also made by Dell, but it's a killer display. Using this panel alongside your XPS 17 in a dual-screen setup will look awesome.

Cables to connect your Dell XPS 17

The XPS 17, much like the smaller XPS 15, does not come with any dedicated ports for HDMI and DisplayPort. This makes hooking up an external monitor a little tricky since you'll need to buy a connector as well as the additional display. Luckily, we've included some cables below that will allow you to connect the displays above to the XPS 17 without issue.

CableCreation Type C to HDMI Thunderbolt 3 Cable

USB-C to HDMI (Image credit: CableCreation)

Thunderbolt 3 to HDMI cable ($19 at Amazon)

With no HDMI on the XPS 15, you're instead left relying on the Thunderbolt 3 port, and this cable will make the magic happen.

Nekteck Thunderbolt 3 Cable

TB3 cable (Image credit: Nekteck)

Thunderbolt 3 certified USB-C cable ($24 at Amazon)

To connect to a USB-C or Thunderbolt 3 monitor, get one of these Thunderbolt 3-certified cables.

Uni USB C to DisplayPort Cable

Thunderbolt 3 to DisplayPort cable ($18 at Amazon)

When your display takes DisplayPort, this cable will make it possible to hook it up to your XPS 15.

Rich Edmonds
Senior Editor, PC Build

Rich Edmonds was formerly a Senior Editor of PC hardware at Windows Central, covering everything related to PC components and NAS. He's been involved in technology for more than a decade and knows a thing or two about the magic inside a PC chassis. You can follow him on Twitter at @RichEdmonds.