Re-cutting an old VGA cable to fit both a HDMI and VGA cable on my laptop (Asus X53 (X53SK-SX028V) for two external monitors

Can you output on both at the same time ? 

Thanks! I bought a new laptop last year and was disappointed that I couldn't connect two external monitor since my two video ports were close like yours. My old laptop could.  I read up about this method a long time ago but there was no guide for it. Came across your post today and now im grateful! Your post was very useful and helpful! 

- on my dual external monitor display now :) 

OMG! Thank you for this post!  I have a similar situation on my PC.  Somehow my PC's back panel is sunk by design, and the VGA port is shoved to side preventing my VGA cable to go through.  I've been going crazy on what to do, and was even considering $20 adapters, but I've been holding off because I don't see spending that much because of a tight fit.
Anyway, thank you again. 

OMG OMG OMG! Okay, I just tried it and it worked even better than I expected.  Mine only required one side to be trimmed, and I'm actually still able to screw them on.  You're a genius! Thank you! 

That is awesome!! :D :D
So happy somebody found that useful- I HATE it when they do stuff like that (putting the ports to close to each other)! 

Thanks for posting the comments, made me very happy to read this when I woke up this morning :D

Have a fab day! 

Worked for me! Asus too close to one another vga / hdmi.  used knife to cut vga plastic housing off, then pushed themetal part back. barely fits, but fits! thanks! 

HDMI Ethernet Cables for Australia. 

This post was a huge help.  I have never seen a VGA cable without the unnecessary screws and flange to make it skinny enough to be convenient in this situation.  You're not alone with the ASUS, I have a Lenovo and others have HPs that run into the same problem.  Silly manufacturers are either using the same laptop cases or making the same mistakes. 

Thanks for the guidance. 

Thank you! I know, it is sooo frustrating! Thankfully the plastic is soft and easy to cut in and of, we just need to spread the word now LOL :) 

faced same problem. :) Had to cut, but one side only. 

Thank you Thank you thank you, I'm relieved that this is possible and cheap. I'm just about to get an asus for a good deal, a display model, and it too has cluttered ports and I also want to hook up dual screens, 2 x 23" samsungs. 

That is good to know. I am looking for ideas to make a VGA port fit into a keystone hole on a patch panel. With the plastic collar removed, there is just enough room to fit it up to the screws. So I began thinking of cutting the cheeks and screws off. From this post, it seems that most of the body is just plastic - which is very good for me. I am encouraged to bring out my box cutters and hacksaw. 

Fantastic. Works a treat! 

I just made one for myself! Very simple & Worked perfect! 

Awesome :D 

I faced the very same problem and cut the cable perfectly. But my graphic card does not allow extend 3 monitors: Laptop + HDMI + VGA... Be aware of this problem before doing the procedure, you may fail as I failed :-( 

I already had my saw out, but decided to see if anyone else had had success. Thanks I am about to get cutting. 

Man.........you helped me a lot...Thankyou...... so much 

I, too, was wary of taking a blade to my VGA cable since it is not a male/male, but actually soldered to my monitor. Thanks for testing it for me! 

THANK YOU SOOO MUCH! I was literally about to have a breakdown after ordering this laptop as a replacement for one that crashed and it was only after I set everything up that I noticed I couldn't use dual monitors...but now- solved! Thank you again for sharing :) 

No problem, happy to hear it solved your problem. Its really so stupid they put the two so close to each other, but thankfully the plastic is easy to cut :) 

omg! Thank you was about to spaend 30 bucks on an adapter, but thanks to you I can save those 30 bucks. 

This post saved me a BIG HEAD ACHE ! Thank you!!!! God Bless! 

Glad it helped, looking at the popularity of that post I might add some more DIY posts LOL 

Thanks so much, i was having the same problem! 

Is there no manufacturer that makes these?   Yeah, I could do it myself, but there's a market for it.   Stupid engineers should lose their engineering license. 

Hi. I have 6770m and i need test in the next days... thanks 

Wow! Such a simple DIY task with fantastic results! Thank you so much Iris! 

Thank you so much for this guide.  I have an HP and am currently running a 22" Samsung Monitor on the VGA port, an Asus MB168B+ USB HD Monitor, and I need to add another 22" Monitor.  Just got back from the store with an HDMI to DVI adapter to hook up the 3rd External monitor and found out there is definitely not enough room to run side by side with my VGA port.  Compact design is nice and all, but seriously, who comes up with these designs?  They could have just moved headphone & Mic jacks over by 1/4" and we would have PLENTY of room.  I guess nobody thought about running that many extra monitors off a laptop.  Anyways, thanks to your help I am up and running with all 4 screens! 

Amazing!! Thank you so much - I appreciate this and now I can have all my monitors!! :) 

There is a reason that these ports are so close to each other. It's not possible to get a signal for both ports at the same time! This explanation is useless, don't ruin your cables! 

This worked great! Finally fixed the port issue i was having with my HP laptop. Now i can dual screen with 2xlenovo monitors. :)

The process is quick and easy to do with a standard vga cable. You just cut directly up from the gap between the main cable and the screw in portion and you won't cut any wires or anything. Then hammer in the metal piece to smooth it out. A great money and stress saving tip! 

Thanks!  HP laptop owner and now very happy!  Make it rain with monitors!!!! 

Thank you for the info.  The sad thing is that ASUS is still making laptops like this. 

HP Pavilion DV6 also had this problem -- thanks so much for posting pictures of this hack, gave me confidence to do the same thing.  I used a tiny saw I found in my garage, cut just the side that needed shortening, then used a pair of plyers to bend it back like mentioned here, and a hammer to finish it off and make it a 90 degree angle backwards.  Looks and works great. 

To enable dual monitor, From Intel HD Graphics Control Panel in lower right taskbar select Output To-> Extended Desktop -> Monitor + Digital Display

I believe Monitor" is the VGA output and "Digital Display" is the HDMI output. 

Time pass, but this post remains useful! (read also as: com'on laptop designer it's 2016 could you put some space between two ports?!) 

What is your graphic card? 

Thanks, this helped a lot with my HP Pavilion! 
(it can only handle 2 displays at a time, I think, but with a broken built-in screen, this was a necessary fix)