Second this, flashing it with Debian and using it for KODI and maybe RetroArchl is the way to go.
Comment on Old laptop with non-funtional display... What do I turn it into
technocrit@lemmy.dbzer0.com 1 week ago
KODI.
I have a laptop with a broken screen attached to the wall behind my TV. I love my Kodi media station. It might take a while to setup and customize but it’s worth it. I could use the default android TV, but it’s completely commercial and miserable. I use Kodi for: weather, video games (retroarch and steam), music (radio, youtube, mp3s), podcasts, tv shows and movies, youtube… I never leave my Kodi to use the android TV (barf).
Also it doesn’t need to be just a media station. It can probably run a variety of network apps or whatever you please.
GalacticGrapefruit@lemmy.world 1 week ago
Psythik@lemmy.world 1 week ago
How valid of a solution this is depends entirely on whether or not you care about things like 4K, Full RGB (4:4:4), Dolby Atmos, HDR, etc. If you do, the laptop’s GPU and the TV both must support HDMI 2.1 or higher, or they won’t be able to handle the high bandwidth demands of modern home theater display formats. (You need a decent high bandwidth cable too, of course.)
Thankfully OP might be in luck. I just looked it up and it turns out that the 3050ti does in fact support HDMI 2.1. I’m not sure if that guarantees the laptop will have a 2.1 port like with desktop GPUs but I guess the best way to find out is to just plug in a cable and see if everything works.