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736
13 R3 with U4919DW
Hi !
I'm looking for an upgrade of my screen setup and am really interested in the Dell U4919DW ( https://www.dell.com/en-ca/shop/dell-ultrasharp-49-curved-monitor-u4919dw/apd/210-arnw/monitors-monitor-accessories ). The only doubt I have is regarding the capacity of my Alienware to drive the full resolution ( 5120 x 1440 at 60 Hz ). I think that using the Thunderbolt port should be fine but I wanted to check here before pulling the trigger !
If the laptop is not capable, what should I look to add ? A simple dock or the full graphics amplifier ? Note that no gaming is involved here and I run Linux on my laptop (no Windows here).
Thanks !
jphughan
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14K Posts
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April 18th, 2020 20:00
@nvaton I can't speak to Linux compatibility, but from a hardware standpoint, even Intel GPUs made over the last several years can drive that display. The reason is that the U4919DW's "dual QHD" resolution is actually slightly fewer total pixels than 4K, which Intel GPUs have supported since at least late 2013. You don't even need Thunderbolt bandwidth to run it, which is fine since the U4919DW doesn't support Thunderbolt anyway. All it needs is the USB-C port. So you can use a USB-C cable or even a USB-C to DisplayPort cable. The former will be able to carry USB data between the display and PC though, so that might be convenient if you intend to plug things into the USB ports built into the display. Just be aware that if you use USB-C for that, you'll only get USB 2.0 speeds. This is related to the fact that in order to run that display at its native resolution and 60 Hz refresh rate, all four high speed lanes within the USB-C link need to be allocated to video. Running USB 3.x require two high speed lanes, which wouldn't leave enough video bandwidth available. (USB 2.0 is carried over dedicated pins within a USB-C connector, so it doesn't affect high speed lane traffic.) So either make sure you only plug USB 2.0 devices into that display, or if you want USB 3.x, you'll need to run a separate USB 3.0 cable from the display's "downstream USB" port into a USB port on your system.
nvaton
2 Posts
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April 18th, 2020 20:00
Only devices I would share is keyboard and mouse ti use the KVM option between two laptops so USB is more than enough !
Thanks for the fast reply.