Intel onboard 4400 graphics and multiple monitors

[zell]

I have a Dell Latitude with Intel onboard 4400 graphics and I want to use an extended desktop multiple monitor setup. I see that the card supports 3 displays. but I need to know more before purchasing extra displays.

I can't find this information anywhere

Whether multiple displays require the same:

• monitor size
• resolution (or they default down to the lower resolution)
• aspect ratio (or they default down to the smaller aspect ratio)

I'd really appreciate some input because otherwise I just have to randomly purchase monitors and do experiments! Not an efficient way to do things.

Thank you for reading.

[Sebastian_M_Intel]

Hello zell, 

Thank you for posting on the Intel® communities.   

For extended desktop mode, the displays can support different resolutions, color depth, and refresh rates. You can check that here under "What is the extended desktop mode and how do I enable it?" https://www.intel.com/content/www/us/en/support/articles/000005580/graphics.html

Check how to enable extended desktop mode here: https://www.intel.com/content/www/us/en/support/articles/000005599/graphics.html 

For other modes like clone mode, for instance, it will vary as you can see in the above link and in this website also: https://www.intel.com/content/www/us/en/support/articles/000005752/graphics.html  

If you still have any questions, please let us know and if possible, include an Intel® System Support Utility (Intel® SSU) report: 

• Open the application, check the "Everything" box, and click on "Scan" to see the system and device information. By default, Intel® SSU will take you to the "Summary View".    
• Click on the menu where it says "Summary" to change to "Detailed View".    
• To save your scan, click on "Next", then "Save".    
• Use the option under the reply window to attach the report to the thread (Drag and drop here or browse files to attach).   

Regards, 

Sebastian M  

Intel Customer Support Technician

[Sebastian_M_Intel]

Hello zell,  

Were you able to check the previous post and get the information requested? Please let me know if you need more assistance.   

Regards,  

Sebastian M  

Intel Customer Support Technician 

[zell]

I did not see anything in the resources you provided about the question about the aspect ratio. Could you address that?

On Reddit, I received a reply to the question. Could you please verify whether it is valid or not?

___________________________________________________________________

From Reddit:

• You can connect up to 2560x1440 @ 60 Hz to the HDMI connector (HDMI 1.4b with full bandwidth)
• You can connect up to 4k @ 60 Hz to the mini DisplayPort connector (DP 1.2 HBR2).

However, 4K support on these machines is very limited. It can output 4K, but the GPU is pretty slow for 4K, you may notice some slowness even on the desktop in some applications. Because it doesn't support any modern 4K capable video codecs in hardware you won't be able to watch 4K (streaming) video.

2560x1440 is really the optimum for a system like this.

________________________________________________________

Thank you.

[n_scott_pearson]

Monitors are separate and independent. This includes resolution, refresh rate, etc. Aspect Ratio is simply the ratio of the horizonal resolution versus the vertical resolution, so of course it is included. Monitor Size is a physical thing and has nothing to do with this. A 24-inch 1080p monitor is the same as a 50-inch 1080p TV; they both use 1920x1080 resolution and (at least) 60z refresh.

As for Reddit, there are knowledgeable people there, but there are also slews of idiots that shouldn't be (at least not giving opinions). These idiots are responsible for so many rumors and uneducated and mostly incorrect 'opinions' that somehow become 'facts' in the many retellings that occur.

In this particular case, however, this guy is giving correct information. I would add, however, that if you are not gaming or running graphically-intensive applications, these processors will support 4K just fine (I do it all the time). Alas, it is typically only 4K@30Hz. I do not see consistent support for 4K@60Hz until using the 6th gen processors. This may simply be because of the systems that I am trying it on, IDK. 

Hope this helps,

...S

[zell]

I appreciate your reply.

I also appreciated that kind person from Reddit telling me that information which is valuable and which I would not have had another way of finding out.

I would add that I know that aspect ratio would cause a problem, since it already does, I just wanted to know the specifics of it. It appears that it changes one monitor to the aspect ratio of the other one, but I would like to know more. Another kind Redditor referred to "aspect ratio headaches" but did not go into specifics.

I am surprised that this information is so hard to come by. I seem to be having more luck with Reddit than this forum.

[n_scott_pearson]

The problem that you are describing is the result of a monitor being detected but no EDID can be obtained from it. The default in Windows in this case is to presume that the monitor has a resolution of 1024x768 or something like that - and thus only resolutions with 4:3 aspect ratio are provided in this case. This is purely a historical issue; widescreen monitors are a relatively new thing. 

Hard to come by? Did you ask here before you went to Reddit? 

...S

[Sebastian_M_Intel]

Hello zell,   

I hope the extra information provided by the community was useful to you. 

As mentioned, the displays are independent and can have different specifications.   

Since you want to confirm this information before making a purchase of external displays, you may want to double-check with your system manufacturer (OEM) just to make sure, see if they can test this and share the results with you.  

Regards,   

Sebastian M   

Intel Customer Support Technician

[Sebastian_M_Intel]

Hello zell,    

We hope the previous answers helped you with your inquiry. 

Please remember the best approach you can take is double-checking with your OEM to see if they have tested multiple displays in extended mode. 

Based on that, we will close this thread from our side; if you have any additional questions, please create a new post as this one will no longer be monitored by Intel. 

Regards,    

Sebastian M    

Intel Customer Support Technician