Problem with setting correct refresh rate on an external monitor

[Vikramaditya]

Hello Community,

I have a Dell latitude laptop with built-in display resolution of 1920 x 1080 and embedded Intel(R) UHD Graphic card. I've a Dell UltraSharp 4k monitor with built-in display resolution of 3840 x 2160. Both the laptop and external monitor are connected through a DisplayPort to DisplayPort cable through a Dell docking station WD19TBS. I just duplicate the laptop's screen on external monitor for some content designing work. However, on the external monitor (Display 2 in my case) if I set the refresh rate of 60Hz, the monitor automatically picks and shows "Active signal resolution" as 2048x1152. If I set the refresh rate of 30Hz or below, the monitor automatically picks and shows "Active signal resolution" of its built-in resolution of 3840 x 2160.

Laptop has all its driver and OS fully updated and running with their respective latest versions. I just want to achieve 3840 x 2160, 60Hz on the external monitor. But that's isn't working. Can anyone help fixing this problem?

Laptop: Dell latitude 5xxx series, OS - Win 10 Pro, Graphic card: Intel(R) UHD Graphic, Processor: Intel(R) Core(TM) i7-10610U

Monitor: Dell UltraSharp 4k monitor

[Alberto_R_Intel]

Vikramaditya, Thank you for posting in the Intel® Communities Support.

We are sorry to hear about this issue and we will be more than glad to assist you with this matter. 

In order for us to provide the most accurate assistance on this scenario, we just wanted to confirm a few details about your system:

Is this a new computer?

Were you able to ever achieve 3840 x 2160, 60Hz before on this specific machine?

If yes, when did the issue start?

Did you make any recent hardware/software changes that might cause this issue?

Does the problem happen at home or in the work environment?

Please attach the SSU report so we can verify further details about the components in your platform, check all the options in the report including the one that says "3rd party software logs":

https://www.intel.com/content/www/us/en/support/articles/000057926/memory-and-storage.html

Any questions, please let me know.

Regards,

Albert R.

Intel Customer Support Technician

[Vikramaditya]

Hello Albert,

Please find SSU results attached herewith. Answers are as follows:

Is this a new computer? - Yes, it is 6 months old. (Dell latitude 5410, Intel Core i7, Windows 11 Pro)

Were you able to ever achieve 3840 x 2160, 60Hz before on this specific machine? - Yes, the external monitor (Dell Ultrasharp U2723QE 4k monitor), when connected to the laptop using a DP-to-DP cable, achieves a resolution 3840 x 2160 but only with a refresh rate of 30Hz. If I change the refresh rate to 60Hz (or anything above 30 Hz), the resolution of external monitor drops to 2048x1152, 60 Hz.

If yes, when did the issue start? - I recently bought the new monitor (Dell Ultrasharp U2723QE 4k monitor) and having this problem since then.

Did you make any recent hardware/software changes that might cause this issue? - No

Does the problem happen at home or in the work environment - Home

[IsaacQ_Intel]

Hello @Vikramaditya

Thank you for posting on the Intel️® communities. We would be more than glad to help you with your issue.

In order to have a better understanding of your issue, please provide me with the following:

·        Follow these steps to generate an Intel® Graphics Driver report for the Intel® Graphics Control Panel or the Intel® Graphics Command Center. Report for Intel® Graphics Drivers.

Best regards,

Isaac Q. 

Intel Customer Support Technician

[Vikramaditya]

Thanks Isaac. Please find attached Intel® Graphics Command Center System diagnostic report and advise.

[Vikramaditya]

Hi Isaac,

Please find attached Intel® Graphics Command Center System diagnostic report from my second laptop (I call it good laptop, using which the monitor works just fine, that's the external monitor picks up 3840 x 2160, 60Hz).

If we compare the reports of problematic laptop, which I shared in my last port, and this good laptop, I can see a few differences as follows:

(1) The shared RAM amount is different (in good laptop it is 16GB, while in problematic laptop it is 8GB), and

(2) Under the report under "Active Displays" section, the problematic laptop shows external monitor as "Digital Display 1" while shows in-built display as "Digital Display 2". This is incorrect if we compare it with the good laptop's report. It should show in-built display as "Digital Display 1" and external display as "Digital Display 2".

Can you please advise?

[n_scott_pearson]

This display ordering is a visible difference, I agree, but you haven't shown that this is actually (your word) 'incorrect' nor whether there is truly any correlation between this difference and the actual issue. Order of name assignment shouldn't make any difference (if it did, you would see *hundreds*, if not *thousands*, of reports here on the Intel site).

As for the *real* problem, here's my thought on a possibility to look at: When increasing the refresh rate causes the resolution to drop, this usually points to the cable not being able to sustain both this refresh rate and the full resolution. I would check your cable to see that they are (minimum) HBR2 certified. An unfortunate issue with DisplayPort is that the specs allow both HBR and HBR2 cables to be listed as 'VESA-certified' DisplayPort cables. HBR cables only sustain a data rate of 8.64 Gbit/s, while HBR2 cables can sustain 17.28 Gbit/s. Since 4K@60Hz requires a data rate of 12.54 Gbit/s, HBR cables simply aren't going to cut it and this could be why you only saw 30Hz.

[Aside: In my experience, the cables that come with monitors are trash. They save money (or, saying it another way, make extra money at your expense) by shipping cables that are (for them) cheaper. My general rule is cables that come with monitors should be discarded with extreme prejudice.]

Hope this helps,

...S

[Vikramaditya]

Thanks, Scott!

I agree with your thoughts. But little surprised also that same cable (directly connected to monitor, then to laptop via a Dell Dock) is able to pick 3840 x 2160 @60Hz when used with the another laptop (which has Intel Iris Xe graphic), then why it isn't picking 3840 x 2160 @60Hz with problematic laptop (which has Intel UHD graphic)? Further, I've tried other cables also like HDMI-to-HDMI and TypeC to TypeC both directly between laptop and external monitor, but it didn't make any difference. As you advised, I can buy a new HBR2 DP-to-DP cable, but if that one also doesn't work, it will be a wastage of money.

My initial thought about this problem was the difference between the graphic cards, but again Intel's website says that both (Intel Iris Xe graphic and Intel UHD graphic) support 4k @ 60hz resolution over DP or HDMI cables. So, we can rule out that graphic card is a reason.

Lastly, based on all these findings, I can see the only difference between both laptops is either the amount of Shared memory for graphics is low in problematic laptop or some configs settings are not correct in the problematic laptop.

Please advise further.

[ELehner]

Hello!

Just a thought!

Your Problem remainds me on the issue i had when i bought my Iiyama 4k monitor. 
I cant get it running on 4k with 60hz .. only 30hz.
The reason was i had to change the settings of the monitor to (dont pin me down on this)
HDMI V 1.2 to HDMI V 1.4 .. dont remember exactly.
The monitor had the old version as default. 
After changing the settings on the monitor it worked 4k @60hz.
Maybe use a software update on the monitor. 

Lastly i had a ton of problems when HDMI and DP monitors are connected to the ARC. 
for me the latest driver does not work with dual monitor .. switched back to .4577.

Monitor settings have influence to the driver.
When i change my samsung to gaming mode and have a DisplayPort monitor as second connected 
it goes crazy. 

Have you tried to switch off the monitor on the laptop.(some have special keys for this)
So you can try if its a problem with the cable. (maybe closing the lid when its running).

Because there is no longer interference between 2 monitors. 

Greetings!
Erich

[IsaacQ_Intel]

Hello Vikramaditya and community members.

Thank you for the information provided. 

I will proceed to check the issue internally and post back soon with more details.

Best regards,

Isaac Q. 

Intel Customer Support Technician

[Vikramaditya]

Just adding a note to my previous replies: I bought a new high bandwidth DisplayPort-to-DisplayPort 1.4 cable (Display Port Cable 1.4,8K DP Cable 32.4Gbps 8Ka60Hz HBR3 4Ka60Hz/144Hz/120Hz 5Ka60Hz 1080Pa240Hz), but it also didn't make any difference. External monitor still picks either 2048x1152 @60Hz or 3840 x 2160 @30Hz. So, we can now rule out the cable problem.

[IsaacQ_Intel]

Hello Vikramaditya.

Thank you for your patience.

Our findings indicate that upon reviewing the GFX report, both computers have successfully identified the intended resolution of 3840 x 2160 @60Hz. However, considering your configuration, there are some aspects we should enlighten you about: Using Video Cable Adapters, Splitters and/or Docking Stations in Computers not Manufactured by Intel we cannot assure it will work when using docking stations.

Recommendations:

• Use straight connections with no dockings in the middle. Use a direct connection with a single cable that has the same connection type on both ends from the computer to the monitor however considering system specs cx system only has HDMI 1.4 and Type C due to bandwidth type C should be capable to handle the resolution.
• Check if OEM drivers help and any update available for the docking station.

Best regards,

Isaac Q. 

Intel Customer Support Technician

[Vikramaditya]

Thanks again, Isaac.

I've already tried different high-end cables (HDMI-to-HDMI, TypeC to TypeC, DP-to-DP) between the laptop and monitor directly (without docking station), but all results the same, that's either 2048x1152 @60Hz or 3840 x 2160 @30Hz.

However, today I checked one another laptop (Dell latitude 5510, which is just a 15" screen size version of my problematic laptop and has exact same config including the same Intel UHD graphics, same memory size and so on) with a Dell P-series monitor and generated the Intel® Graphics Command Center System diagnostic report from that latitude 5510 laptop. In that report (attached here), under "Active Displays" section, the laptop's in-built display is showing as "Digital Display 1" while the external P-series monitor shows under "Digital Display 2". This is the correct representation of how both displays should be identified. However, same is not the case with my problematic laptop. On problematic laptop, under "Active Displays" section, the external monitor shows as "Digital Display 1" while the in-built display as "Digital Display 2", which is incorrect. It means the problematic laptop identifies the displays incorrectly.

So I believe something is definitely messed up with the problematic laptop's configurations. I just want to know where the problem is, and then I can reach out to OEM for some advice.

Both reports are attached. Can you please check the attached report and advise?

[IsaacQ_Intel]

Hello Vikramaditya.

Thank you for sharing the detailed information. We appreciate your input and are committed to resolving this issue. With the data you've provided, we'll conduct a thorough analysis to identify the root cause.

Our team will now delve into the details you've given and conduct further research. We assure you that we're dedicated to finding a solution. Rest assured, we'll reach out to you promptly once we've gathered more information and insights. Your patience is greatly appreciated.

Best regards,

Isaac Q. 

Intel Customer Support Technician

[IsaacQ_Intel]

Hello Vikramaditya.

Thank you for your patience.

Based on our research, Monitor and dock station have compatible ports so there's no problem between them. Ports: HDMI 2.0, DP 1.4, USB-C

Latitude 551 ports are: HDMI 1.4, DP 1.2 over USB-C, USB 3.2 Gen2 Type-C port with DisplayPort Alt Mode/Thunderbolt 3. As we mentioned resolution detection is correct in reports.

I can understand how frustrating this situation might be. If your CPU is still covered by Dell's warranty, it's a good idea to contact them. They have the most accurate information about hardware and drivers. Please reach out to them for the best assistance with your issue. We've tried everything we can from our end, but unfortunately, the problem persists. So, we'll go ahead and close this thread. Just remember that Intel won't be actively keeping an eye on this conversation anymore.

Best regards,

Isaac Q. 

Intel Customer Support Technician

[Vikramaditya]

Many thanks, Isaac for all your findings and conclusion. I'll reach out to OEM and get it checked.