Surface Pro 4 and external HP Z32 4K UHD monitor

Perseverant_End_User · ‎08-28-2020

Our HP Z32 4K UHD monitor turns off and on (blinks) when connected to a Surface Dock connected to Microsoft Surface Pro 4 running 64 bits Windows 10. After innumerable hours with Microsoft support, which suggested re-imaging my device (not doing), and HP support, which said that it must be Surface problem since the Lenovo Yoga 1st generation machine works fine, I am posting here.

I have read innumerable posting and articles about using a 4K external monitor, sometimes with Surface Pro 4, but often with other machines. In the very early support postings for the Surface Pro 4, there is a mention to a list of compatible monitors. That list doesn't exist anymore. (Plus, after spending ~$3,500, wouldn't you expect all 4K monitors to be compatible?) Some of these articles point to the connecting cable. (Really,does anyone really sell a DP cable nowadays that is not DP 1.2). A first level support agent told me to get a cable with gold plated plugs. Really?

I now have spent over $100 on various cables and adapters, connected directly to the Surface Pro 4 and to the Surface Dock. I have connected the Surface to a Samsung monitor without a problem. I have updated the Dock and cleared its cache. I have reset the monitor innumerable times. I have tried connecting at 29 Hz with no success (when allowed to choose that refresh rate).

Since Microsoft assiduously controls driver updates, I cannot use Intel's newest driver version.

I went to a store to try my device with a 4K monitor by a different manufacturer. It worked fine. Could it just be that HP has to work more with Intel and Microsoft to make this rather expensive monitor to work properly with all standard Windows 10 devices? There was nothing particularly unusual about my device's configuration.

I figure that this is a power glitch of some sort. My power setting on the glider control is maximized. (There's no longer any option to set up profile options in Windows 10 on this device.) The device now displays only one monitor, the Z32, when the lid is closed. I keep it closed since I don't need the built in display. It used to display two. That seemed to help a bit.

Yesterday, I added a number of applications to the graphic settings for the Z32 in the advanced display setting. I have set all of these applications to GPU high performance. This appears to meliorated this somewhat. The blinking is less often, but it still occurs. For instance, if I print a screen on Firefox, the screen blanks out momentarily when I hit the print button. But I no longer have the external monitor blinks multiple times in the course of a minute as I routinely did previously.

AndrewG_Intel · ‎08-31-2020

Hello Perseverant_End_User

Thank you for posting on the Intel® communities.

Based on the descriptions you provided including that the Surface Pro works fine with displays from other manufacturers, this seems to be a compatibility issue with the monitor and the parameters or settings of the laptop (e.g. related to the drivers' customization by the manufacturer and/or power management).

In this case, we would like to recommend testing the processor with the Intel® Processor Diagnostic Tool. Please share the .txt file with the outcome of the test.

The purpose of the Intel® Processor Diagnostic Tool is to verify the functionality of an Intel® microprocessor. Make sure you download the version for Windows 64 bits:

https://downloadcenter.intel.com/download/19792/Intel-Processor-Diagnostic-Tool

If the test is passed and considering the behavior goes away when using other displays, we recommend checking this further with Microsoft® support to see if they have tested with this specific monitor (e.g. about compatibility limitations), and for further support with power management (which depends upon Operating System control). Also to check if they have an updated customized driver for your system to be installed.

It is worth mentioning that the compatibility is defined by the manufacturer of the device (e.g. the laptop manufacturer) since it is the one that integrates the different components and determines the electronic design of the device, hence, the best source of support to check compatibility issues is the manufacturer.

Best regards,

Andrew G.

Intel Customer Support Technician

Perseverant_End_User · ‎09-01-2020

Thank you for your response. Please note that I have tried this with only other monitor for a much limited period of time in a store setting with a lower refresh rate of 29 Hz versus that 59 (or 60) that my monitor is running at. (I mention 59 or 60 because the refresh rate displays differently in different views in Display Settings.)

Compatible monitors for the Surface were limited a number of years ago, but the link provided within Microsoft's support database now points to a nonexistent page.

Here are the results of the Intel Processor Diagnostic Tool. The processor appears to be running properly, so I will again go back to Microsoft.

--- IPDT64 - Revision: 4.1.4.36
--- IPDT64 - Start Time: 20/08/31 23:25:23

CPU1
Genuine Intel CPU Test
Module Version: 1.0.16.64b.W
Start Time: Mon Aug 31 23:25:24 2020
Test Result - PASS
Expected: GenuineIntel
Detected: GenuineIntel
End Time: Mon Aug 31 23:25:24 2020
Total Time: seconds: 0
--------------------------------------------------------------------
CPU1
CPU Brand String Test
Module Version: 1.0.20.64b.W
Start Time: Mon Aug 31 23:25:25 2020
Test Result - PASS
Expected: Intel(R) Core(TM) CPU @
Detected: Intel(R) Core(TM) i7-7660U CPU @ 2.50GHz
Intel(R) Core(TM) processor detected..!!..
End Time: Mon Aug 31 23:25:25 2020
Total Time: seconds: 0
--------------------------------------------------------------------
CPU1
Cache Test
Module Version: 1.0.16.64b.W
Start Time: Mon Aug 31 23:25:25 2020
Test Result - PASS

--- Reading Cache Size ---

- Detected L1 Data Cache Size --> 32
- Detected L1 Inst Cache Size --> 32

- Detected L2 Cache Size --> 256
- Detected L3 Cache Size --> 4096

Cache Size Test Passed!!!

End Time: Mon Aug 31 23:25:25 2020
Total Time: seconds: 0
--------------------------------------------------------------------
CPU1
MMXSSE Test
Module Version: 1.0.22.64b.W
Start Time: Mon Aug 31 23:25:26 2020
Test Result - PASS