W520 & external 2560x1600 monitor?

[james-lenovo]

Can the displayport output of the W520 output at 2560x1600 resolution (30" monitor such as the NEC PA301W)?

[lead_org Microsoft MVP Contributor · Accepted solution]

yes they can.

[ggooch]

HI,  

I'm completely frustrated with Lenovo.  30 hours of tech support,  my mother board has been replaced (unnecessarily) and yet i cannot get my HP LP3065 Monitor to work with my w520 (Win 7 Pro 64,  1000M, )

The monitor works fine, tested it with my T400 on its docking station. 

I have a DISPLAY-PORT toe DUAL-DVI Cable connecting the PC to the monitor,  i.e a single cable no adapters.   Specs (http://www.lenovo.com/psref/pdf/tabook.pdf), sales and customer support confirm that that the display port shoud drive the monitor.  However I'm unable to do so, it shows up natively at 1280 x 800,  I can go in Nvidia and setup a custom configuration of 1920 x 1080,  that is it, nothing more. 

Please note,  Lenovo has already changed the board,  I have changed the cable,   nothing seems to work.   I'm sure this is a configuation issue. 

BTW, lenvovo support had me even install the latest version of the Nvidia drivers from  Nvidia's website and that did not help either.  

Could people who have ACTUALLY connected to a 30" (2560 x 1600) monitor using the display port please comment.   

Thanks

Graham

[ThorsHammer]

ggooch,

Did you have the BIOS display setting set to discrete only?

[ggooch]

Thanks Thors Hammer!

I have tried it with  with discrete, it still wont' work.   Lenovo tech support has it back at optimus now.  I'm quite anxious, i need this monitor for my CAD work and while the m/c is powerful it is not very useful with  the FHD screen. 

I have searched extensively but I'm not able to find an accurate resolution. 

Lenovo tech support,  BTW is not much help either.   They needlessly sent a techician over to replace the motherboard,  i really did not think the issue was with the motherboard.  Needless to say,  replacing the board did not help. 

Thanks
Resh 

[ggooch]

I have talke to HP,  they are not sure if the W520 can actually drive a 2560 x 1600 resolution without a powered converter. 

[lead_org Microsoft MVP Contributor]

firstly LP3065 uses dual link DVI ports, if you want the W520 to support it using displayport, you have to get an active displayport to usb converter.

The simple passive converter only outputs in single dvi mode, which when used with dual link dvi ports, can only support 1280x800 (since they are doubled to display 2560 x 1600 resolution).

[ThorsHammer]

---

ggooch wrote:

I have talke to HP,  they are not sure if the W520 can actually drive a 2560 x 1600 resolution without a powered converter. 

---

Unfortunately I believe HP support is correct.  I know people that are using http://www.amazon.com/Accell-UltraAV-B087B-002B-DisplayPort-Dual-Link/dp/B002ISVI3U

[ggooch]

Thorshammer,  

Thanks.  Yes,  Lenovo is being very ambigous with their positioning.    The requirement of adding anothe $100 device is very limiting.  Especially as we shuttle from office to office.  Having to cart another adapter is annoying.  

This has been the problem with 30inch monitors and why they are not popular.  They are simply too complext to setup and configure.  Even at subsidized  cost of  $50/hour,   I must have spent at teast $4,000  on this seemingly easy problem.   Lenovo on the other hand has no clue, and their notes taking is terrible (so it is best that one takes good notes while talking to their support),  they get by because they have fabulous field service,  replacing the motherboard on a perfectly good computer and offering to do it again is just a waste of money.

As for me,  I'm going to buy a powered adapter and get on with my life,  in hindsight i wish I had not been so cheap and walked away from the dock.     But I have 3 docks with my older thinkpads that suddenly became obsolete with the T520 and I did not want to spend another 500 bucks on a pair.  

So in summary,  the potential of native 2560 x 1600 out of the W520 was very alluring, but alas it is untrue.  I hope i save some of you this grief in future.

Cheers

Graham. 

[ThorsHammer]

For what it's worth at this point, the W510 and W520 both drive 27" and 30" LCD panels quite nicely via DisplayPort <--> DisplayPort when the BIOS is on discrete.  I haven't personally tested the NEC but have tested the top Dell panels.  I have a friend with the top HP (the new one).