[HN Gopher] Explaining 4K 60Hz Video Through USB-C Hub (2019)
___________________________________________________________________
Explaining 4K 60Hz Video Through USB-C Hub (2019)
Author : WayToDoor
Score : 117 points
Date : 2021-04-22 11:22 UTC (11 hours ago)
(HTM) web link (www.bigmessowires.com)
(TXT) w3m dump (www.bigmessowires.com)
| danieldk wrote:
| Be sure to read the update at the end, since the article is
| partly outdated with DisplayPort 1.4. With DP 1.4, only two lanes
| are necessary thanks to HBR3 (and DSC). So, you can have 4k@60Hz
| while also having USB 3.1 Gen3 at 10Gbit/s.
|
| E.g. I use a Lenovo USB-C Dock Gen 2, which supports this. You
| can have it all with just a single cable.
|
| Unfortunately, Linux misconfigures the lanes (does not use HBR3)
| for this hub and apparently some other hubs [1], so 4K@60Hz is
| not supported using a single cable. Windows 10 works fine and my
| wife's MacBook as well.
|
| [1] https://gitlab.freedesktop.org/drm/amd/-/issues/1317
| thirtyseven wrote:
| If this is the case, then how does the Caldigit TS3 Plus dock
| (https://www.caldigit.com/ts3-plus/) support 4K@60Hz video and
| USB 3.0 ports while only using DisplayPort 1.2?
| [deleted]
| Matthias247 wrote:
| It uses Thunderbolt 3, not plain USB. Although sharing the
| same connector, these are different protocols
| EwanToo wrote:
| That's a thunderbolt dock, which has higher bandwidth than
| usb 3 and it's variants (usb4 mostly merges with thunderbolt
| 4 but not entirely)
| techrat wrote:
| Thunderbolt mode over USB C is basically a direct PCIe
| connection along with DP.
| tmobileuser wrote:
| I've that exact set up right now and it works great!
|
| Kubuntu+thinkpad nano+2.0 dock+4K at 60hz
| Nextgrid wrote:
| Does this require cable/hub support? I've currently got a hub
| which provides USB3 ports as well as HDMI, and as expected,
| only goes up to 4k@30Hz.
|
| Would a simple software change & hardware support on the _host_
| side be enough, or does the hub still need to be upgraded?
| wmf wrote:
| That hub presumably has a DP-to-HDMI chip that will never
| support DP 1.4. HDMI isn't for monitors anyway...
| danieldk wrote:
| It's so annoying that many monitors (e.g. common LG models)
| have 1x DP and 2x HDMI.
| SECProto wrote:
| I have a monitor with 1xDP and 2xHDMI and it's perfect. I
| use the DP for my desktop, one HDMI for my laptop dock,
| and the other HDMI for anything I might choose to use
| instead (console being the only thing I've used so far)
| vladvasiliu wrote:
| I have one of those LG monitors, although mine has a
| usb-c input which also handles display-port (so it's 2xDP
| + 2xHDMI).
|
| What really bugs me with HDMI is that monitors and
| computers never seem to agree on the image standard and
| for some reason always default to washed-out colours,
| even when connecting a PC to a PC monitor (as opposed to
| a TV).
|
| Under Linux/X11 I know how to set it in full range mode
| [0], but I was using such a monitor at home and connected
| it the HDMI output of my gaming PC (Radeon GPU) and
| couldn't figure out how to fix the washed-out colours. In
| the end I bit the bullet and bought a display-port
| switch.
|
| Now windows complains about the "limited display
| connectivity" (the monitor has a USB hub whose upstream
| is the usb-c/dp connector), but at least the colours look
| OK.
|
| ---
|
| [0] `xrandr --output HDMI1 --set "Broadcast RGB" "Full"`
| IIRC
| danieldk wrote:
| At the very least it requires DP 1.3 support of both the
| dock/hub and the machine that it is hooked up to for HBR3 and
| DP 1.4 for DSC. If either uses an older version, it doesn't
| work. I don't know about HDMI, there is HDMI alt-mode, but I
| think many docks use DP-Alt mode for HDMI as well.
|
| tl;dr: requires support from the host and the dock.
| seba_dos1 wrote:
| > there is HDMI alt-mode, but I think many docks use DP-Alt
| mode for HDMI as well
|
| DP alt-mode is ubiquitous, while HDMI alt-mode support is
| very rare on both host and peripheral sides.
| Dylan16807 wrote:
| > DisplayPort 1.4 can deliver 4K 60Hz video using only two lanes,
| with a new high-bit-rate mode called HBR3 with a compression mode
| called DSC. This makes it possible to get 4K60 video and USB 3.1
| ports in the same hub, but only if the computer, hub, and monitor
| all support DisplayPort 1.4 and HBR3.
|
| You don't need DSC to display 4K60 over two lanes, only to go
| above that or add HDR too.
|
| Also displayport 1.4 support doesn't guarantee DSC for some
| reason.
| bombcar wrote:
| What's annoying is that the "Thunderbolt" connectors ALSO depend
| on the chipset internally (and how it is routed) - for example on
| my MacBook Pro (15-inch, 2017) - I can drive four external
| monitors but ONLY if I connect two on each side of the laptop. I
| have two daisy chained via Thunderbolt but I cannot use that
| second Thunderbolt port on that side for a third monitor - it
| must be on the other side.
| AceJohnny2 wrote:
| If I understand your issue correctly, this is a macOS issue,
| where macOS only support DP daisy-chain (MST "Multi-Stream
| Transport") for mirroring content, not multiple screens.
|
| https://medium.com/@sebvance/everything-you-need-to-know-abo...
|
| (I stumbled upon this limitation myself recently. Supposedly
| Windows doesn't have this limitation though I haven't tried it
| myself)
| bombcar wrote:
| I don't know what I'm technically using, but it's two
| monitors daisy-chained via Thunderbolt and they're not
| mirrored.
|
| System Report says "Thunderbolt 2" is how they're connected.
| paco3346 wrote:
| Part of it may also depend on the dock and how it routes
| the TB lanes. My dock uses 2 lanes for dock features and
| does passthrough for the rest. Are you able to daisy-chain
| your monitors off any of those ports without the dock in
| the path?
| bombcar wrote:
| I have no dock at all (though technically the monitors
| may be a dock).
|
| Apple Thunderbolt 3 to Thunderbolt 2 cable -> 34UM88 ->
| Thunderbolt 2 to Thunderbolt 2 cable -> 34UM88.
|
| To make it even more fun, Thunderbolt 3 looks like USB-C
| and Thunderbolt 2 looks like Mini DisplayPort.
|
| https://i.imgur.com/5TJaIqg.png
|
| (Technically I do have a dock but it's on the other side
| and is unrelated).
| danieldk wrote:
| _To make it even more fun, Thunderbolt 3 looks like USB-C
| and Thunderbolt 2 looks like Mini DisplayPort._
|
| What do you mean? Thunderbolt 3 _uses_ USB-C connectors.
| And you can also use a Thunderbolt 3 cable as a USB 3.1
| Gen2 /DP-Alt/PD cable.
|
| The big annoyance is that it doesn't work the other way
| around. There are even USB-C cables that only carry USB
| 2.0 and do not have the SuperSpeed lanes. So, they are
| not only worthless for Thunderbolt 3, but also for
| getting good tranfer rates using newer USB revisions.
| Worst of all is that there is no cable marking system.
| bombcar wrote:
| Exactly - I have no easy way to tell if something is "USB
| USB-C" or "TB3 or TB4 USB-C" especially on the adapters.
| It's frustrating getting everything hooked up.
| citrusybread wrote:
| it's hilarious you know. for almost 20 years we had this
| perfect "it sits it fits" approach to usb, now here we
| are, four standards three cables one connector. easily
| avoided by just keeping a different connector for each
| spec...
| pinot wrote:
| At least you have USB-C on both sides. Dell is shipping
| 'professional' laptops with USB-C on only one side.
| fireattack wrote:
| But does it have the problem GP is describing?
|
| If not, I'd say it's definitely better than his/her MacBook
| Pro since they're at least functioning.
| anyfoo wrote:
| Relatedly, does anyone have any solution for switching a 5k LG
| monitor between two Macs? There seems to be only a single KVM
| switch that does that, and it's around $500. It also does not
| switch one Thunderbolt, but two Display Ports, so it seems that
| you would additionally need a bunch of adapters which split the
| USB-C Thunderbolt cable into two Display Port connections, and
| back together at the other end.
|
| Note that there seem to be more solutions for 4k, but it's my
| understanding that those don't work for 5k.
| [deleted]
| perryh2 wrote:
| If you aren't switching between your computers too often, you
| can just get a USB hub like this and switch between display
| inputs from your monitor:
| https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B083JKDNRJ/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b...
| anyfoo wrote:
| My monitor only has a single input, that's the problem I'm
| trying to solve. I don't need to switch USB.
| ggayan wrote:
| Use a DP 1.4 switch: https://www.amazon.com/Angusplay-
| DisplayPort-Switch-Bidirect...
|
| I tried ConnectPro's DP 1.4 KVM and the display blacked out
| constantly in MacOS. Friends who purchased the same KVM ran
| into the same issue with displays that push DP spec to the
| limit like 3440x1440@144.
|
| The switch I shared works just fine. From time to time (once
| every 1-2 months maybe) the display blacks out for a second but
| a computer restart does the trick, or reconnecting cables. Also
| make sure to get HBR3 displayport certified cables.
| anyfoo wrote:
| Just to confirm, this does work with LG 5k monitors? The
| resolution there is 5120x2880, which is significantly more
| (the vertical resolution alone is doubled, and then some for
| the horizontal), but I don't know the refresh rate, so the
| bandwidth could still be similar maybe.
|
| EDIT: I'm also wondering, the only switch I know to be
| working uses two display port cables to the monitor (which
| I'd have to adapt to one Thunderbolt 3 instead), while your
| device only uses one. That doesn't bode well...
| ianhowson wrote:
| It won't work with the LG Ultrafine 5k, which _requires_ a
| Thunderbolt connection to run at full resolution, and
| behind-the-scenes is a tiled pair of DP1.2 displays.
|
| It ought to work with a DisplayPort 1.4 5k, though there
| aren't many of those.
| anyfoo wrote:
| Thanks. So as far as I can tell, that ridiculously
| expensive switch is still the only option (if even, I
| wasn't able to fully confirm), and nowhere near worth the
| cost vs. just physically swapping the cable between
| computers.
| ggayan wrote:
| Not sure:
|
| irb(main):003:0> 5120 _2880_ 60 > 3440 _1440_ 144 => true
| z9qjk wrote:
| I think the whole concept of usb c/tb3 is flawed, cables should
| be inside the computer not outside. I have a fairly simple setup:
| 2017 Macbook Pro with two TB3 ports, a Dell monitor, an external
| SSD, a TB2 soundcard and a wireless usb mouse, because a
| traditional mouse works better in VMs than a Magic Mouse. This
| setup worked perfectly with a 2015 13" MBP: the HDMI port
| supports the Dell monitor, I connected my soundcard to the
| dedicated TB2 port and I still had two USB3 ports for my mouse
| and the external ssd. Now comes the revolutionized & courageous
| setup with two TB3 ports: First of all I had to buy a USB3 dock.
| That's ok but still 50 euros down the toilet. Then an Apple
| issued TB2-TB3 adapter which was another 100 euros. But then I
| figured I can't connect these devices at once so I've had to buy
| an Apple Issued Digital AV Adapter for another 100 euros. We are
| already at 250 euros and the fun part just starts: If I connect
| my Dell monitor and my soundcard (even turned off) at the same
| time the monitor starts to flicker and the soundcard starts
| spitting out dirty electrostatic noise. Yes, a good old ground
| loop! So now I can't listen to music with my soundcard and have
| my monitor plugged in at the same time. I can't use my wireless
| mouse because the wireless dongle is too far from my USB3 dock. I
| can't use my external ssd reliably because every time I put my
| Macbook to sleep it disconnects in a way that i have to
| phisically reconnect it. Every fkn time. So I thought, gee I just
| have to shell out another 300 euros for a Caldigit TS3+ and all
| my problems will be solved, right? USB-C ecosystem: hold my beer
| The statical noise comes through the TS3+ as well plus it heats
| up my Macbook to a completely pathetic degree, so it throttles.
| Because it has to be thin too. TDP is just stat for nerds. SSD is
| still unreliable and the dock is still too far from my mouse to
| have a stable connection. In the end I spent 550 euros on
| completely useless environmental waste bullsh*t that shouldn't
| exist at all. I get what Apple and the whole industry had in mind
| with usb-c but it is flawed by design. It has to be reengineered
| from the ground up.
| [deleted]
| [deleted]
| _nickwhite wrote:
| I'm over IT for about 40 remote workers. One of the comments in
| this article rings so true about the pain of using USB-C to
| DisplayPort:
|
| "I hate my USB-C monitor ports that work is making me use.
| Sometimes when I plug the USB-Dock in, it works fine. Other times
| I get one of the two 1920x1080 monitors attached to turn on.
| Others, no monitors turn on, and I have to unplug it and plug it
| back in. Then it usually works."
|
| It's SUPER finicky and picky, pretty much across the board. I
| find this true for the PC/Windows- macbook pros seems to work
| MUCH better, even with triple-2k monitors, but still not
| perfectly every time.
| danieldk wrote:
| It's interesting how experiences differ. For me, USB-C <-> DP
| has been super reliable for years - Mac, Linux, and Windows.
| Admittedly, that was with a USB-C <-> DP (Alt mode) cable
| without any other functions.
| nikanj wrote:
| I have a macbook and I'm sad to report it's just as finicky
| abhorrence wrote:
| I think it depends a bit on the generation. I have a 15" MBP
| that inconsistently connects to the usb devices connected to
| the monitor. And I have a 16" 2019 one that has never failed
| to connect properly to the exact same setup. Of course there
| could be a different configuration of monitor and usb devices
| that my 16" would fail to work consistently with.
| Rebelgecko wrote:
| The problem I have with my MBP is that it randomly forgets
| which monitor is which, so the left one becomes the right and
| vice versa
| sp332 wrote:
| Does it work better to keep the monitors powered off, plug in
| the hub, then turn on the monitors?
| vladvasiliu wrote:
| This looks to me like the controllers are sometimes badly
| implemented.
|
| I have a HP ProBook with a USB-C/DP output that I plug into an
| LG monitor with a USB hub. The hub works in USB2 mode + 4K@60Hz
| (as advertised by LG). This has worked consistently for me for
| more than two years, using Arch Linux + X11. Sleep, plug,
| unplug whenever I like, it just works. It seems to also work
| fairly consistently when colleagues plug in their Windows
| laptops (also HP).
|
| I also have a HP EliteDesk with a Thunderbolt + USB-C / DP
| port. This is a shitshow. The same LG monitor works every time
| for BIOS and such when connected through USB-C.
|
| Installing Windows works. The Windows logon screen sometimes
| shows up, but not reliably. The Windows desktop has only ever
| worked once. This same setup _usually_ works with Linux /X11.
| But after a display sleep, it sometimes figures it can only do
| 4K@30Hz. Sometimes it chooses some other random resolution. If
| I unplug it a number of times, it may end up working again.
| Maybe. Or maybe not. Sometimes I have to reboot. Which may or
| may not solve the issue.
|
| Plugging in a thunderbolt display (Apple) works more often. But
| if the screen goes to sleep, there's a good chance it will wake
| up with some ridiculous resolution, like 1280x720. It's
| impossible to change it. If the computer goes to sleep or if
| the monitor is unplugged, it's game over. The screen will never
| come back again unless I do a cold boot (turn off & on, reboot
| won't do).
|
| I keep hearing people complaining about macbooks being
| unreliable with external screens. I wonder if it isn't the same
| kind of issue with a broken controller implementation
| somewhere. I've never had the slightest issue with external
| screens on my 2013 MBP (15" with nvidia dGPU). Thunderbolt,
| 4k@60Hz, you name it, it works. Plug / unplug when it's
| running, when it's sleeping, whatever, it just works as
| expected.
| rozularen wrote:
| With the following constraints how would one manage to have the
| less amount of cable dangling around?
|
| 1 PC (personal use, desktop or laptop)
|
| 1 work laptop
|
| 2 Monitors
|
| Keyboard & Mouse
|
| Be able to connect the work laptop with only 1 cable and switch
| keyboard mouse and monitors to it
|
| Maybe should I look for a KVM switch instead?
| cephalization wrote:
| I would look into usb switcher for peripherals and dock for the
| laptop. Manually change displays using on screen controls.
|
| Having video switching gets real expensive and only a few KVMs
| support high refresh / high resolution displays.
| throwaway789394 wrote:
| I remote into my work laptop from my desktop. Works like a
| charm.
| bradstewart wrote:
| Is there an additional constraint to "not unplug things from
| your personal machine"?
|
| If not, and you can get two machines with Thunderbolt, a TB
| dock solves this. I have my monitors, keyboard, mouse,
| ethernet, etc all plugged into a TB docking station. Then a
| single TB cable I swap between my work machine (Macbook Pro)
| and personal machine (Razer Blade).
| sp332 wrote:
| You could use a wireless mouseand keyboard that support being
| connected to multiple computers. I have a Logitech MX Anywhere
| mouse that works really well, and I know there are keyboards
| that do that too.
| GekkePrutser wrote:
| Aha. Now I understand why my Lenovo USB-C dock doesn't do 4K@60
| on my Mac. It's not thunderbolt capable.
|
| By the way, it does have an extra limitation on Mac. It only
| supports one external display. Apparently this is due to the Mac
| lacking support for Multi Stream Technology over DisplayPort
| (because it has Thunderbolt instead).
|
| Unfortunately Thunderbolt hubs are very expensive as the article
| also mentions. So I added a DisplayLink adapter for my third
| display (one 4K@60 directly connected to a USB-C port, the hub on
| the other with one HDMI out and the display link and lots of
| other USB stuff :) )
|
| By the way DisplayLink support is pretty good now on Mac. Even
| for the new chipsets. I wouldn't call it nonexistent as the
| article does. It does have some limitations though, like Night
| Light not switching on.
| rsync wrote:
| What, specifically, does this imply for the number of external
| displays one can attach to a raspberry pi 4 ?
|
| Naively, you might think that with 2x USB-C ports, you could
| attach two of these:
|
| Cable Matters 201055 - 2x DisplayPort, power, ethernet, 2x USB2
|
| ... and also attach something to each of the onboard HDMI port
| and have a total of _six_ monitors.
|
| However, I don't think that's the case because of something-
| something-video lanes/memory/bios something-something ...
|
| Does anyone have a finer grained understanding ?
|
| EDIT: I am reminded that this post[1] discusses an alternate
| route using the CM4 and the pcie port on the breakout board ...
| and failing to succeed in using a pci graphics card. USB3
| monitors seem a more promising avenue but, again, I think there
| is some memory/BAR limitation ...
|
| [1] https://www.jeffgeerling.com/blog/2020/external-gpus-and-
| ras...
| [deleted]
| nfriedly wrote:
| For a Raspberry Pi 4B, the USB-C port does not support
| displays, only power and USB 2.0 data. The other pins are not
| connected to anything.
|
| Without extra hardware, you can only connect displays to the
| two microHDMI ports.
| rsync wrote:
| There are, however, the two USB3 ports which you'd think
| could be used to drive displays ... I believe they cannot be,
| however.
| ddalex wrote:
| Only DisplayLink... but I've tried to compile the
| DisplayLink drivers for Pi4 for my adapter and failed
| miserably.
| jbverschoor wrote:
| In other words, it's a big mess.
| mnd999 wrote:
| Everything involving a USB-C cable seems to have been a big
| mess since day 1.
|
| The argument for having the same connector for everything only
| works when you can plug in a cable and it just works.
|
| If I need special cables and capabilities for this, that and
| the other let's just go back to having different cables so it's
| at least obvious when we've got it wrong.
| Ashanmaril wrote:
| Yeah, I remember being excited at the beginning thinking we
| finally had one cable to rule them all.
|
| Now we're a few years in and seeing a USB-C port just fills
| me with dread cause I know I'm gonna have to do research. And
| I yearn for the days where if I'm hooking up a monitor or
| something, I see an HDMI port and know exactly what that port
| is for and what kind of cable plugs into it. Seeing a USB-C
| port in something could mean any number of things.
| notJim wrote:
| I disagree strongly, although I'm sympathetic.
|
| Yes it took far more research than ideal, but I have a TB3
| dock currently charging my computer, connecting a mess of USB
| peripherals and connecting to my 4k monitor at 60 hz using
| only one single cable and port, and it's wonderful. Totally
| worth it.
| minikites wrote:
| How reliable is it? Everyone I know where I work has
| problems with their Thunderbolt breakout boxes.
| btgeekboy wrote:
| I have an OWC Thunderbolt 3 Pro dock; I use it with my
| work-issued 16" MBP and 2020 MBA. I have a 1440p and a 4K
| screen attached; both running at 60Hz.
|
| It was rough at first when I picked it up last year.
| However the driver updates in Big Sur seem to have fixed
| my complaints, particularly with the MBA that almost
| never worked.
|
| It works pretty well now. I unplug my work laptop and
| swap it for my personal one when I want to work on
| personal projects, and things just work.
|
| My biggest complaints about this dock now are that the
| fan is loud, and it only charges at 60w. I worked around
| the noise by attaching it to the underside of my desk, so
| it's pretty hard to hear now.
| notJim wrote:
| Been using a CalDigit dock with two 2017 Macbook Pros
| (one work, one personal), basically zero problems. There
| was a slight hitch with the ethernet port when I first
| started, but it wasn't hard to fix.
| filoleg wrote:
| Not the person you are replying to, but I've been using a
| Belkin Thunderbolt 3 Dock Pro for the past year, and can
| only claim positive experiences.
|
| No reliability issues whatsoever, despite me switching
| the dock between my work laptop and a personal laptop
| almost daily. The dock is connected to a bunch of
| peripherals, as well as 2 external monitors (one 1080p,
| another 4k@60hz). Only one cable going out of my laptop
| (connecting the laptop and the dock, as the cable
| connecting to the dock also charges the laptop at the
| same time).
| reportingsjr wrote:
| I have the same experience with the dell usb c dock I use
| at work. Two 1080p external monitors, ethernet, usb hub,
| and I've never had a single issue with it.
| cwt137 wrote:
| It would be interesting if the author mentioned not just about
| 4k60, but also how do you get something like 10bpp color. I have
| a MBP and can watch YouTube videos in HDR on the laptop screen,
| but not through the hub I have.
| Camillo wrote:
| If you're buying a hub now, you don't want any of these things,
| you want Thunderbolt 4. I'd really like to see an equivalent
| article for it.
| ClumsyPilot wrote:
| I am trying to get usbc connection to work on 4k monitor, and i
| tried 5 different usbc cabkes, only one worked.
|
| Every week it falls back to 30 fps and needs to be replugged,
| caressed, and incantations
| minikites wrote:
| I use HDMI and it works great. It's hard to see USB-C as
| anything but a failure for devices other than
| smartphones/tablets.
| danieldk wrote:
| I have two of these. They always work without any issues:
|
| https://www.coolblue.nl/en/product/723407/startech-usb-c-to-...
| paco3346 wrote:
| I struggled for a long time to find a "full featured" dock that
| could support my setup with a single cable. I wanted 3x
| 2560x1440@60 monitors, wired ethernet, USB 3.x, and power without
| having 5+ cables to move around.
|
| Last year Dell finally released the WD19TB and it's awesome.
| https://www.delltechnologies.com/resources/en-us/asset/data-...
|
| I happen to run an XPS with Arch & KDE Plasma and everything
| worked perfectly out of the box. Highly recommended for anyone
| who has a TB3 laptop and is looking for a good dock.
| baybal2 wrote:
| The problem with TB used to be the power consumption of the PHY
| chip.
|
| A guy in a coworking next to me has a Dell dock which makes his
| fans spin, and the laptop body painfully hot to touch.
|
| How is it for you?
| paco3346 wrote:
| Mine stays warmish but not enough to make the fans
| consistently spin. The heat generated by using the dock is no
| different than what's generated by using an AC adapter with
| individual DP & USB cables.
| twic wrote:
| Can you boot off a USB-C external drive plugged into the hub?
|
| I have an XPS, a Sitecom USB-C hub, and a Samsung T5 drive.
| Booted off its internal drive, the laptop can see the drive
| through the hub. But it can't boot off it. I don't know why; i
| imagine that a USB-C hub is not transparent, and the host needs
| to explicitly reach through it, but the XPS firmware doesn't
| know how.
| paco3346 wrote:
| Yes, I can. Note however, that this is not a USB dock- it's
| Thunderbolt.
|
| In my particular case (literally just tested this) I needed
| to enable Thunderbolt boot support and change the security
| level (I have my thunderbolt settings pretty locked down).
|
| Booting off both a USB drive and a TB drive worked.
| twic wrote:
| Thank you! I am hazy about the relationship between USB-C
| and Thunderbolt, but this information motivates me to go
| and find out!
| gerlin2010 wrote:
| I made an account just to share _my_ experiences with a Dell
| XPS 9300, Dell WD19TB and one Dell U2719x Display, running the
| latest Linux Mint, in Cinnamon flavor. There's a reason, I'm
| spelling out Dell so many times here, because my expectations
| were that such an all-company-x setup would work out of the box
| with the least amount of problems. Sadly it did not. Currently
| the setup is workable, but what I've experienced in the half
| year I'm running it was nightmarish. The thing wouldn't power
| up, screen would black out and not come on again during
| meetings, display must stay on all the time (no power safe),
| sleep is impossible because the system won't come up again or
| go to sleep again after a few seconds of waking it up. Web
| research has lead me to believe, that I'm not the exception,
| but rather the rule and there might be a reason Dell is still
| sending out firmware updates for the XPS and the dock (which in
| general is greatly appreciated). I have to add, the Laptop sits
| closed in a stand behind the screen, which might contribute to
| my problems, but I just couldn't let this 100% recommendation
| stand here without an opposite experience ... I hope this it's
| working out better for everyone else, but this is my "story".
| Dell support is no great help either and a time investment I am
| not happy to make anymore after several tries.
| paco3346 wrote:
| Thank you for pointing this out- as individual stories our
| experiences are anecdotal but combined they paint a different
| picture. I was hesitant at first when I ordered mine and
| expected to have problems as others did.
|
| I should also point out that I use an XPS 9570.
| gerlin2010 wrote:
| I am happy for you, having a positive experience -- and
| partly because of that, slightly optimistic that Dell might
| improve my and my peers' situation.
|
| And of course you are right: A single anecdote is just
| that, but a few more may paint a rather well-rounded
| picture.
|
| Cheers
| eulers_secret wrote:
| Thanks for the recommendation, I've been seriously considering
| one of these for my XPS.
|
| As a side note I am deeply in love with my XPS 9310 (Tigerlake)
| on Kubuntu (kernel 4.11). Battery life is INSANE, instant wake
| and sleep, keeps cool, but still has thermal overhead/power
| (thanks to the fans) to do large kernel compiles or other
| serious hard work. Also the screen (I got the non-4K model) is
| very pretty, sometimes I just look at it and go 'wow, that
| looks good'. Excuse me if I gush too much.
| paco3346 wrote:
| The recent XPS lineup has been really great especially with
| the mainline kernel.
|
| I have a 15" so the thermal issues were a bit of a challenge
| at first. I ended up undervolting the CPU and now I get
| decent battery life (~4 hours) and no thermal issues.
|
| As for the dock- it has absolutely been worth every penny.
| minikites wrote:
| Remember when we had different connectors for different purposes
| and it was easy to tell what a given connector or cable did? I
| do, and I think USB-C is a massive backwards step in usability.
| ants_a wrote:
| It didn't have to be. If only there was some foresight into
| standardizing a marking system to indicate capabilities of
| cables and ports. And possibly reduce the number of options
| available based on educated guesses on use cases and cost
| drivers. Right now there's no way to determine what voltages a
| PD port can supply, what voltages a device requires to be able
| to charge, what amperages each one is capable of handling, if
| the cable is capable of data, what data rates are supported, if
| a port can output video, which standards it can output in, and
| on and on and on. Instead of coming with the labeling genius
| that is USB 3.2 Gen 2x2 (pop quiz, is that
| better/worse/compatible with USB 4 3x1?), a marking scheme for
| capabilities would have been nice.
| philluminati wrote:
| I bought a usb-c dock earlier this week. "Selore 8 in 1" (PS44)
| with a separate usb-c power charger and an extension cable (2
| meter male to female usb-c cable) it seems to work great. Out of
| the box on Debian Stable. I installed autorandr and saved my
| laptop's solo profile and the preferred arrangement when I use
| the dock with my monitor and it's fantastic.
|
| I slap a single cable into my laptop when I plonk it on my desk
| and I get my monitor, keyboard, mouse autoconnect and my laptop
| starts charging too. This is the future I wanted for my home
| office arrangement. One cable does everything. I wish it were my
| office too
|
| The device does have some interesting small print like the
| article says, so it was an interesting read. 1 monitor = 4k @
| 60hz, 2 monitors = 4k @ 30hz (It has 2xHDMI outputs) but you can
| have two monitors at 4k and 60hz IF they mirror each other too.
| Regardless, I'm happy with 1080p (always at 60hz) so it doesn't
| seem to affect me.
|
| I would recommend them even if the article does suggest they
| aren't quite as mature as they should be yet.
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