This post is more than 5 years old
3 Posts
0
2966
March 27th, 2019 13:00
17 R1, external 4K monitor doesn't work
So i have the Samsung UJ59 and after I plug it with the hdmi cable it doesn't work. I installed the drivers that came with the monitor and it didn't help. I also reinstalled the graphic drivers and it didn't help either. The monitor only displays a message sayging: "check cable signal". It should be worth pointing out that laptopt detects the monitor but doesn't display a thing. What options am I left with? I really need a big display right now :/
No Events found!
jphughan
11 Legend
•
14K Posts
•
79.9K Points
0
March 28th, 2019 07:00
Yes, and it will work. You can use a Mini-DisplayPort to DisplayPort adapter if you already have a DisplayPort cable, but if not I would just get a Mini-DisplayPort to DisplayPort cable that already has the connector you need on each end, like this one. That way you don't have to worry about an adapter. But anyway, I used this exact setup to connect a 4K display to my XPS 15 9530, which has the same Intel 4600 GPU as your Alienware 17 R1 and a GeForce GPU from the same generation, and it worked perfectly. :)
jphughan
11 Legend
•
14K Posts
•
79.9K Points
0
March 27th, 2019 14:00
Normally I would suggest making sure your display is set to the correct input and then trying another HDMI cable to start, especially if you're trying to run 4K 60 Hz, but in your case you shouldn't even be using HDMI since 4K 60 Hz requires HDMI 2.0, and the Alienware 17 R1 is way too old to have that. So even if you got that display to work, at best you'd be limited to running either 4K only at 30 Hz or some lower resolution at 60 Hz. The exact options would depend on which HDMI revision that system supports, which unfortunately isn't specified in the documentation I found on support.dell.com. And it also looks like only the HDMI 2 input on the display supports 4K 60 Hz, whereas the HDMI 1 input is limited to 4K 30 Hz (or presumably a lower resolution like 1440p at 60 Hz).
If you want 4K 60 Hz out of that system, you need to use its Mini-DisplayPort output. Since it seems the Samsung UJ59 has a full-size DisplayPort input, all you would need is a Mini-DisplayPort to DisplayPort cable. If you ever needed to run 4K 60 Hz with some other display that only had an HDMI 2.0 input rather than DisplayPort, you'd need a Mini-DisplayPort to HDMI 2.0 active adapter, like this one. Typical passive Mini-DisplayPort to HDMI adapters/cables will not handle 4K 60 Hz. But I would just get the Mini-DisplayPort to DisplayPort cable for this use case because active adapters add cost and complexity, and complexity creates more potential for problems, so I wouldn't use one unless you had to, which you don't in this case.
h0lend9r
3 Posts
0
March 28th, 2019 02:00
So if I understand you correctly, I'll have to get Mini-DisplayPort to DisplayPort adapter which would be hooked up to my lap and a DisplayPort cable that would be connected to monitor? If this will work I owe you big time :)
h0lend9r
3 Posts
0
March 28th, 2019 08:00
Thank you very much, you have just made my day sir!! I got myself a Mini-DisplayPort to DisplayPort cable(no adapters) and it's working perfectly fine now!
jphughan
11 Legend
•
14K Posts
•
79.9K Points
0
March 28th, 2019 13:00
Excellent! Glad I was able to help. :)