WD19TB - 7490 - Dual 4k at 60hz - Impossible?

Sorry, I have a hard time believing that it's Dell's stance on every one of their laptop models that they expect a user to power down their laptop before putting it in a laptop bag. I personally have never done that in 15+ years of using laptops from several vendors.

Users simply won't power down their entire computers when their plane lands and they have to put it in their laptop bag, or when they're running late for an offsite meeting and it's pouring down rain. They're going to close the lid, pack it away, and go. Telling them to turn it completely off before putting it in a bag is not a realistic expectation of laptop usage. 

Anyway, I'll keep an eye on that user's dual monitor setup now that he has dual DP to USB-C cables. Another WD19TB arrived so I'm going to roll that out to another user, who also has the same setup (dual LG 4k's, out of the box 7490). If that 2nd laptop exhibits the same goofy behavior, then that'll be proof enough that it's a bigger issue on either the dock or the 7490 model line.

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@decker12 wrote:

Sorry, I have a hard time believing that it's Dell's stance on every one of their laptop models that they expect a user to power down their laptop before putting it in a laptop bag. I personally have never done that in 15+ years of using laptops from several vendors.

Users simply won't power down their entire computers when their plane lands and they have to put it in their laptop bag, or when they're running late for an offsite meeting and it's pouring down rain. They're going to close the lid, pack it away, and go. Telling them to turn it completely off before putting it in a bag is not a realistic expectation of laptop usage. 

Anyway, I'll keep an eye on that user's dual monitor setup now that he has dual DP to USB-C cables. Another WD19TB arrived so I'm going to roll that out to another user, who also has the same setup (dual LG 4k's, out of the box 7490). If that 2nd laptop exhibits the same goofy behavior, then that'll be proof enough that it's a bigger issue on either the dock or the 7490 model line.

 

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@decker12 this is not a Dell recommendation, it's a Microsoft recommendation for their Modern Standby feature. It applies to all notebooks not just Dell's. Whilst you may not be a fan of it, I know I certainly am not, but it's design feature that isn't going to go away. If we sell a system with Windows we need to support that feature.

As technology changes it's something that your users will need to be educated on and as I mentioned before, not something that is covered by warranty. 

I look forward to hearing you get on with the other system.

Alan

@decker12 Did you ever get a monitor working through HDMI-HDMI from the WD19TB?

I'm unable to. I'm onto my 4th HDMI cable and still no output..

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@jimaah wrote:

@decker12 Did you ever get a monitor working through HDMI-HDMI from the WD19TB?

I'm unable to. I'm onto my 4th HDMI cable and still no output..

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Are you just using 1 monitor?

If you're using 2 monitors, I was unable to get output if I mixed DP and HDMI. The HDMI screen would never turn on.

I am currently having success with 2 monitors at 4k and 60hz, by using a two DP to USB-C cables. For some reason I can't figure out, that combination works better for me than one DP to USB-C and one HDMI to USB-C.

I also plugged in another user with a new 7490, the same model of 4k LG monitors, and a new WD19TB using two new DP to USB-C cables.

Happy to report that it worked perfectly on the first try. Both monitors lit up at 4k and 60hz without any screwing around with the display properties.

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@decker12 wrote:

I also plugged in another user with a new 7490, the same model of 4k LG monitors, and a new WD19TB using two new DP to USB-C cables.

Happy to report that it worked perfectly on the first try. Both monitors lit up at 4k and 60hz without any screwing around with the display properties.

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@decker12 how is that second system after powering it on after the weekend, did it work correctly?

What do you want to do about the original 7490 that doesn't want to retain it's settings? It's either an OS issue or a motherboard issue. My thoughts are it's more than likely to be an operating system issue at this point. 

Would you willing to try an OS refresh or a clean install and see if it works after that?

Alan

So far so good with that 2nd WD19TB. I've actually ordered two more docks that I'll roll out to two more users who also have fresh 7490's.

As for the original 7490 in my post, unfortunately that user has moved to another physical location so I don't have eyes on it like I used to. He's a user with some decent computer knowledge so he'll keep me in the loop with any strange things he's experiencing.

I do want to add that the monitor power on/power off/sleep on/sleep off problem I wrote about above - I remembered that I saw this same activity on another 7490 which is about a year old. Was driving the user nuts because the LG monitors make a little "beep" sound when it comes in and out of sleep, so when she wasn't in her office it would drive her office mates crazy with the constant beeping. 

I have a suspicion that if I poll the other 7490 users they may be experiencing the same thing, but either write it off or don't have their computer sleeping often enough to notice it.

So that data would negate it being the motherboard or Windows 10 installation, because it's the same activity on at least two 7490's, and one of the 7490s is at least a year old. I do not recall the docking solution for that older 7490 however.

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@decker12 wrote:

So far so good with that 2nd WD19TB. I've actually ordered two more docks that I'll roll out to two more users who also have fresh 7490's.

As for the original 7490 in my post, unfortunately that user has moved to another physical location so I don't have eyes on it like I used to. He's a user with some decent computer knowledge so he'll keep me in the loop with any strange things he's experiencing.

I do want to add that the monitor power on/power off/sleep on/sleep off problem I wrote about above - I remembered that I saw this same activity on another 7490 which is about a year old. Was driving the user nuts because the LG monitors make a little "beep" sound when it comes in and out of sleep, so when she wasn't in her office it would drive her office mates crazy with the constant beeping. 

I have a suspicion that if I poll the other 7490 users they may be experiencing the same thing, but either write it off or don't have their computer sleeping often enough to notice it.

So that data would negate it being the motherboard or Windows 10 installation, because it's the same activity on at least two 7490's, and one of the 7490s is at least a year old. I do not recall the docking solution for that older 7490 however.

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@decker12 that's good to hear the other systems are working fine and you have another few ordered. 

Regarding sleep mode / standby / hibernate, this modern standby option has caused numerous problems and I have noticed a significant increase in issues relating to them that are very difficult to troubleshoot or resolve. The logical troubleshooting gets carried out, settings changed etc and customers either stop advising of the issues or end up persevering with it. The majority of the customers that I have assisted with issues do relate to notebooks and docking stations. It doesn't appear to be an issue with desktop systems.

If you need further assistance, you know where to find me.

Alan

For what it's worth, it's possible to disable Connected Standby with a registry change as described here.  It would be easy to set that via Group Policy if you wanted to roll it out into production.

@dell1338 looking at the specification document for the WD19TB to get 2 x 4K monitors @ 60hz you need  - "Requires one (1) 4K display connected to the TBT3 USB-C interface"

I took that info from page 4 of this - https://www.dellemc.com/resources/en-us/asset/data-sheets/products/electronics-accessories/dell_thunderbolt_dock_wd19tb_spec_sheet.pdf 

Have you tried connecting one of the monitors directly to the dock via USB-C rather than display port?

Alan

Good day,

I have a WD19TB dock, new XPS lap top and dual Dell UltraSharp 27 4K Monitor - U2718Q. How can I get them to work at 60hz?

Cheers,

Sean

Hi Sean,

We have several workstations with U2718Qs but using 7400's instead of XPS. It's a pretty easy and clean setup. We use:

• Two CHOETECH USB-C to DisplayPort cables (search amazon)
• WD19TB Dock
• Mount-It! Triple Arm Monitor Mount (search amazon, and yes I know it says Triple, but we ignore the center mount so the 27" monitors can have more range)

With the Dell monitors it's very much so plug and play. DP out from monitors to the two USB-Cs on the back of the dock. Yes, you lose the TB3 capabilities of your dock, because you're plugging plain old USB-C into them. Yes, you're ignoring the docks built in DP and HDMI ports. Yes, you've bought a dock that you're not using half the ports on it.

But this is the only combination of cables and connectors (and I tried them all) that gives me dual 4k @ 60hz, whether I use Dell or LG 4k monitors. I've had limited luck using one DP to USB-C and one plain DP into the back of the dock. In that scenario, most of the time I had 60hz, but plenty of times it decided to only go 30hz unless I unplugged and replugged, which is a PITA. Maybe a WD19TB firmware update has resolved this since August, I dunno. I just use those two USB-C to DP cables and it's a consistent 4k at 60hz, every time, on any device, Macs or PCs.

Hi Alan,

Can you suggest how this setup will work at 60hz?

Cheers,

Sean

New Dell XPS 9300 Laptop

Dell WD19TB docking station

Dual U2718Q Dell monitors