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U2419H, MST with an older 17" DVI monitor?
My PC is the Optiplex 3070 tower version and I'm plugged into two monitors so far using the two available outputs - one via HDMI and one via DisplayPort.
I wanted to use my old second monitor as a 3rd one using the MST function, but I wasn't sure if this would work with a DP to DVI adapter.
I plugged it in, and sure enough, it doesn't want to work. Any help? The onboard graphics (UHD 630) states that it can support up to three monitors, yet it isn't working. I have enabled MST on the U2419H.
jphughan
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June 2nd, 2020 09:00
@penguin8967 Just to add to my previous post in the interest of full disclosure, I have not personally tested using an active adapter on a display's MST output. Based on my understanding of the technology, I believe it should work, but I'm not 100% sure about that, and even if I'm right that it should, the tech world is full of things that should work and don't for whatever reason. If that option doesn't work, the other option would be to get a DisplayPort MST hub, which you would plug into your PC's DisplayPort output and would give you 2-3 independent outputs to work with. That's how people who don't have displays that include built-in support for daisy chaining can take advantage of DisplayPort MST. But even if you got that, most MST hubs do not support "Dual Mode DisplayPort" on their outputs, in which case if you needed to connect non-DisplayPort displays, you would still need active adapters (or cables) rather than the more common passive types. I would still start with just connecting the active adapter to the MST output to see if that works before contemplating the MST hub, since it's a bit more cost and complexity. But if you do need to go that route, then chances are you'd still need the active adapter for your DVI display anyway.
jphughan
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June 2nd, 2020 09:00
@penguin8967 DisplayPort MST requires native DisplayPort signaling along the entire chain. A typical passive DisplayPort to DVI cable/adapter relies on the source supporting "Dual Mode DisplayPort", which allows the DisplayPort source to fall back to native HDMI/DVI signaling. But an MST output port on a display wouldn't support that. However, there are active DisplayPort to DVI adapters you can use. They accept a native DisplayPort signal from the source and use a built-in converter chip to switch the signal to DVI. Here is one example. Note that you would only be able to do this to feed the last display in a DisplayPort MST chain, i.e. you would not be able to daisy chain an additional display to the one you were sending a DVI signal to.