U2717D, HDMI, Radeon HD4350, maximum resolution?

Hello Chris,

In a system of components like this, and as everything worked with my U2412M (assuming the HDMI cable is working OK), it's equally valid to state that the problem is the U2717D. The issue is not one of deciding which component is deficient, it is of working out where the incompatibility exists and how to remove it.

It is (for example) possible that the way the monitor specifies the resolutions it supports to the computer (in the monitor driver or in other ways) is not a full description (just a single specification of 2560 x 1440 60Hz ) and so the computer falls back to a standard default.

Is there a list of video cards or chipsets tested and shown to be compatible with the U2717D?

Kind regards

Mark

The monitor HDMI 1.4a hardware port supports up to 2560x1440 60Hz. So the culprit is either the HDMI cable, the EAH4350, or the EAH4350 driver.

The U2412M maximum on everyone of its ports is 1920x1200 60Hz. So that is not a good comparison to know if the old cable was ever at fault going to a better monitor with higher ended HDMI port. Start with the cable and go from there. No, there is not a list of video cards and chipset tested. By the way, the U2412M does not have an HDMI in port? So how did you use an HDMI to HDMI cable on it?

Hello Chris,

Yes, indeed I used the DVI connection on the U2412M. I think the point is being missed. It isn't possible for Dell to state that the monitor is working perfectly and that the fault lies in another component. This is a system of components, it's a question of compatibility between components.

There are no video cards or chipsets that have been tested and work with the U2717D. There is also no way to determine what video card is compatible with the monitor. If I replace my current video card I have no way to choose a replacement that I know will work.

It seems the only options are to return the monitor and buy an alternative or keep buying video cards in the hope that one will work. It isn't much of choice.

There is no support from Dell other than, frankly, stating the obvious. It's not much in the way of customer support.

Kind regards

Mark

In all past cases, where a customer reported that a Dell monitor that is rated to do
HDMI at 2560x1440 60Hz, and the computer could not achieve that resolution, the fault was never with the monitor.

"Windows presents 2048x1080 as the max. available resolution."

The 2009 Radeon HD4350 HDMI version is 1.2. It cannot go any higher in resolution.

"HDMI means High Definition Multimedia Interface, it carries both HD video and 5.1 surround audio for a clean, high definition connection. And it can transfer both audio and video in only one HDMI cable without messy cables problem. This option means a greater choice and simplification of installation for consumers when connecting to PC monitors or home theaters for maximum enjoyment of full HD 1080p content."

Hello Chris,

The point is that there is no fault - it's a case of incompatibility between components. Of course if a video card cannot provide the native resolution of a monitor then the options are to use a lower spec monitor or a higher spec video card. Both are valid solutions, choice of solution depends on other factors.

The max resolution of the EAH4350 card is 2560 x 1600 but this is defined for DVI only and is shown on the specifications page. There is no definition of the max resolution of the HDMI port.

www.asus.com/.../

I have never been able to find which HDMI version the card implements. Where is 1.2 specified?

www.xfxforce.com/.../xfx-amd-5450-512mb-graphics-card-hd-545x-yqh2

I've found this card that specifies HDMI 1.3 is implemented and all digital outputs support 2560 x1440.

All other things being equal, will the version of HDMI specified and the max. resolution specified on this card drive the monitor at 2560 x 1440? Put another way - will an HDMI 1.3 output at 2560 x 1440 be received and understood by the U2717D even though it implements HDMI 1.4a?

Kind regards

Mark

Not sure. Why not shop for a video card with HDMI 1.4a in the search string. Then check the specifications.

EDID from the U2717D

00 FF FF FF FF FF FF 00 10 AC EB 40 53 38 30 32

0F 1A 01 03 80 3C 22 78 2A EE 95 A3 54 4C 99 26

0F 50 54 A5 4B 00 71 4F A9 40 81 80 D1 C0 01 01

01 01 01 01 01 01 56 5E 00 A0 A0 A0 29 50 30 20

35 00 55 50 21 00 00 1A 00 00 00 FF 00 4A 30 58

59 4E 36 34 45 32 30 38 53 0A 00 00 00 FC 00 44

45 4C 4C 20 55 32 37 31 37 44 0A 20 00 00 00 FD

00 32 4B 1E 58 19 00 0A 20 20 20 20 20 20 01 E5

02 03 24 F1 4F 90 05 04 03 02 07 16 01 06 11 12

15 13 14 1F 23 09 1F 07 83 01 00 00 67 03 0C 00

10 00 00 32 02 3A 80 18 71 38 2D 40 58 2C 45 00

55 50 21 00 00 1E 7E 39 00 A0 80 38 1F 40 30 20

3A 00 55 50 21 00 00 1A 01 1D 00 72 51 D0 1E 20

6E 28 55 00 55 50 21 00 00 1E BF 16 00 A0 80 38

13 40 30 20 3A 00 55 50 21 00 00 1A 00 00 00 00

00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 B2

-------

Block 0

-------

Header Information

------------------

Valid Checksum: TRUE

EDID Header: OK

EISA ID: DEL

Product Code: 40EB

Serial Number: 842020947

Manufacture Date: 15/2016

EDID Version: 1.3

Number of Extensions: 1

Checksum: 0xE5

Basic Display Parameters

------------------------

Y Digital Input

N Compatible with VESA DFP

Maximum Horizontal Image Size: 60

Maximum Vertical Image Size: 34

Display Gamma: 2.20

N DPMS Standby

N DPMS Suspend

Y DPMS Active-Off

Display Type: RGB 4:4:4 + YCrCb 4:4:4

N Standard sRGB Color Space

Y Preferred Timing Mode

N GTF Supported

Chromaticity Coordinates

------------------------

Red X: 0.640

Red Y: 0.330

Green X: 0.300

Green Y: 0.600

Blue X: 0.150

Blue Y: 0.060

White X: 0.313

White Y: 0.329

Timing Bitmap

-------------

Y 720×400 @ 70 Hz

N 720×400 @ 88 Hz

Y 640×480 @ 60 Hz

N 640×480 @ 67 Hz

N 640×480 @ 72 Hz

Y 640×480 @ 75 Hz

N 800×600 @ 56 Hz

Y 800×600 @ 60 Hz

N 800×600 @ 72 Hz

Y 800×600 @ 75 Hz

N 832×624 @ 75 Hz

N 1024×768i @ 87 Hz

Y 1024×768 @ 60 Hz

N 1024×768 @ 72 Hz

Y 1024×768 @ 75 Hz

Y 1280×1024 @ 75 Hz

N 1152x870 @ 75 Hz

---------------------------

Standard Timing Information

---------------------------

Standard Display Modes

----------------------

X Resolution: 1152

X:Y Pixel Ratio: 4:3

Vertical Frequency: 75

X Resolution: 1600

X:Y Pixel Ratio: 4:3

Vertical Frequency: 60

X Resolution: 1280

X:Y Pixel Ratio: 5:4

Vertical Frequency: 60

X Resolution: 1920

X:Y Pixel Ratio: 16:9

Vertical Frequency: 60

Detailed Timing Descriptor

--------------------------

Pixel Clock: 241.5MHz

Horizontal Active: 2560

Horizontal Blanking: 160

Vertical Active: 1440

Vertical Blanking: 41

Horizontal Sync Offset: 48

Horizontal Sync Pulse: 32

Vertical Sync Offset: 3

Vertical Sync Pulse: 5

Horizontal Display Size: 597

Vertical Display Size: 336

Horizontal Border: 0

Vertical Border: 0

Interlaced: false

Stereo Mode: 0

Sync Type: 3

2-Way Line-Interleaved Stereo: false

-------

Block 1

-------

Extension Header Information

----------------------------

Valid Checksum: TRUE

Extension Tag: 2

Revision Number: 3

DTD Start: 0x24

Number of Native DTDs: 1

Y Supports Underscan

Y Supports Basic Audio

Y Supports YcBcR 4:4:4

Y Supports YcBcR 4:2:2

Checksum: 0xB2

--------------

CEA Data Block

--------------

Video Data Block

----------------

Native: TRUE

VIC: 16

Format: 1920x1080p

Field Rate: 59.94Hz/60Hz

Picture AR: 16:9

Pixel AR: 1:1

Native: FALSE

VIC: 5

Format: 1920x1080i

Field Rate: 59.94Hz/60Hz

Picture AR: 16:9

Pixel AR: 1:1

Native: FALSE

VIC: 4

Format: 1280x720p

Field Rate: 59.94Hz/60Hz

Picture AR: 16:9

Pixel AR: 1:1

Native: FALSE

VIC: 3

Format: 720x480p

Field Rate: 59.94Hz/60Hz

Picture AR: 16:9

Pixel AR: 32:27

Native: FALSE

VIC: 2

Format: 720x480p

Field Rate: 59.94Hz/60Hz

Picture AR: 4:3

Pixel AR: 8:9

Native: FALSE

VIC: 7

Format: 720(1440)x480i

Field Rate: 59.94Hz/60Hz

Picture AR: 16:9

Pixel AR: 32:27

Native: FALSE

VIC: 22

Format: 720(1440)x576i

Field Rate: 50Hz

Picture AR: 16:9

Pixel AR: 64:45

Native: FALSE

VIC: 1

Format: 640x480p

Field Rate: 59.94Hz/60Hz

Picture AR: 4:3

Pixel AR: 1:1

Native: FALSE

VIC: 6

Format: 720(1440)x480i

Field Rate: 59.94Hz/60Hz

Picture AR: 4:3

Pixel AR: 8:9

Native: FALSE

VIC: 17

Format: 720x576p

Field Rate: 50Hz

Picture AR: 4:3

Pixel AR: 16:15

Native: FALSE

VIC: 18

Format: 720x576p

Field Rate: 50Hz

Picture AR: 16:9

Pixel AR: 64:45

Native: FALSE

VIC: 21

Format: 720(1440)x576i

Field Rate: 50Hz

Picture AR: 4:3

Pixel AR: 16:15

Native: FALSE

VIC: 19

Format: 1280x720p

Field Rate: 50Hz

Picture AR: 16:9

Pixel AR: 1:1

Native: FALSE

VIC: 20

Format: 1920x1080i

Field Rate: 50Hz

Picture AR: 16:9

Pixel AR: 1:1

Native: FALSE

VIC: 31

Format: 1920x1080p

Field Rate: 50Hz

Picture AR: 16:9

Pixel AR: 1:1

Audio Data Block

----------------

Format Code: LPCM

Max Channels: 2

Sample Rates:

Y 32 kHz

Y 44.1 kHz

Y 48 kHz

Y 88.2 kHz

Y 96 kHz

N 176.4 kHz

N 192 kHz

Bit Depth:

Y 16 bit

Y 20 bit

Y 24 bit

Speaker Allocation Data Block

-----------------------------

Y Front Left/Front Right (FL/FR)

N Low Frequency Effort (LFE)

N Front Center (FC)

N Rear Left/Rear Right (RL/RR)

N Rear Center (RC)

N Front Left Center/Front Right Center (FLC/FRC)

N Rear Left Center/Rear Right Center (RLC/RRC)

N Front Left Wide/Front Right Wide (FLW/FRW)

N Front Left High/Frong Right High (FLH/FRH)

N Top Center (TC)

N Front Center High (FCH)

Vendor Specific Data Block HDMI 1.4

-----------------------------------

IEEE OUI: 000C03

Source Physical Address: 1000

N Supports ACP, ISRC1, ISRC2

N Supports 48 bits/pixel (16 bits/color)

N Supports 36 bits/pixel (12 bits/color)

N Supports 30 bits/pixel (10 bits/color)

N Supports YCbCr 4:4:4 Deep Color

N Supports Dual DVI

Max TMDS Clock Rate: 250 MHz

N Video/Audio Latency Fields Present

Detailed Timing Descriptor 1

----------------------------

Pixel Clock: 148.5MHz

Horizontal Active: 1920

Horizontal Blanking: 280

Vertical Active: 1080

Vertical Blanking: 45

Horizontal Sync Offset: 88

Horizontal Sync Pulse: 44

Vertical Sync Offset: 4

Vertical Sync Pulse: 5

Horizontal Display Size: 597

Vertical Display Size: 336

Horizontal Border: 0

Vertical Border: 0

Interlaced: false

Stereo Mode: 0

Sync Type: 3

2-Way Line-Interleaved Stereo: false

Detailed Timing Descriptor 2

----------------------------

Pixel Clock: 147.18MHz

Horizontal Active: 2048

Horizontal Blanking: 160

Vertical Active: 1080

Vertical Blanking: 31

Horizontal Sync Offset: 48

Horizontal Sync Pulse: 32

Vertical Sync Offset: 3

Vertical Sync Pulse: 10

Horizontal Display Size: 597

Vertical Display Size: 336

Horizontal Border: 0

Vertical Border: 0

Interlaced: false

Stereo Mode: 0

Sync Type: 3

2-Way Line-Interleaved Stereo: false

Detailed Timing Descriptor 3

----------------------------

Pixel Clock: 74.25MHz

Horizontal Active: 1280

Horizontal Blanking: 370

Vertical Active: 720

Vertical Blanking: 30

Horizontal Sync Offset: 110

Horizontal Sync Pulse: 40

Vertical Sync Offset: 5

Vertical Sync Pulse: 5

Horizontal Display Size: 597

Vertical Display Size: 336

Horizontal Border: 0

Vertical Border: 0

Interlaced: false

Stereo Mode: 0

Sync Type: 3

2-Way Line-Interleaved Stereo: false

Detailed Timing Descriptor 4

----------------------------

Pixel Clock: 58.23MHz

Horizontal Active: 2048

Horizontal Blanking: 160

Vertical Active: 1080

Vertical Blanking: 19

Horizontal Sync Offset: 48

Horizontal Sync Pulse: 32

Vertical Sync Offset: 3

Vertical Sync Pulse: 10

Horizontal Display Size: 597

Vertical Display Size: 336

Horizontal Border: 0

Vertical Border: 0

Interlaced: false

Stereo Mode: 0

Sync Type: 3

2-Way Line-Interleaved Stereo: false

I've done a bit more digging and found that even when the DDC/CI is disabled in the monitor settings, the EDID from the monitor can still be read. This means the option to disable DDC/CI on the monitor does nothing - DDC/CI is always on.

I've read the EDID and indeed the native DTD shows 2560x1440 but there are 2 DTDs in the extended block for 2048x1080. The video card software from AMD/ATI says the panel reports max. resolution of 2048x1080.

This makes me think that the EDID is not being read correctly by the video card - the native DTD is being ignored for some reason. Perhaps it is corrupt or incorrectly formatted in some way, or maybe the video card has a problem? Only the extended block DTDs are being used by the video card. This problem, then, cannot be fixed by turning off the DDC/CI and setting the max resolution manually - a defect in the monitor firmware means the option to disable DDC/CI doesn't work.

So a curious combination of behaviour is making this problem for me. This means that the HD6450 that I've bought may also not read the native DTD and default to the extended block DTDs. I actually expect this to happen. Will see when the new card arrives.

So the U2717D has a firmware defect (bug) that means the DDC/CI can't be disabled. Would be nice for Dell to fix that.

Mark

Hello Chris,

Have you started the process to correct the firmware defect in the U2717D?

To be able to diagnose my problem further I need to be able to switch off the DDC/CI, but I cannot do this becuase of this firmware defect.

Mark

No. All we do is submit the thread contents to the Displays team. They in turn will look for other cases reporting the same issue. Once the "threshold" is reached (# of customers reporting issue), they would in turn contact the manufacturer. This process takes months. I am not convinced that the firmware is defective. Possibly on this one (it was a refurbished exchange), but not the entire line. If the entire line were defective, we would be seeing thousands of similar complaints from purchasers of this model.

Per the warranty, you may initiate another monitor exchange. Test the replacement before sending any monitor back to Dell. If the replacement monitor does not have the issue, keep it and send us the original monitor. If the replacement monitor has the same issue, I doubt that they both could be defective. Send the replacement monitor back to Dell. Look to the cabling, video card drivers, or video card as the culprit.

The monitor was bought as new, I didn't buy a refurbished monitor. This is not happy news for me. I've already asked the retailer for an RMA to get a refund (in the EU it's law that we can withdraw from the sales contract without reason for up to 2 weeks for any item sold via "distance selling"). What with all the problems and the costs for sending the monitor and video cards this will have cost me something like 50 Euros to get nowhere and this doesn't include all the time I've wasted (which is a real problem for me - the money less so). When it's this hard to plug in a monitor and have it work, it's clear the quality of retailed items has been squeezed too low.

BTW - I've also found that the EDID is set to have the vert. and hor. sync polarity as positive at 2560 x 1440 and the manual states vert. sync polarity is negative at that resolution.

I found this tool www.monitortests.com/.../Thread-Custom-Resolution-Utility-CRU which has been very useful in not having to reboot every time I tried something. I adjusted the native DTD to use 2560x1440@55Hz and that works (56Hz not). The only issue is there is a visible "white ghosting" about 1 or two pixels to the right of black text (e.g. the start menu). It is not comfortable to look at.

The cable is a brand new category 2 cable, I've tried the Asus EAH4350 and the XFX HD5450 (HDMI 1.3) I'm running now. There is a Saphire HD6450 (HDMI 1.4a) on the way and I'm thinking about getting a Zotac GT710 to try as Zotac customer support have confirmed that all their 6xx cards and above support HDMI 1.4a. But after finding out this is a refurb. I think it will just go back. My U2412M was a piece of cake to get working and apply the ICM profile from TFTCentral - took about 20 minutes from start to finish. This has been a week of garbage and for me it all starts when there isn't a clear notice that the monitor requires a HDMI 1.4a video card. If I'm given the information I need I've no problem getting the parts to make a working system. When the quality of the retailed items is so low it's impossible to do this, then there is a problem the industry needs to address.

Mark