U2913WM screen resolution issue cant set higher than 1920x1080

I actually figured out how to setup dual U2913WM monitors on my Alienware 17. Took about 3-4 hours of troubleshooting and some lucky Google searches.

First of all for those out there trying to use a widescreen monitor with a laptop. Do not run your monitors through a docking bay. They simply do not support the higher resolutions. At best you will get only 1920 x 1080.

If you want to run at native resolution of  2560 x 1080 then you will need to connect the monitor to your mini DisplayPort. You will also need to set up the monitor in the nVida control panel.

If you want to run dual U2913WM monitors you will need to slave the 2nd monitor to the first. Using the mini display port. see the following links:

thinklightly.com/.../dell-u2913wm-setup-1

and

thinklightly.com/.../dell-u2913wm-setup-2

Again you will have to set up the monitors in the nVida control panel for them to work properly. Also dont forget to set up the input sources using the monitor config, as shown in the set up 2 link above to get the 2nd monitor to work.

You will have to also configure your sound output because for some reason it will default to the monitors and you wont get any audio output till you do.

Lastly Dell.... if you are reading this. It's a heck of a product and I love the monitors. But please this is something that should be made clear to customers on what they need to do to run these monitors in native resolutions. it's pretty ridiculous the setup I had to go through with zero documentation. It's pretty common to run multiple monitors and to try and run them through a docking station.

Plus side:

Also an added benefit to going through this is that my frame rate has increased when now using the mini DisplayPort rather than the Docking Station for running my monitors.

Minus side:

I have black bars along the sides and top of both  U2913WM monitors, it wont go full screen. Apparently it's an issue when running your monitors through the displayport. I tried overriding this in the nVida control panel but nothing works and the Auto adjust on the monitor is not configurable when using in this mode.

If anyone has any solution for scaling the screen to use the full monitors in native resolution while connected through the mini displayport I love to hear it.

I was seeing a maximum 1920x1080 with the DVI cable and a Dell dock, but when I used the other cable that came with the monitor to plug the mini DisplayPort on the monitor side and the DisplayPort on the back of the dock, I got 2560x1080.