e-port plus + M4600 + U2711 DVI-D Max Resolution Problems

I agree that the monitor DVI-D resolution is 2560x1440, but the M4600 only has VGA, HDMI, and DP. What I do not know is when connected to the e-Port Plus, which of those three laptop ports are driving the e-Port DVI ports. It would make sense that the laptop HDMI is talking to the e-Port DVI. But HDMI is a video mode and not a graphics mode. The highest HDMI can go is 1080p which is 1920x1080.

In short try a DP cable and press F8 three times to get to DP out on the laptop.

I have no experience with the e-Port docking station and in typical style, the Dell users guide says nothing about the VGD/DVI/DP port specifications, Just that you may need to repeatedly press F8 to access the required port. There may be some HDMI->DP switcheroo internal to the e-Port unit but HDMI can far exceed 1920x1080p and is not just for video.

What can be taken from the HDMI wiki is that not all devises will talk the same HDMI language so you need to be aware of the capabilities of all your interconnected devices. You need all the devices to support a minimum of HDMI 1.3 and the HDMI cable best be a dual link type B (so you don't have issues with color depth), otherwise you have little hope of seeing 2560x1440.

It gets even more confusing when you start using adapters going from HDMI version W.X to DP version Y.Z and all the variants in between :emotion-18:

For your convenience, extracts from the HDMI wiki are included below for those that are click averse :emotion-5:.

The HDMI specification defines the protocols, signals, electrical interfaces and mechanical requirements of the standard. The maximum pixel clock rate for HDMI 1.0 was 165 MHz, which was sufficient to support 1080p and WUXGA (1920×1200) at 60 Hz. HDMI 1.3 increased that to 340 MHz, which allows for higher resolution (such as WQXGA, 2560×1600) across a single digital link. An HDMI connection can either be single-link (type A/C) or dual-link (type B) and can have a video pixel rate of 25 MHz to 340 MHz (for a single-link connection) or 25 MHz to 680 MHz (for a dual-link connection)

To ensure baseline compatibility between different HDMI sources and displays (as well as backward compatibility with the electrically compatible DVI standard) all HDMI devices must support the sRGB color space at 8 bits per component. Support for the YCbCr color space and higher color depths ("deep color") is optional. HDMI permits sRGB 4:4:4 (8–16 bits per component), xvYCC 4:4:4 (8–16 bits per component), YCbCr 4:4:4 (8–16 bits per component), or YCbCr 4:2:2 (8–12 bits per component). The color spaces that can be used by HDMI are ITU-R BT.601, ITU-R BT.709-5 and IEC 61966-2-4.

There are five HDMI connector types. Type A/B are defined in the HDMI 1.0 specification, type C is defined in the HDMI 1.3 specification, and type D/E are defined in the HDMI 1.4 specification.

Type A
   Nineteen pins, with bandwidth to support all SDTV, EDTV and HDTV modes. The plug (male) connector outside dimensions are 13.9 mm × 4.45 mm and the receptacle (female) connector inside dimensions are 14 mm × 4.55 mm. Type A is electrically compatible with single-link DVI-D.

Type B
   This connector (21.2 mm × 4.45 mm) has 29 pins and can carry double the video bandwidth of type A, for use with very high-resolution future displays such as WQUXGA (3,840×2,400). Type B is electrically compatible with dual-link DVI-D, but has not yet been used in any products.

Type C
   A Mini connector defined in the HDMI 1.3 specification, it is intended for portable devices. It is smaller than the type A plug connector (10.42 mm × 2.42 mm) but has the same 19-pin configuration. The differences are that all positive signals of the differential pairs are swapped with their corresponding shield, the DDC/CEC Ground is assigned to pin 13 instead of pin 17, the CEC is assigned to pin 14 instead of pin 13, and the reserved pin is 17 instead of pin 14. The type C Mini connector can be connected to a type A connector using a type A-to-type C cable.

Type D
   A Micro connector defined in the HDMI 1.4 specification] keeps the standard 19 pins of types A and C but shrinks the connector size to something resembling a micro-USB connector. The type D connector is 2.8 mm × 6.4 mm, whereas the type C connector is 2.42 mm × 10.42 mm. For comparison, a micro-USB connector is 1.8 mm × 6.85 mm and a USB Type A connector is 4.5 mm × 11.5 mm.

Type E
   Automotive Connection System defined in HDMI 1.4 specification.

Seems no one answered your question correctly, not even Dell!...the reason is that the DVI-D ports on the E-port Plus do not output dual link bandwidth - you are limited to 1920x1200. We have all been 'short changed'!

Does this mean that the Display Port connection on the M4600 will not output full resolution (2560 x 1440) - what's the point of the connection?

The Displayport connection will output 2560x1440 resolution (or 2560x1600 if you have a 30" monitor). However the OP was discussing the DVI-D ports. These two ports will only output a maximum of 2098 × 1311 (at reduced refresh rates) each - so will not display the native resolution of 2560x1600 of the monitor. If you need to connect to a DVI only monitor, you would need to use a Displayport to DVI-D dual link (active) adapter. But beware, there are plenty of cheap single link adapters around. Look for one that typically has a USB and Displayport cable on one end.

I don't understand Dell's thinking in placing DVI-D dual link ports on the E-port series and yet not wiring them internally for it. They had the chance to change this situation with the new docks that have USB 3.0, but they also are crippled so to speak. In my opinion, there should be clearly stated information in the specs regarding this. However if you go to Dell's US website, you will notice if you look at the E-ports that there are quite a few that have mismatching specs - i.e. the photos and or product name don't match the specs. I've mentioned this to Sales but to no avail. If a disgruntled customer complains about their purchase and asks for a refund, I would think they have legal recourse for a case.

Thank you for the great reply Harcourt it is much appreciated. So I understand the displayport on the laptop itself without the E-port will work.  Funny, the Dell support people three times told me I needed to buy an E-port and use the displayports on it to get full resolution.  I guess now I'm going to get an "anything other then Dell" monitor.

You saved me from a big headache - Thanks again...;-)

Your welcome rockrule. What graphic card do you have onboard?  I have a Precision M6600 with an NVIDIA  Quadro 4000m. I can get my two 30" Dell u3011 monitors to run 2560x1600 if I use the E-port plus as well. I still haven't received an answer on this forum whether or not I can get a third 30" monitor to reproduce this resolution. I know I can get 1920x1200, but that's not what I want.

I have a m4600 with a 2000M but I just sold a my M6600 with a 4000M card because it wouldn't fit in my laptop case, stupid I know but I travel a lot overseas so I got a really nice TUMI case for my previous Dell, a M6500 and it was perfect until the 6600 arrived and it was that much bigger so I finally got a 4600 and I'm not happy so I'm getting a M6700 with the K5000M card and I'm thinking of either an Apple 27" or a Samsung 27" when I'm in my office.  Any thoughts on that, I'm an entrepreneur/engineer/inventor so I do everything from design to big spreadsheets. Here's my product eTape16.com.  Was just on TV.

I just purchased what I thought was the latest docking station, SKU # 331-6304, for my Latitude E6510 laptop.  The included quick setup guide is printed as "E-Port Plus II", and with the Tech Specs specifically stating "2x Dual-Link DVI", my Dell sales rep and I figured it was worth a try (you can always return it..).  I know that my original E-port won't support dual-link DVI, even though my laptop's NVidia NV3100S graphics chip will support very large resolutions (I need multiple widescreen outputs for audio-visual applications, like ProPresenter).  But, typical Dell, Liar Liar Pants on Fire.  And, of course, as Harcourt indicated previously, good luck finding anyone within Dell who has even a clue about this level of technical detail of their own products.  So, I'm still stuck with a laptop that has the graphics power, but, with no way of getting those higher resolutions out of it.  I'm gonna try one of the Display Port -to- Dual-Link DVI adapters next..    

My company just purchased a Precision m4800 and the e-port+. I have a 3007 30" dell monitor that I was going to plug into the docking station. The monitor only supports DVI and I thought it would be fine since this dock supports dual link dvi. I'm able to get a resolution of 1280 x 800 on my 30" monitor. I will try to pick up a dvi to hdmi adapter tonight. If that doesn't work, I guess I'll just send this e-port back. Are there other docking stations that would work that are made from other companies?

......I would recommend getting a Displayport to (active)Dual Link DVI adapter instead of HDMI, as the 3007 Dell monitor's native resolution is 2560x1600. This should give you a higher resolution and better picture than with HDMI (in the current Dell implementation of the spec). As stated previously, make sure its an active adapter - they usually have a USB cable attached to give it the active power required. I have a few of the Dell adapters - they all work without problems.