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May 26th, 2019 21:00

XPS 13 9370, WD19 second UHD monitor limited to 2048x1080

Hi, everyone.

I just replaced a D6000 dock with a WD19 dock on my XPS13 9370.  I have two Dell U2718Q monitors, which are capable of 3840x2160, connected with DP on the dock to mDP on the monitors.  I get one monitor at 3840x2160 and the other defaults to 1920x1080.  The maximum I can select for the second monitor is 2048x1080, which is a blurry resolution.  On the D6000, I was able to use both monitors as intended at maximum resolution.

I performed all of the required updates (drivers, BIOS) prior to use bar one--the WD19 firmware update referred to here does not exist.  I cannot find this firmware update anywhere on the Dell site.  

My suspicion is that this is a bandwidth issue with the dock, but I cannot find a way to modify the bandwidth or to upgrade the dock's firmware. I have reinstalled the Intel 620 UHD Graphics Control Panel from the Dell support site for the XPS 13 9370.  I've also installed the latest Display Link driver.  The BIOS is the most recent.  I installed both of the updates on the WD19 support site.

What am I missing?

4 Operator

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14K Posts

May 26th, 2019 23:00

@three-m  here's the short answer: You need to return the WD19 and get a WD19TB instead.  Then you'll be able to run dual 4K displays just fine.

Here's the long answer:
The D6000 worked because it uses DisplayLink technology rather than tapping into native GPU outputs.  Whereas most docks have the GPU directly driving attached displays, DisplayLink uses "indirect display" technology where the CPU and GPU compress video data and then transmit it as regular USB data to a chip in the dock.  That allows you to use more and/or higher resolution displays than would otherwise be possible because you don't have to worry about native video signal bandwidth or even the maximum number of displays supported by the GPU, but DisplayLink comes with a lot of drawbacks.  I wrote in detail about those in this thread, specifically the post marked as the answer.

The WD19 doesn't use DisplayLink.  It taps into the native GPU output wired to the USB-C port.  If you take a look at the WD19's documentation here, specifically the Display Resolution Table beginning on Page 17, you'll find that when the regular WD19 (non-TB version) is used with a system that only supports HBR2 over USB-C, aka DisplayPort 1.2 over USB-C -- like the XPS 13 models up through the 9380 -- you can only run dual displays up to 1080p (technically dual 1920x1200 works too) or a single 4K display but only at 30 Hz rather than the standard 60 Hz.  So you'll probably find that even your display currently running at its native resolution is only running at 30 Hz, which for most people is an unacceptably low refresh rate because it creates very perceptible lag even with things like the mouse cursor.  And even if your system supported the newer HBR3 standard, aka DisplayPort 1.3+ over USB-C, you'd still only get a single 4K display at 60 Hz or two at 30 Hz.  But as of this writing, there aren't any Intel GPUs on the market that support HBR3 over USB-C.  That won't be arriving until the Gen 11 GPU that will debut first with the Ice Lake CPUs, slated to arrive at the end of 2019 beginning with the types of CPUs that would be used in systems like the XPS 13.

However, since the XPS 13 models have Thunderbolt 3, you can return the WD19 and get a WD19TB instead, which takes advantage of Thunderbolt 3 and gives that dock access to 4x more display bandwidth than the regular WD19.  The WD19TB can run dual 4K displays each at 60 Hz even from a system that only supports HBR2 over USB-C.  I wrote a detailed post about the various operating modes of USB-C and Thunderbolt 3, and their impact on display configuration options here if you're curious.

And just fyi, the WD19's product page here only mentions support for dual FHD (1920x1080) or single QHD (2560x1440).  4K support isn't even mentioned because as I said above, even if you were only trying to run one of them, you'd only get 30 Hz rather than the normal 60 Hz, which most people wouldn't accept.  What even led you to the regular WD19 given that you have dual 4K displays?

11 Posts

May 26th, 2019 21:00

4 Operator

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14K Posts

May 26th, 2019 23:00

@three-m  one more thing in addition to all of the above.  If you don't intend to use the D6000 anymore, you can uninstall that DisplayLink driver.  The WD19 dock models tap into native GPU outputs.  They do not use DisplayLink technology like the Dxxxx dock models.

1 Message

May 28th, 2019 09:00

I'm looking for the firmware update as well. Can't seem to find it on dells support page. I thought that dell wanted firmware upgrading to work perfectly from day 1? Maybe their way of doing that is to not let you upgrade at all? I'm not one to be snarky but the new line of USB C docks have not been impressive to say the least. Looking at you WD15...

4 Operator

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14K Posts

May 28th, 2019 09:00

A firmware update isn't going to resolve this issue, and the documentation mentioning a firmware update doesn't necessarily mean that one has been released yet.  The WD19 only launched a couple of weeks ago.

11 Posts

May 30th, 2019 18:00

Thanks.  I'll swap the WD19 for the WD19TB.  In the meantime, I've gone back to D6000.

11 Posts

May 30th, 2019 18:00

Thanks for the reply.

4 Operator

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14K Posts

May 30th, 2019 20:00

Welcome!


11 Posts

June 15th, 2019 21:00

jphughan wrote

"For the HBR2 system scenario, on a system that has two GPU outputs wired to its Thunderbolt 3 port (which to my knowledge all Dell systems have), an HBR2 connection over TB3 includes 8 HBR lanes, since a full DisplayPort link has always been defined as 4 HBR lanes, even before USB-C/TB3 arrived.  But since the “core” display outputs only have access to half of those, which is equivalent to the bandwidth of a single full DisplayPort 1.2 link, you can only use those ports for display setups that fall within those bandwidth limits.  That’s why even though the system is providing enough total bandwidth for dual 4K 60 Hz displays, for example, you’re limited to QHD if you want both displays on “core” outputs.  However, if you instead connect only one display to a “core” port and the other to the Thunderbolt 3 port where the other 4 lanes are available, you can run dual 4K 60 Hz just fine."

 

Please explain "core."

11 Posts

June 15th, 2019 21:00

Swapped WD19 for a WD19TB.  Dual display does not work with extended display across two UHD monitors.  I get nice, crisp graphics if I elect to duplicate the screens, which is not what I want.  I want to extend the monitors.  When I select that option, one monitor stays at 3840x2160 at 29Hz and the other is selected for that resolution but has such a fuzzy display that I can't make out any of it.

XPS13, lid closed, connected using the TB cable to the WD19TB dock with two Dell U2718Q monitors connected with mDP.

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