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Connecting my dell xps 13 to a 4k dell display U2718Q
Currently I am having the dell xps 13 laptop, confiq:
Intel Core i5 2.20 GHz
4 GB Memory 128 GB SSD
Intel HD Graphics 5500
1920 x 1080
Windows 8.1
What is the best way to connect this laptop to the the 4k dell display U2718Q?
My main usages are for 4k video playback and some video editing on the external monitor. Thanks.
jphughan
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December 9th, 2017 11:00
If you want to run at 4K resolution and the typical 60 Hz refresh rate, you only have a few options:
- USB-C to DisplayPort or HDMI 2.0 adapter. If you go with the latter, make sure the adapter specifically mentions HDMI 2.0, as not all USB-C adapters support that. Also, adapters that include display outputs AND other features like Gigabit Ethernet, USB 3.0 ports, etc will specifically NOT work. To run 4K @ 60 Hz over regular USB-C, the entire port has to be dedicated to pushing display traffic. If the adapter you connect wants to send USB-type traffic as well, your available display bandwidth gets cut in half, so you'd only be able to run 4K @ 30 Hz or 1440p @ 60 Hz, for example.
- Thunderbolt 3 to Dual DisplayPort adapter. Each of the DisplayPort outputs will have enough bandwidth for 4K @ 60 Hz, and yes you can even use two such displays simultaneously if you wanted.
- A TB16 dock, with the display connected to the dock via either Mini DisplayPort, DisplayPort, or HDMI. The dock can support up to dual displays up to 4K @ 60 Hz and even some triple-display configurations as long as their total bandwidth requirements aren't too high. The other benefit to the dock of course is that you can connect a bunch of other peripherals to the dock and still have only a single cable that connects to your PC, and the dock would even be able to charge the laptop via that one cable, so you wouldn't even need to connect the regular AC adapter. But as you may have already predicted, this is the most expensive solution.
jamesblake
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December 9th, 2017 18:00
my laptop currently got a mini displayport, so i need a mini displayport to HDMI 2.0 adapter?
besides, is my laptop confiq actually be able to playback 4k 30/60fps videos smoothly? thanks
jphughan
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December 10th, 2017 14:00
Oh ok, you must have the very first of the new design generation XPS 13 (the 9343), before the Mini DisplayPort connector was replaced with Thunderbolt. Just fyi, the specific generation model would be useful to provide going forward, since there have been several iterations of the XPS 13 even since the redesign a few years ago.
In terms 4K @ 60 fps video playback, you may not have a great experience. Intel didn't add hardware 4K video acceleration until the Core 7th generation CPUs, which didn't arrive in the XPS 13 until the 9360 model, which is 2 generations newer than what you have. And Googling "XPS 13 9343 4K video", I'm seeing threads saying that even the 9350 (the generation between yours and the 9360) shows choppy 4K video playback. Sorry!