It depends on how the system is wired internally. On MOST systems, the iGPU is the only GPU physically wired to the display outputs, and when the dGPU is activated, it acts as a render-only device that passes completed frames to the iGPU for final output to the displays. In a few other systems (including at least one Inspiron Gaming system), the iGPU is wired only to the built-in panel, and the dGPU is wired directly to the outputs. In that case, the dGPU is active whenever an external display is attached. This configuration has some advantages because it allows you to use technologies that require support from the GPU directly attached to the display that the Intel GPU may not support, such as G-Sync, 3D Vision, 5K displays, VR, etc.
But either way, yes you'll be able to use your dGPU with your external displays. The only time that would NOT be the case would be if you used a dock (or adapter) that used DisplayLink technology rather than tapping into the true GPU output wired to the USB-C port. The Dell D6000 is a dock that works like this.
One additional clarification: The same GPU setup will be used for both displays. By that I mean that you can't "assign" one display to the iGPU and another display to the dGPU. If your system uses the more common setup I mentioned above, then the dGPU would get involved only to accelerate whatever content the dGPU was being asked to accelerate, and your iGPU would continue to handle all of the other display content. If your system has the dGPU wired to your USB-C output, then the dGPU would always handle everything connected to displays that were connected that way -- but realistically, unless you plan to have 4K video playing on the other display while you're gaming, then your game isn't going to suffer any meaningful performance degradation by having to drive the other display at the same time.
Along the same lines, will the dGPU be used to output on the 7577 if you plugged in a Displayport monitor using a usb-c to displayport cable? Something such as this Pluggable USB-C to Displayport cable?
A DisplayPort adapter/cable will work the same way as I described above, i.e. in systems with an iGPU + dGPU, then the iGPU will be used by default but the dGPU will be able to step in as needed. The only setup that creates a problem are adapters and docks that use DisplayLink (not to be confused with DisplayPort). DisplayLink adapters typically plug into USB-A ("regular USB") connector, but the D6000 dock uses DisplayLink technology whether you connect it via USB-A or USB-C. With displays attached via DisplayLink, only the system's primary GPU can be used to drive them, and in a system with two GPUs, that will be the iGPU. This is a Windows limitation.
I'm trying to find information regarding my laptop's USB-C implementation, specifically, whether it can utilize “VESA DisplayPort Alternate Mode over USB-C” or if it is limited to DisplayLink workarounds. Any suggestions as to where I can find a concrete answer? All documentation I've found so far isn't specific. I have the Inspiron 13" 7368 2-in-1. Any information is appreciated.
Now, I was informed that it should work potentially. Well, I received my cable and my monitor and when I went to plug it in, I received the full resolution and the 144hz refresh rate. However, when it came to establishing the G-SYNC, the option was not there in the Nvidia Control Panel. The only thing that was there was the 3d effects. Now, I checked through all the simple steps of reinstalling/updating drivers.
In regard to your question, what is odd is that the Thunder Bolt 3 is not wired to the discrete GPU, but to the integrated GPU. The only thing that is wired to the dGPU is the HDMI. Now, the port on the laptop is 2.0, but the back of the monitor is 1.4b, and only gives a refresh rate of 60hz (as expected). Now this was established when I plugged in a HDMI cable into the monitor (but not changing the input source to HDMI).
So, I spoke with one representative and he is escalating it to a phone call tomorrow. However, at this juncture, due to the tb3 being wired to the iGPU instead of the dGPU, G-SYNC appears to not be an option with the 7577 using 1060 Max-Q graphics. However, I am hopeful for some closure as to why the product was designed this way.
G-Sync requires a DisplayPort output wired directly to an NVIDIA GPU, so no it wouldn’t be an option on this system. I do think it’s strange that Dell designed the system with the HDMI and USB-C outputs wired to different GPUs, but there’s no option that would have pleased everyone. For example, I personally think it would make perfect sense for gaming-oriented systems to have all display outputs wired to the dGPU in order to maximize functionality for things that Intel GPUs don’t support, like G-Sync, 5K resolution, VR, etc. But there was a thread on here a while ago where an Inspiron Gaming system owner was hugely annoyed that the HDMI output was wired to the dGPU because it meant that his dGPU was running any time he had a display connected to that output, which negatively affected his battery life. I pointed out the gaming advantages to this design and suggested that this choice was appropriate for a gaming-focused system, especially since most people probably don’t run on the battery very often while they have an external display attached and therefore wouldn’t even encounter the battery life drawback, but he was adamant that this was a design flaw. Like I said, you can’t please everyone.
Yeah, I think I remember reading the lengthy posts you had with the individual.
I'm just a little salty about the whole ordeal.
Hypothetically, if the tb3 was wired directly to the dGPU, would it then recognize the G-SYNC between the 1060 and the monitor, or is it literally only a display port to display port connection, wired directly from the dGPU that G-SYNC works on.
Thunderbolt would have worked because the GPU has DisplayPort outputs wired to the Thunderbolt controller. That traffic gets multiplexed with PCIe traffic, but it’s still native DisplayPort traffic that gets demultiplexed by the dock/adapter or whatever you’re using. So yes G-Sync could have been implemented that way, and in the Precision 7000 Series models, it is possible to give the dGPU direct control of the TB3 output, but maybe there’s some reason that’s not feasible on other systems? I’m just not sure.
Is this to say that if the 7577 is paired with a TB16, that the dGPU would never be used in a multi-monitor set up?
That is not correct. That would be correct with the D6000 dock, though. However, since most systems have the iGPU wired to the USB-C/Thunderbolt connector (rather than the dGPU), this means that although the dGPU can still be used to accelerate rendering on displays connected to the TB16, you would not be able to use certain dGPU features that only work when the dGPU is directly wired to the display outputs. Such features include G-Sync, 5K resolution, and VR. If the dGPU were the one wired directly to the USB-C/TB3 connector, then those would work, but I don't know of any systems that are that way except the Precision 7000 Series models, which actually have extra hardware on their motherboards that allows the user to toggle a BIOS setting to choose which GPU has direct control of the outputs. I went into more detail about all this on earlier posts. I know it's a bit confusing because there are a lot of variables (system's GPU wiring, the dock you're using, and the dGPU features you care about), but it should become clear perhaps with an extra reading.
The GP106 chip is produced in 16nm FinFET at TSMC and offers a range of new features, like DisplayPort 1.4 (ready), HDMI 2.0b, HDR, Simultaneous Multi-Projection (SMP) and improved H.265 video de- and encoding (PlayReady 3.0). A list of improvements and features can be found in our article on the Pascal architecture.
Bums me out it's not utilized as we spoke earlier.
jphughan
9 Legend
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14K Posts
0
February 7th, 2018 23:00
It depends on how the system is wired internally. On MOST systems, the iGPU is the only GPU physically wired to the display outputs, and when the dGPU is activated, it acts as a render-only device that passes completed frames to the iGPU for final output to the displays. In a few other systems (including at least one Inspiron Gaming system), the iGPU is wired only to the built-in panel, and the dGPU is wired directly to the outputs. In that case, the dGPU is active whenever an external display is attached. This configuration has some advantages because it allows you to use technologies that require support from the GPU directly attached to the display that the Intel GPU may not support, such as G-Sync, 3D Vision, 5K displays, VR, etc.
But either way, yes you'll be able to use your dGPU with your external displays. The only time that would NOT be the case would be if you used a dock (or adapter) that used DisplayLink technology rather than tapping into the true GPU output wired to the USB-C port. The Dell D6000 is a dock that works like this.
jphughan
9 Legend
•
14K Posts
0
February 7th, 2018 23:00
One additional clarification: The same GPU setup will be used for both displays. By that I mean that you can't "assign" one display to the iGPU and another display to the dGPU. If your system uses the more common setup I mentioned above, then the dGPU would get involved only to accelerate whatever content the dGPU was being asked to accelerate, and your iGPU would continue to handle all of the other display content. If your system has the dGPU wired to your USB-C output, then the dGPU would always handle everything connected to displays that were connected that way -- but realistically, unless you plan to have 4K video playing on the other display while you're gaming, then your game isn't going to suffer any meaningful performance degradation by having to drive the other display at the same time.
cnjalbert
1 Message
0
March 7th, 2018 12:00
Along the same lines, will the dGPU be used to output on the 7577 if you plugged in a Displayport monitor using a usb-c to displayport cable? Something such as this Pluggable USB-C to Displayport cable?
jphughan
9 Legend
•
14K Posts
0
March 7th, 2018 13:00
A DisplayPort adapter/cable will work the same way as I described above, i.e. in systems with an iGPU + dGPU, then the iGPU will be used by default but the dGPU will be able to step in as needed. The only setup that creates a problem are adapters and docks that use DisplayLink (not to be confused with DisplayPort). DisplayLink adapters typically plug into USB-A ("regular USB") connector, but the D6000 dock uses DisplayLink technology whether you connect it via USB-A or USB-C. With displays attached via DisplayLink, only the system's primary GPU can be used to drive them, and in a system with two GPUs, that will be the iGPU. This is a Windows limitation.
Lerronious
3 Posts
0
March 28th, 2018 08:00
I'm trying to find information regarding my laptop's USB-C implementation, specifically, whether it can utilize “VESA DisplayPort Alternate Mode over USB-C” or if it is limited to DisplayLink workarounds. Any suggestions as to where I can find a concrete answer? All documentation I've found so far isn't specific. I have the Inspiron 13" 7368 2-in-1. Any information is appreciated.
jostad
2 Posts
0
April 6th, 2018 16:00
Lerronious,
I'm currently awaiting feedback from Dell Support regarding a similar issue. I had spoke with a representative previously about hooking up Dell 2716DG, 144hz with G-SYNC, to my 7577 with this cord https://www.amazon.com/Plugable-DisplayPort-Thunderbolt-Supports-3840x2160/dp/B01EXKDRAC/ref=sr_1_1_sspa?ie=UTF8&qid=1523057572&sr=8-1-spons&keywords=plugable+usb-c+to+displayport&psc=1
Now, I was informed that it should work potentially. Well, I received my cable and my monitor and when I went to plug it in, I received the full resolution and the 144hz refresh rate. However, when it came to establishing the G-SYNC, the option was not there in the Nvidia Control Panel. The only thing that was there was the 3d effects. Now, I checked through all the simple steps of reinstalling/updating drivers.
In regard to your question, what is odd is that the Thunder Bolt 3 is not wired to the discrete GPU, but to the integrated GPU. The only thing that is wired to the dGPU is the HDMI. Now, the port on the laptop is 2.0, but the back of the monitor is 1.4b, and only gives a refresh rate of 60hz (as expected). Now this was established when I plugged in a HDMI cable into the monitor (but not changing the input source to HDMI).
So, I spoke with one representative and he is escalating it to a phone call tomorrow. However, at this juncture, due to the tb3 being wired to the iGPU instead of the dGPU, G-SYNC appears to not be an option with the 7577 using 1060 Max-Q graphics. However, I am hopeful for some closure as to why the product was designed this way.
jphughan
9 Legend
•
14K Posts
1
April 6th, 2018 17:00
jostad
2 Posts
0
April 6th, 2018 18:00
Yeah, I think I remember reading the lengthy posts you had with the individual.
I'm just a little salty about the whole ordeal.
Hypothetically, if the tb3 was wired directly to the dGPU, would it then recognize the G-SYNC between the 1060 and the monitor, or is it literally only a display port to display port connection, wired directly from the dGPU that G-SYNC works on.
jphughan
9 Legend
•
14K Posts
0
April 6th, 2018 20:00
Steve Douville
5 Posts
0
April 17th, 2018 14:00
So I'm a little confused.
Is this to say that if the 7577 is paired with a TB16, that the dGPU would never be used in a multi-monitor set up?
jphughan
9 Legend
•
14K Posts
0
April 17th, 2018 15:00
That is not correct. That would be correct with the D6000 dock, though. However, since most systems have the iGPU wired to the USB-C/Thunderbolt connector (rather than the dGPU), this means that although the dGPU can still be used to accelerate rendering on displays connected to the TB16, you would not be able to use certain dGPU features that only work when the dGPU is directly wired to the display outputs. Such features include G-Sync, 5K resolution, and VR. If the dGPU were the one wired directly to the USB-C/TB3 connector, then those would work, but I don't know of any systems that are that way except the Precision 7000 Series models, which actually have extra hardware on their motherboards that allows the user to toggle a BIOS setting to choose which GPU has direct control of the outputs. I went into more detail about all this on earlier posts. I know it's a bit confusing because there are a lot of variables (system's GPU wiring, the dock you're using, and the dGPU features you care about), but it should become clear perhaps with an extra reading.
boxcpl
1 Message
1
April 20th, 2018 16:00
Bums me out it's not utilized as we spoke earlier.