Alienware M18xR1/R2/18 External Monitor Discussion Thread - Ask Questions/Find Solutions Here

Alright guys, verdict is in.

I tried the HDMI and it didnt work but i already had my MINI DP to DP cable on the way. The cable got here today and i AM ABLE to get 144hz.

So in summary.

Dual Radeon 6990m in alienware m18x does support 120+ hz using the mini display port. I should also note i am at 144hz at 1920 x 1080 res so the mini display port is the cheapest and easiest way to do this.

 

HDMI will max out at 108hz ish but you may damage the HDMI circuitry in the monitor. I'm using 85hz over HDMI day to day with no issues - fair bit higher than the normal max of 60hz at 1080p.

This of course requires custom resolutions with out of spec sync timings.

Sent from my GT-I9000 using Tapatalk 2

 

I thought display port was some gimmicky crap that would never catch on. I didn't know it served an actual purpose. Thanks for the information man.

 

Yeah ive never seen one really used before but im impressed at the bandwith it has. To carry 144hz at 1080 is impressive.

 

my M18x has a hdmi a mini hdmi and vga, that's all

 

just came across this

How to make an external laptop graphics adaptor | News | TechRadar

thoughts on this adding a 680 to the m18x should and would give u 5 monitors

 

I have been looking at BenQ and Asus

These two in particular BenQ XL2420T Professional Gaming Monitor and ASUS VN247H-P 24-Inch Screen LED-Lit Monitor.

 

For those saying that the 580 can only do 2 monitors. I believe fermi cards can only display 2 at once, I have a quadro 4000m and it can only do 2. I've read that Kepler cards can do up to 4 monitors. So I believe the 680 should be able to do 4 screens at once no problem. Since two 680m sli is on par with a single 680 desktop just check out benchmarks and you can get a good idea on performance.


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I like the Asus one, seems pretty good.

 

The one below has a 1ms response time but I can not find how many hz it has so I am guessing that it is a 60hz monitor would that be ok or should i get a 120hz monitor? (note I will not be doing any 3d gaming)
I have dual 680m's in my alienware
ASUS - Displays- VN247H-P

 

So I have a Dell ST2421L right now. Love it but I want bigger and better. I have 2 in mind to attach to my m18x

A 27" ASUS VS278Q-P

A Dell U2913MW Ultra wide.

What do you guys think? Big 1080p or ultra wide 2560x1080? I'm also going to be using mini displayport for this.

 

I just got the ultra wide model
Love the color but I'd go for 16:10 if price is about the same

I would love the 30inch model but I didn't want to go crazy on spending spree

I got mine for about 530 shipped from dell thanks to slickdeals

EDIT: I wouldn't go for 1080P Asus model. I would go for one with this specs if you can find a decent deal : http://accessories.us.dell.com/sna/productdetail.aspx?c=us&l=en&s=dhs&cs=19&sku=225-4015

There is identical model that uses LG panel with better specs from newegg at about same price.

link for LG with better specs: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16824005396

I just went w/ Dell since the deal was decent, and liked the standard 3 year warranty.

Just keep an eye on slickdeals and you will see some decent deals on monitors.

PS: The downside of getting higher resoution monitor is that the games will definately suffer some FPS drops since it's going to be played at higher resolution.


FYI: The U2913's height isn't what I expected, and don't appreciate. It is super wide, but as far as height goes, it isn't much taller/higher than the LCD panel on our M18x.

There is upside too other than beautiful panel though. Many movies will play without boarders on top and bottom, and games like battlefield 3 does support the LCD's resolution, and it's pretty nice.

 

I got a u2913Wm about a month ago, and I kid you not. It is one of the best things I've ever purchased, electronic wise, and trust me, I'm a really hard person to satisfy.

It adds so much more more to games and movies, and if set up at a right angle, it feels like my own personal cinema, the panel quality and colours are amazing too.

I'd love to add my input to the other monitors you mentioned but I haven't had any experience with them.

If you were to pick one up - I'd wait until one of Dell's monitor sales specifically for the u2913wm - that way you could easily save close to $100.

 

Is there any benefits for gaming on ultrawide vs, say a 27' 2560x1440?

 

More viewing angle on ultra wide I think

I personally prefer 2560x1600 30inch screen if you have a system that can handle the resolution though

I had to sell my 3007wfp because my m18x didn't support it and got the U2913WM

I like my U2913WM but not as much as I enjoyed 30 inch with insane resolution

The color contrast on u2913 is pretty amazing though

 

That makes sense for FPS, very nice alternative to having two monitors I guess..... I never even thought of this as an option, not I'm very curious

 

Out of the two listed, I'd go for the Dell monitor or a few reasons.

• IPS panel vs. a TN panel
• Better connectivity
• Higher resolution/more screen real estate
• Dell Premium Panel 3 yr warranty

IPS (or in plane switching) panels are superior to TN (or twisted nematic) panels. They will provide more vibrant colour accuracy, better viewing angles whereas TN panels tend to have slightly better response times and can have better black levels. The panel in the widescreen Dell is an AH IPS panel which provides improved colour accuracy, increased resolution and PPI, and greater light transmission for lower power consumption. IPS panels tend to get used more by professionals photographers etc - people who demand high colour/image accuracy vs. anything else. From that perspective, gaming images will appear better on an IPS panel.

I guess it depends on what's important to you - personally, I prefer vibrant colours/better image quality/higher resolutions than slightly faster response times - which is all the Asus seems to offer over the Dell. I've owned three Ultrasharps - a 24" U2410, a 27" U2711 and currently a 30" U3011 - all have produced absolutely fantastic images and colour reproduction. I have also found no problem in gaming on any of them - even though they have slower response times than many TN panels - they do have a gaming preset which is supposed to make gaming a better experience, and on the whole it works pretty good IMHO.

Also, gaming at 2560x1080p should not cause you any real problems. I had my 30" running off my old (since replaced) 580m's and still got respectable results. As we both have 680m Sli, I'm more than confident you wouldn't have issue gaming at a lower resolution than I am (2560x1600). I can play Crysis 3, Skyrim and many others with absolutely no problem on maxed out settings, so 2560x1080 will be a walk in the park!

Anyway, here are two good articles - one for each monitor:

http://www.tftcentral.co.uk/reviews/dell_u2913wm.htm for the Dell and http://www.techradar.com/reviews/pc-mac/monitors-and-projectors/monitors/asus-vs278q-1120824/review for the Asus.

 

I'm with brother Jones on that one, not because I wear the Brand T-shirt but because it is indeed better.

 

Dell UltraSharp U2711 27-inch Widescreen Monitor with PremierColor : Computer Components | Dell

On sale for 599

I'd jump on this deal

 

The U2711 is truly a great monitor -actually, I'd say better than it's newer LED counterpart, the U2713.

 

When will retina screens be released? I bought my 30 inch 2560x1600 in August 2004! Since no PC graphic card had official dual link support all PC user who wanted to to use the screen had to buy an Asus Nvidia deluxe graphic edition card that had dual link unofficially. We should start to see "retina" screens this year or next year. Ultra HD 3840x2160.

For gaming I prefer 120Hz refresh rate instead of high resolution. Its really fun playing FPS in 120Hz. And yes. 3D support. Sometime fun to play stuff in 3D. (or watch any video in 3D with PowerDVD)

I would recommend an Asus 27 inch 1920x1080 120Hz monitor
or a 2560x1600 30 inch 60Hz. (or 2560x1440 16:9)

The "problem" with the Ultra widescreen is the lower resolution comparing to the high resolution screens + many games dont support ultra widescreen.

(BTW: If you really want a big screen:
Sony's HMZ-T2 3D headset at TGS: gaming at close range (video)

Nerd out like me. "120 inch" screen.

 

Bump, Edited main post for others.

 

hiya i can confirm im running a 6990m setup on a m18x r1 using a benq xl2420t @120hz using a dp 1.2 cable.:wink:

 

Hi,

like the title says, is it possible to run at 120hz (Not 3D) on a 600hz plasma tv with dual 7970m?

Thanks.

 

Yeah, why not.


Sent from my SGH-T999

 

Then how I can enable it? In CCC it says that max rate is 70hz and my tv says that the current rate is 60hz.

 

7970m is not 3D capable hence wont work. You need 6970m or 6990m or newer nVidia that does 3D (120Hz) support

 

7970 is possible of 120hz... just not 3D.

you need an Active DisplayPort to DVI-D Dual Link Adapter.

Amazon.com: StarTech.com MDP2DVID Mini DisplayPort to DVI Dual-Link Active USB Powered Adapter: Electronics

 

Will it works with a miniDP to hdmi?

 

What ports the plasma have?
Most if not all hdmi adapter will not work.

 

This.

By the way I'm not sure why some people are saying you cant do 3D with 7970m??

 

My plasma only have 2 HDMI.

 

Before you buy things to make it work, lets be completely clear.

What model of plasma TV is this? Because it sounds like the 600hz is just the subdrive, and the TV itself might just be 60hz.

 

My plasma model is: LG 50PN6500

 

As far as it looks, you CANNOT do 120hz from your computer. The TV only has a 60hz input, then uses a Subfield chip to do a 10x digital blend.

More info here: What a Sub-Field Drive is on a Plasma TV

 

Just checked that model's manual, it doesn't support 120hz



As Hybrys says, your TV is using sub-field technology. Although the screen is supposedly displaying the image at 600hz the actual video signal going into the screen is 60hz.

 

Alright! Thanks for your help!

 

ok since we are asking about tvs in this thread.. what about the samsung es8000 55 inch?

 

That's a really odd one. It's a 3D TV, so it should be able to, but it turns out that normal TV runs at 60hz max, and 3D runs at 25hz/f.

So, no, you cannot connect 120hz to that TV.

 

Yes most TVs are designed for the 48FPS 3d bluray standard.

 

Hi, have an M18X here and have considered buying a desktop as I want a triple 30 inch 2560x1920 setup but the M18x can't support it. Can the new M18 do it?

 

You will need to invest in the Matix TripleHead2Go in order to do what you want. The M18 having the power to run games smoothly on that setup, I don't know. If it has problems then to get any better it would have to be one serious desktop to take its place. The 780m SLI is near a GTX titan performance wise from what I have come to understand.

 

You need a separate input for each monitor, splitter not going to cut it.

 

So i've been using my asus 23" led as a secondary display for a couple weeks now and it works great. Problem is that i bought 2 so that i could have a 3 display setup and i cant seem to get that to work. I've been using vga, and hadn't gotten around to trying the hdmi, vga works fine but as soon as i connect the hdmi to either monitor i just get a black screen. I can connect my m18x to my lcd tv no problem, so im just curious why im having this issue with my asus displays. helpful solutions?

 

Depends what video cards your using. Nvidia can only power two screens at once while AMD can do all three. I have Nvidia and have a 27" and 24" hooked up, one via HDMI and the other display port.

 

I have nVidia 680m sli. I can use the notebook display and 2 ASUS monitors in windows. One on HDMI and the other on displayport. Alas nVidia Surround is not supported on the 680m.

 

How exactly did you set that up? I hate 680sli as well and two ASUS monitors, but only the vga and the other using hdmi, but nothing will show up? did your monitor respond right when you plugged it up, or did you have to change something?

 

Have you right clicked on the desktop and bring up screen resolution? In there you'll see all the monitors and have to play with the settings of them all.

 

Try setting it up with the display port and hdmi.

 

Yes you plug them in using HDMI to HDMI on one monitor. I use displayport to displayport on the second monitor if it is ASUS, when I use my TV I use a displayport to HDMI cable.

Once they are plugged in, you go into nVidia control panel and set the system up however you like. I use extend desktop. It is up to you what you want to do.