Problems Ativ Book 8 Running 4K

I recently just took delivery of a nice Seiki 39" 4k TV
While the 30hz refresh rate isn't stellar the idea of having this sort of Desktop real estate is perfect for me.

Before I purchased the TV I did research to make sure the Intel 4000 integrated GPU could handle it and it turns out with a driver update even the Intel 3000 GPU can handle 4k output.

So I figured with the added Raedon GPU available, then 4k should be no problem.
I can't seem to select any resolution though higher than 1920x1080 when I connect the TV.

I even updated the drivers on my old laptop which has an Intel 3000 GPU and that system coulden't get it to display 4k either
More news on the drivers New Intel HD 3000 and HD 4000 Drivers: Support for Windows 8, 4k Ultra HD, OpenGL 4.0, and More « Ultrabook News and the Ultrabook Database

I can't use these updated drivers because Samsung has it's own drivers.


So I think I'm SOL. Any suggestions on how to force 4k?

 

While we have a few reports such as this of 4K@30Hz from owners of the Ativ Book 9+ (through micro-HDMI, which is supposed to have a 1090x1080 resolution limit), I don't believe we have had any from owners of Series 7 or Ativ Book 8 (despite their full-size HDMI port).

I am pretty sure I would have noticed if any AB8 owners had posted this in the Samsung forum. I think the last time we had the question was this post in Dec 2013. It is in the Owners Lounge thread for the 2013 Series 7 / Ativ Book 8 (almost identical models). I suggest you post again there after 24 hours if you do not receive an answer here.

As you say, the limitation is not with the HD4000. It is possible you can make it work by creating a Custom Resolution using the Intel Graphics and Media control panel. I have not tried it myself (at least not for for many years, and not with an Intel Display Adapter) so I cannot give you firsthand guidance. But check this Intel guide.

Also, if you want to search the Samsung forum for relevant posts, you can use Google searches such as site:notebookreview.com/samsung 3840x2160.

Please keep us posted on your progress. I would love to hear a success story about this with the AB8

 

I actually added a custom resolution and the screen just stayed black
Now whenever I plug the screen in it goes black so I can't delete the custom resolution
When I ran non interlaced it said it didn't have the bandwidth but did accept Interlaced


Very frustrated with this thing..

 

I would definitely expect that you have to run 30Hz interlaced.

 

Unfortunately I don't have any 4k monitors so can not give a difinitive answer.

Intel Keeps UHD Promise – Ivy Bridge 4K Support Coming in October

Such as maybe Drivers for Gigabyte Ultra HD resolution support now available - Tech2

 

I would be very careful about installing graphics drivers from other sources on the Ativ Book 8. It is notoriously known for loosing its AMD switchable graphics if the wrong combination of Intel and AMD drivers are installed. There are hundreds of posts about that in the S7/AB8 Owners Lounge I linked.

Also, that article about Intel is from Sep 2012, and I think we can assume that it has been superseded by more recent actions on Intel's part. Once again, Ativ Book 9+ owners were able to do 4K@i30Hz. I think whether the AB8 can do it as well will depend on its circuitry, not on whether Intel releases new drivers.

 

Both are from 2012 IIRC but the one I posted has the caveat (2x DisplayPort).

As far as Intel spec I haven't seen any update since July 2013

 

Based on that, I should actually be able to do it through VGA.
But everytime I use VGA it seems to default to 60hz

Right now btw I'm just using the screen as a giant 1080p monitor.... so dissapointing, but even as just a large 1080p monitor I got it for $350 shipped so it's not bad.

 

That would require an insanely fast analog dot clock (pixel clock) which I doubt this laptop has (or any laptop). And the PQ would be terrible even if it did. I have used 1920x1200@60 through the micro-VGA on my Sammy (Series 7), and that was already getting blurry -- even with good quality VGA cables.

It's either HDMI or a USB3 adapter (Google DisplayLink USB3 UHD). Again I haven't heard reports from other AB8 owners successfully doing this, but that doesn't rule it out.

I would suggest you start out trying lower custom resolutions (such as 2540x1440@30, which users have reported) then work up from there.

 

Still no resolution to this.

Created a custom resolution for the correct 4k resolution and the screen just went black. When I tried alternative resoltions like the last poster mentioned it just said not supported on the tv

 

Look for modded drivers for AMD and that should allow you to update...
Modded Catalyst 14.4 WHQL (switchable graphics fix) - Guru3D.com Forums

 

I forgot it was a TV you were trying to connect, not a monitor. TVs usually only support the standard SD and HD resolutions, whereas monitors accept a much wider range of resolutions (such as 2540x1440).

Once again, I think it is possible that your pixel clock just doesn't support this. That's part of the HDMI circuitry, independent of the Intel (or AMD) GPU. Did you check those posts I linked to Ativ Book 9+ users who managed to do 384x2160@30Hz? Whatever they did is your best chance. If that doesn't work, I think you have to get a USB3 display adapter, as previously mentioned. I know they've been announced with 4K support, but I don't know if they are available for purchase yet.

 

Someone correct me if I'm wrong but I believe that HDMI 1.3 doesn't support resolutions higher than 1080p, and I don't think any of the Samsung models have HDMI 1.4, although I don't really have anything to back that up. Is it possible to check HDMI version in device manager or something similar?

EDIT: Ok I've found conflicting results, I'm still not sure what could be the problem but I dug up a really old post from someone who got the Chronos model with a monitor working at 2560x1440@40Hz: here.

I think maybe I confused HDMI 1.3 vs 1.4 with 1.4 vs 2.0. Wikipedia says "HDMI 1.4 increases the maximum resolution to 4K × 2K, i.e. 3840×2160 (4K Ultra HD) at 24 Hz/25 Hz/30 Hz or 4096×2160 at 24 Hz", so maybe if you add one of these resolutions with those specific frequencies it might work?