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    Anyone using SA with duallink DVI display?

    Discussion in 'VAIO / Sony' started by lliston, Jul 27, 2011.

  1. lliston

    lliston Notebook Guru

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    I'm looking at a new SA (now that the pricing has dropped a bit). I want to use it with a Dell u3011 30" dual-link DVI monitor. With no display port, is this possible with the SA?

    TIA
     
    lliston, Jul 27, 2011
    #1
  2. ComputerCowboy

    ComputerCowboy Sony Fanboy

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    Probably not, I tried with my Z and I couldn't get it working. I got a ViDock and a GeForce GTX 570 and now the U3011 works at full resolution

    Have a look at this thread http://forum.notebookreview.com/son...ting-vaio-z-2560-x-1600-external-monitor.html

    I know that the Z and the SA have a different GPU but I don't think that matters at all. The SA is limited by HDMI just like the Z.

    HDMI to DVI-DL cables don't work because HDMI has only one TDMS link. 2X TDMS is the Dual Link part of DVI.
    The U3011 won't take more than 1920x1200 over HDMI. The only way to drive it at full res is true DVI-DL or display port.
     
    ComputerCowboy, Jul 27, 2011
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  3. jeremyshaw

    jeremyshaw Big time Idiot

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    ^^ what he said. My SC cannot drive over 1920x1200 on my similar U2711 (2560x1440) via the HDMI output. I've tried looking for other ways, and have a few theories (actually, only one), but don't want to test it myself...
     
    jeremyshaw, Jul 27, 2011
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  4. ComputerCowboy

    ComputerCowboy Sony Fanboy

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    ^What are your theories?
     
    ComputerCowboy, Jul 27, 2011
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  5. lliston

    lliston Notebook Guru

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    That's what I was afraid of. Thought I found a near perfect notebook solution but this is a deal breaker for me. I quess a T420 is my best bet in the 14" lappies.
     
    lliston, Jul 28, 2011
    #5
  6. ComputerCowboy

    ComputerCowboy Sony Fanboy

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    Yea it looks like the SA doesn't support ExpressCard either... so there is simply no way at this time to get WQXGA.

    I poked around for a DisplayLink WQXGA adapter and it seems that they have not hit the market yet. I read somewhere on the DisplayLink site that their USB3 version will support WQXGA in the future. I know that DisplayLink doesn't perform very well but for my purposes it would be just fine. If/when DisplayLink comes out with a USB3 capable WQXGA adapter I'll probably get that and pair it with the Z2. For now the Z1 + ViDock is getting the job done.
     
    ComputerCowboy, Jul 28, 2011
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  7. jeremyshaw

    jeremyshaw Big time Idiot

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    The primary one is whether or not AMD HDMI port implementations are actually a DP++ link with a HDMI physical port...The second one had to do with linking two seperate TDMS links together, but I gave up on that since:

    it's impossible
    and
    S series only has one TDMS driven output, and only one link in that one...
     
    jeremyshaw, Jul 28, 2011
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  8. ComputerCowboy

    ComputerCowboy Sony Fanboy

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    If the primary theory was true then it would work. The DVI port on the Z1 dock is not even Dual Link DVI, don't see why the HDMI port would be
     
    ComputerCowboy, Jul 28, 2011
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  9. jeremyshaw

    jeremyshaw Big time Idiot

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    I was thinking more along: if there were two HDMI ports, may I combine their TDMS links into one :p

    But aside from syncronization issues with doing that, the laptop I have doesn't have two HDMI ports.. :p
     
    jeremyshaw, Jul 28, 2011
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  10. anytimer

    anytimer Notebook Virtuoso

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    anytimer, Jul 28, 2011
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  11. jeremyshaw

    jeremyshaw Big time Idiot

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    2560x1440. It's much better than 1920x1080 for my line of work :)

    (software engi, hobby of Softimage + Photoshop texturing for Softimage)

    Resolution is king. Not to mention, some of the best panels in existance today, are 27" 2560x1440 and 30" 2560x1600 S-IPS and H-IPS panels.

    I once thought that 1600x900 was enough for my work, lol...
     
    jeremyshaw, Jul 28, 2011
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  12. ComputerCowboy

    ComputerCowboy Sony Fanboy

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    Seriously? Why do we need more space to work? I don't understand the question.
     
    ComputerCowboy, Jul 28, 2011
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  13. anytimer

    anytimer Notebook Virtuoso

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    Some example applications/usage scenarios would be nice. Graphics? CAD?
     
    anytimer, Jul 28, 2011
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  14. ComputerCowboy

    ComputerCowboy Sony Fanboy

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    Photoshop CS5
    Visual Studio 2010
    Expression Blend 4
    Outlook 2010

    Any program benefits from more resolution, and tiling windows is great also
     
    ComputerCowboy, Jul 28, 2011
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  15. anytimer

    anytimer Notebook Virtuoso

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    Curiosity satisfied. Thanks. :)

    In my case higher resolution means smaller text/objects. My old eyes can't cope. :(
     
    anytimer, Jul 28, 2011
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  16. ComputerCowboy

    ComputerCowboy Sony Fanboy

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    yea but we are talking about WQXGA across 30"
    I'd guess that the pixel pitch on the U3011 is about the same as the 900P Z display
     
    ComputerCowboy, Jul 28, 2011
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  17. beaups

    beaups New Jack Hustler

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    ^Pixel pitch on your 30" is still way larger than the Z @ 900p.
     
    beaups, Jul 28, 2011
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  18. ComputerCowboy

    ComputerCowboy Sony Fanboy

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    well that just proves my point even more... if anytimer has a Z with 900P and he can see that then he should surely be able to view a 30" WQXGA screen
     
    ComputerCowboy, Jul 28, 2011
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  19. lliston

    lliston Notebook Guru

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    Software development - resolution is king. May have a VM running VPN and a remote desktop session and dev environment running at the same time. Gotta do something with 12 Gigs of ram. :)
     
    lliston, Jul 28, 2011
    #19