WQXGA (2560x1600) on Z1 WITHOUT ViDock (it works! but I need some help)

You probably need to do the BIOS hack and install the latest hacked nVidia drivers. The drivers from Sony are crap and they don't let you do anything cool.

 

You can also do custom resolutions on the latest community drivers for unhacked BIOS Z1s - I just tried it. Here's the link to those drivers. Here is a link to their author, Andrew, which may enlighten you further. Can't say if these will enable you to do what you want to, but they are pretty much the latest Hybrid drivers by Andrew and they do offer custom resolutions as well as other more recent nVidia feathers and, of course, better performance.

 

Thanks guys, I'll look further into both those suggestions. Cheers.

 

Just thought I'd share my experience:

I'm using the drivers Andrew08 offers in the thread "My discoveries on Vaio Z's hybrid graphics". I've managed to obtain 2560x1440 with my "DoubleSight" brand monitor with this simple method shown in the image I've attached.



Using NVIDIA Control Panel, create a custom resolution at 2560x1440 (rest left default, CVT reduced blank, 60hz, progresive). Sometimes it'll take when I hit OK. If not, I change it through Control Panel > Display > Screen Resolution, then click Advanced Settings > List All Modes, and finally select the mode I made. Done! Only caveat seems to be that I have to revert back to a standard 1080p resolution before I unplug my HDMI-to-HDMI cable or when I plug back in I'll get no signal. If I forget, I have to do a clean install of the driver to get it back. If anyone knows an easier way to clear out driver profiles (default settings), please let me know. Could just be my setup, not sure.

It's annoying to remember to change each time, but it's a small price to pay I guess.

 

Hi all, I was wondering if anyone could help me, I've tried everything:

- I have a Dell 3007WFP, Windows 7 x64 (Professional) and a VAIO Z11
- I've flashed the hacked BIOS
- I've updated to the hacked nVidia drivers (280.26)
- I've tried Pheonix but it didn't work with Windows 7, couldn't get the EDID
- BUT... managed to create a .INF with MonInfo and DTD Calculator (INF file attached)
- I can successfully install the hacked INF file, but when I reboot there is zero luck with getting a custom resolution
- When I try to update the resolution with the nVidia Control Panel I get the "Not allowed" popup message *before* it actually tries it

I've read everything on EDIDs that I can, and DTD etc. I'm pretty certain my custom DTD in the INF file is correct to try to force 2560x1600, but it just doesn't work! I've calculated the right pixel clock etc. etc.

Has anyone got any pointers or anything they could suggest I may have missed, or I should try?!! This should work!

 

I just re-read my original post because frankly I forgot all the steps to doing this... but Phoenix is like the most important step. If you don't get the data from Phoenix you probably can't make this run.

Maybe UAC is blocking it from running or something?

Maybe you could plug the monitor into a desktop where Phoenix does run and get the data from that?

 

OK thanks ComputerCowboy, that's given me the impetus to stick XP on a USB stick or something and try that way to get Phoenix to work.

I have UAC disabled completely.

I do have an INF that looks like it should work, and it installs, but the new resolution isn't visible anywhere.

I have two questions though:

Should I be able to see the new resolution when I click "List All Modes" in the standard windows change resolution window?

Were you using Windows 7, and 64bit or 32bit?

Thanks again, really appreciate it. I'm quite excited about the prospect of making my 30" Dell usable again!!

 

Hi ComputerCowboy,

I managed to get my EDID into Phoenix with the following steps:

- Extracting the raw bytes with moninfo
- Formatting them into the Phoenix .dat format manually
- Re-importing the .dat into Phoenix
- Tweaking using your technique
- Exporting the tweaked EDID from Phoenix
- Importing *back* into MonInfo
- Exporting the .inf

I get the new resolution options at 30hz, but none of them work; they are accepted by the graphics card but the Dell screen remains blank.

Not even lower resolutions like 1920x1200 work.


I am, however, using the HDMI port on my laptop itself, not via a Z1 dock. Will this make a difference??

Thanks again!

 

HDMI port is fine. I've used it and it works, not everyone has the dock.

What DELL monitor do you have?
Can you email me all your dat files and crap?

jeff @computercowboy.com

 

Hi Jeff, I sent you an email, thanks a lot by the way

 

THANKS ! it worked smoothly on VP2290b (3840 x 2400). I am obviously working on low refresh rate (15Hz).

 

Wowzers! That's a monster number of pixels.

So what's the right way to get this to work with a U2711? Do I need the hacked BIOS or are the hacked NVIDIA drivers enough? Do I need to edit some INF files? Can I go above 35 Hz?

 

I just bought an Apple 30" Cinema display 2650x1600, and assumed I could simply plug it into the DVI dual link port on my Z1 dock. Everything added up, graphics card capabilities, DVI-D, etc etc... turns out I've got a useless monitor now.

I went through the first post in this thread but I'm stuck at "Create custom resolution". Since I haven't done the BIOS hack and custom driver update, I can't get to those settings (I read through the BIOS hack and driver update and it's pretty damn complex... I could potentially pull it off, but I could potentially brick my machine in the process... not sure I trust myself to do it). If I'm correct, this would all be to get to the next step of "create a custom resolution" so I can then read the monitor pixel clock values and then build a new INI file with the steps after correct?

Would there be any way to sideskirt this process? It sounds like I basically just need an updated/modified monitor driver for this screen, correct? That would be rather simple but getting to that point is quite difficult.... if I can't get this working I'm just going to buy a desktop as I'd rather buy a new machine than ruin my current one. Anyone have a work around they can think of?

Thanks,
Heath

 

sucessfully connect a U2711 to my Z1 over Hdmi ...
because the lower resolution of 2560x1440 i could use 40 Hz

just used the hacked bios and the current nvidia drivers from the nvidia homepage

 

I just got a Dell U2711 and connected it to my Sony Vaio FW5 (Ati Mobility Radeon 4650). Both HDMI->HDMI and HDMI->DVI work with 2560x1440@45hz
My only problem: I've achieved this through Powerstrip. As long as it runs, everything is fine. When I deinstall or close it, the resolution stays the same, but the refresh rate is locked at 23hz.
I've tried to use some driver files from this forum for Ati cards and the U2711 but nothing worked (black screen or flickering). Is there a way to force windows to always use 45hz with the help of a driver? I've written some drivers myself (with Powerstrip and 45hz) but they still give out 23hz. The inf files Powerstrip create have less information than the ones I've downloaded.

When I read out the Timings through Powerstrip, I get these values:

Code:

PowerStrip timing parameters:
2560x1440=2560,120,264,384,1440,1,3,21,219407,532

Generic timing details for 2560x1440:
HFP=120 HSW=264 HBP=384 kHz=66 VFP=1 VSW=3 VBP=21 Hz=45

VESA detailed timing:
PClk=219,41 H.Active=2560 H.Blank=768 H.Offset=104 HSW=264 V.Active=1440 V.Blank=25 V.Offset=1 VSW=3

Linux modeline parameters:
"2560x1440" 219,407 2560 2680 2944 3328 1440 1441 1444 1465 +hsync -vsync

I can't seem to be able to edit the modeline through Moniter Asset Manager. How can I get these information into an .inf file?

 

I'm using the nvidia 26314 - intel 2266 drivers from http://forum.notebookreview.com/sony/342947-my-discoveries-vaio-z-s-hybrid-graphics-252.html and created a custom resolution 2560x1440@45Hz, 32-bit for my U2711 in the nVidia control panel, and was able to apply it using "List All Modes" in the windows screen resolution bit (though not from nVidia drivers directly), and everything seems to be stable. I'm using an HDMI-DVI cable. 45Hz is noticeably easier on the eyes than 35Hz. I mean, it's almost as high as the frame rate for the Hobbit!

However, I confirm the problem of getting a black screen (on both my laptop and the monitor) if I just unplug the cable without resetting the resolution, as a previous poster mentioned. Still trying to fix that now, but I can't seem to get anything to display (on either laptop or external monitor) if I plug the HDMI cable back into my laptop.

Would like to know if there is a way to fix this without clean install of the drivers!

EDIT: This tool seems to allow for viewing and adding/deleting of all monitor profiles in the registry. I'm still fiddling with it to see if I can get my monitor to display again without reinstalling drivers.
http://www.monitortests.com/forum/Thread-Custom-Resolution-Utility-CRU

Additional fiddling seems to show that some interaction between the NVIDIA driver and the default monitor profiles seems to be saving the default resolution as 2560x1440@60Hz, which of course is not drivable over the single link, and causes both monitors to go blank. I can't seem to use the tool above to reset the default monitor profile, so I guess it will be necessary to reinstall the driver at some point if I want to use the full resolution on the U2711. Sucks that we need to remember to reset the resolution before unplugging every time!

 

Problem is that the dock has what looks like a DVI-DL but it is only a single link

Well I read the values that way because I have the driver and BIOS hack. You probably can skip this step and use a pixel clock like what I use for my U3011, they are pretty similar, same resolution etc.
Alternately you can try the drivers below

 

please send me your INF, I want to collect working INF files for every possible monitor so others may download from my website

I have an INF available for that monitor, it runs at 40hz
http://computercowboy.com/downloads/DELL_U2711_40Hz.inf



I ask that everyone who gets one of these INFs working please send me the working INF files, I'll add download links on the first post and on my website

please email jeff AT computercowboy DOT com

or hit me up on skype: jeffrey.alexander.parker

 

I would say the VGP-PRZ10 has Dual-Link DVI(!)

First of all THANK YOU SO MUCH ComputerCowboy!

Here's my story:
Today I received a Dell U2713HM. Having a European (German) Vaio, I used Paul3000h's " New Instructions Windows way" with Psyq321's advanced_menu.py to modify my Bios.
I then got your (ComputerCowboy's) VAIO_Z1_330M_INF_Patcher.v4_BETA4 to Install the latest NVidia Driver (314.07).

Unfortunately, I didn't get to choose a resolution higher than 1920x1080 out of the Box, so i used Moninfo to obtain the U2713's EDID / DTD Values which are

Code:

  00,FF,FF,FF,FF,FF,FF,00,10,AC,7E,40,4C,33,30,39,30,16,01,03,80,3C,22,78,EA,4B,B5,A7,56,4B,A3,25,
  0A,50,54,A5,4B,00,81,00,B3,00,D1,00,71,4F,A9,40,81,80,D1,C0,01,01,56,5E,00,A0,A0,A0,29,50,30,20,
  35,00,55,50,21,00,00,1A,00,00,00,FF,00,47,4B,30,4B,44,32,42,54,39,30,33,4C,0A,00,00,00,FC,00,44,
  45,4C,4C,20,55,32,37,31,33,48,4D,0A,00,00,00,FD,00,31,56,1D,71,1C,00,0A,20,20,20,20,20,20,00,B8

I used DTD Calculator to interpret the DTD found, but failed to write the DTDs to Registry "an unhandled error has occured", despite running it as admin.
So I used the NVidia Controlpanel to create a custom resolution with the Values obtained from DTD Calculator

Code:

[table]
[tr]
	[th][/th]
	[th]Horizontal[/th]
	[th]Vertical[/th]
[/tr]
[tr]
	[td]Active Pixel[/td]
	[td]2560[/td]
	[td]1440[/td]
[/tr]
[tr]
	[td]Upper Black Shoulder[/td]
	[td]160[/td]
	[td]41[/td]
[/tr]
[tr]
	[td]Synchronized Width[/td]
	[td]48[/td]
	[td]3[/td]
[/tr]
[tr]
	[td]Total Pixels[/td]
	[td]2768[/td]
	[td]1484[/td]
[/tr]
[tr]
	[td]Polarity[/td]
	[td]Negative (-)[/td]
	[td]Positive (+)[/td]
[/tr]
[/table]

And that did the trick!
So I tested the Monitor a little but noticed how frustrating the refresh rate is, when watching videos.... I kind of expected I'd have to live with that, but I figured I'll give other refresh rates a try...

40 Hz worked
45 Hz worked and looked even better

hmm--- 45 is already reasonably high so why not 60 Hz?

I was quite amazed that it worked with to problem whatsoever!

The only minor problem now is, that for some reason the Nvidia Control Panel doesn't launch anymore, so I can't check if even higher refreshrates would work - but to me it doesn't really matter.

So I am now running the Dell U2713HM on a Vaio VPC-Z13 (M9E/B) at 2560x1440 60 Hertz (connected via DVI through the Docking Station VGP-PRZ10)

I was actually looking for a new Laptop with Displayport in order to run a proper resolution, but now I can happily wait until something nice with Haswell comes out... Fantastic!

 

I'm glad you got it working, can you send me your INF files so I can make them available for everyone? Please send all the variations you made. Email them to jeff AT computercowboy DOT com

 

I'm afraid I didn't make an INF File, hence my detailed description how I configured it through the Nvidia Control Panel.

 

I am afraid I only skimmed your post and the only thing that I really paid attention to is the fact that you were successful. My bad.

 

It's me again. After I reinstalled Windows, I wanted to get rid of Powerstrip. Since nobody answered my first question, I just tried your INF-File and it worked perfectly! Now I know from my test with Powerstrip, that my ATI 4650 is capable of 45hz with the U2711. I've tried to create these inf files myself and went throug various tutorials, but no driver really worked. Where exactly do you get these values from:

Maybe you've got an INF File for 45hz? But I'd really like to understand how to do it and try it myself.

 

I don't have an INF for 45hz, I could probably make one if you sent me your DAT file. I don't remember the process very well but it is all detailed in my first post.

I am kind of busy at the moment, but why don't you go through my process and see where you get stuck then ask for help on that step. I realize it'll be a little different with ATI.

To answer your specific question about modeline generation, if I recall correctly the Phoenix program is what generates the final INF with the proper modeline.

Also the 45hz INF was not created by me, that is from another member who has a U2711 and built that file for his Z2, I just mirrored the file. I have a U3011.

 

Okay, the biggest problem is how to find out the pixel clock. ATI drivers and software don't have the same functions as nVidia...unfortunately. Haven't found another way to get the pixel count. I think I can create the INF on my own as soon as I get the pixel clock.

 

Can you use powerstrip to calculate the pixel clock?

 

That's what I've tried. If I use the working 40Hz INF and just change to pixel clock with phoenix, I can't use the full resolution, only between 1680 and 1920. I've tried many different pixel clocks (from Powerstrip and Custom Resolution Utility) but nothing really worked out. I guess I have to stick with 40Hz for now...which is kinda frustrating when I now that 45Hz are possible. Maybe somebody out there has a working 45Hz INF?

 

Have you looked at this thread? http://forum.notebookreview.com/sony/602724-success-2560x1440-support-new-vpc-z2-dell-u2711.html

 

Yes, but still haven't found a way to make it work. I think I'll send a PM to somebody who created a working INF.

 

Why don't you take the DTD from the working INF and edit it with DTD calculator, then paste it back into the INF when you are done?

 

Pixel clock of 189 would give you 44.81Hz
Pixel clock of 190 would give you 45.05Hz

I found this by following psyq321's instructions from his thread and punching his EDID into the DTD calculator. Then I messed around with the pixel clock until I found some good looking refresh rates.

You should now be able to use the rest of my instructions to build your INF file.

 

Thanks for the values. I've found a way to get those through Custom Resolution Utility. Unfortunately, they didn't work. Then I've tried much lower Pixelclocks (e.g. fpr 32hz) which worked just fine. So it seems that through the EDID method, 45hz is not possible Or I'm just missing something...
I've read something about CVT-RB but I couldn't find any setting to activate it in the driver options.

I just wonder, why Powerstrip was able to handle 45hz and now I'm stuck with 40hz...

 

Timing mode perhaps, there are reduced blanking timings that require less bandwidth. Is there a way to specify the timing mode when you tweak the final INF using Phoenix? I can't remember, the answer is there though. if you can do it with PowerStrip then one of two things is true, PowerStrip was lying and it wasn't actually doing 45Hz, or the EDID override INF isn't running the same timing mode that PowerStrip was.

 

lets do some basic math, the bandwidth on your computer's HDMI should be just about the same as mine. I top out at 2560x1600@35Hz, with a pixel clock of 154.89MHz.

Bandwidth I am using is (W x H x Clock): 2560 x 1600 x 154.89 = 634,429,440

My theory is you can't go much higher than that before you hit the cliff effect.

So let's run the numbers on what you are trying to do which is 2560x1440@45Hz

Bandwidth estimate: 2560 x 1440 x 180.05 = 663,736,320

You see that 663,736,320 is a slightly bigger/higher bandwidth number than my 634,429,440
So let's suppose that the cliff is right at around 634 Million...

I think the best you are going to be able to run is: 2560x1600@43Hz giving you a bandwidth of 2560 x 1440 x 171.93 = 633,802,752
as soon as you jump to 44Hz the clock jumps to 175.92 and the overall bandwidth goes up to 648,511,488 and then I suspect you are over the cliff.

The article below describes the cliff effect as it applies to distance runs analog vs digital, but it is a similar phenomenon we are dealing with here, trying to overclock the HDMI chips that are sending the data to the monitor. It'll work great up to a certain point, then it just falls apart.

Cliff effect - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

I did have a similar experience to you early on in my experiments, I used the nVidia tool to create a custom WQXGA resolution with a higher pixel clock, it would actually display as such on the screen but throw an error that it was not valid. What was most interesting is that it would not stick on the screen, it would flash on and off occasionally. I believe that perhaps the nVidia control and PowerStrip may be able to do something that overclocks the HDMI chip where the INF will not. The INF hack works on the principal that we have some bandwidth to work with so lets bump up the resolution and trim down the pixel clock thereby keeping the overall bandwidth the same.

All the HDMI bandwidth is going to be about the same, psyq321 was only able to make 40Hz work before he could go no higher.

If you look at that thread there is a whole bunch of discussion about changing other things like the color depth to lower the bandwidth in your favor.

http://forum.notebookreview.com/sony/602724-success-2560x1440-support-new-vpc-z2-dell-u2711.html

 

This works on my HP Envy 17 3200 ATI 7690M HDMI 1.4 to DVI single link Dell 3008 at 30 hz 2560x1600

 

Glad you got it working... did you use my driver? or did you create your own?
Give this thread a rating and spread some reps and likes around.

 

Thanks for the information. 40hz seems to be the highest rate, INF files can reach. Powerstrip really seems to be able to do a little bit more, that also explains the slight color change/shift when applying the settings for 45hz in Powerstrip. Going higher in PS resulted in blinking black screens.

So I'll stick with 40hz, still enough to work comfortably.