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General Computer Thread

We have a load of those docks at work, but people typically only run two monitors (and perhaps the laptop screen itsel at most). We're also limited to smaller monitors so 1920x1080 at most.

Like @Marc , I'm thinking possibly hardware limit, but good luck:)
 
Could be a limit on the hardware both with the ability to run 3 monitor with the new ones (4K?) and the version on display port that is supported.

Even with the latest and greatest Dell laptops and docks there can issues. Some-one posted in r/sysadmin on Reddit during the week.

Try dropping the 32” monitors back to 1920x1080 ( yeah will be as ugly as sin) and see you can run the 3.

From what little I found that was directly related, I guessed it must be a hardware issue. More likely with the onboard video than the dock, but I did see references to the later docks being able to handle it. Also saw some references to DP version.

Setting the monitors to 1920x1080 did not help. Still no signal either way (with splitter or on the daisy chain).

This isn't exactly unexpected as I do run an older laptop (tho newer than the previous one). I wonder if there's a firmware update for the video. I'm certain I have the latest driver for it.
 
think you might be SOL there. Things like updated standards for HDMI and DP are done at the hardware level.

You could be right on there.

I grabbed the latest driver for the AMD Radeon HD 8790M straight from the AMD site.

It uninstalled both the Dell supplied AMD driver I had, as well as the Intel HD graphic driver, lost the second monitor then "stopped running" altogether.

Maybe too advanced for Win7, or just garbage? I'm not sure.

I'll keep poking around.
 
Maybe too advanced for Win7, or just garbage? I'm not sure.

Given the Windows 7 is out of support (unless you pony up the $$$$) I think you're going to be banging your head against a wall as support disappears a rapid rate.

Hopefully you've at least thrown an SSD in that machine. I support a local non-profit that's got a couple of machines (with i5) by the gods the hard disks in those things makes life painful (well that an only 4GB of ram).
 
Given the Windows 7 is out of support (unless you pony up the $$$$) I think you're going to be banging your head against a wall as support disappears a rapid rate.

Hopefully you've at least thrown an SSD in that machine. I support a local non-profit that's got a couple of machines (with i5) by the gods the hard disks in those things makes life painful (well that an only 4GB of ram).

I got a brand new 1TB Samsung SSD and 16GB g.skill RAM when I got this laptop (Dell Latitude E6540 i7). It was more than adequate until I went full on monitor crazy, and they work the way they're set up right now.

I just wanted to do up the third monitor for certain things. I'll send an email to AMD next week asking about their poxy drivers. For now, I did a system restore to yesterday and it's all good.
 
I just wanted to do up the third monitor for certain things. I'll send an email to AMD next week asking about their poxy drivers. For now, I did a system restore to yesterday and it's all good.

digging a bit further and I'm going to say it's a limitation of the dock it's self.

For comparison I've got an Asrock Z97/ITe board with an i5-45xx so it's the same generation as your laptop.

According to the specs I can run triple monitor using HDMI,DVI and DP
Supports HDMI with max. resolution up to 4K x 2K (4096x2304) @ 24Hz
- Supports DVI-I with max. resolution up to 1920x1200 @ 60Hz
- Supports DisplayPort 1.2 with max. resolution up to 4K x 2K (4096x2304) @ 24Hz or 4K x 2K (3840x2160) @ 60Hz

So in I can do that with what ever intergrated graphics Intel put in the Core processors at the time you should be able to do with it an AMD card.

But looking at the docking station there's a one difference - you've DVI, DP and D-sub15.

The D-sub is analogue signal, the other two are digital and it's possible that's the deal breaker.

Been nearly a decade since I've studied the difference between the video connectors so I could be wrong.

These days DP \USB-C and Thunderbolt are used in daisy chaining monitors which makes things much easier.
 
digging a bit further and I'm going to say it's a limitation of the dock it's self.

For comparison I've got an Asrock Z97/ITe board with an i5-45xx so it's the same generation as your laptop.

According to the specs I can run triple monitor using HDMI,DVI and DP


So in I can do that with what ever intergrated graphics Intel put in the Core processors at the time you should be able to do with it an AMD card.

But looking at the docking station there's a one difference - you've DVI, DP and D-sub15.

The D-sub is analogue signal, the other two are digital and it's possible that's the deal breaker.

Been nearly a decade since I've studied the difference between the video connectors so I could be wrong.

These days DP \USB-C and Thunderbolt are used in daisy chaining monitors which makes things much easier.

Ive seen references to dock firmware, but then the Dell site says no. Also looked for a timeline of their docks, to see which one is the last physical dock I can use. Nothing yet.

I've never even seen anything that uses a d-sub, but my dock has one. Also a VGA. It's a Dell P03X (probably e-port I).

I still haven't bought the mounting kit for a metro style rack for the third monitor, so I have some time.
 
I just think those devices are super neat... Now not cheap here but still.
I wish Thin Computing would've become popular for home / small business.

Right now, we're entering an age where a regular PC can have 16 or more cores.

What used to be a "Server" setup in the old days is becoming a regular PC in the modern days.

This is perfect for Thin Computing clients.

Think about what you could do with "Local Multiplayer".

Almost zero lag since everything is run on the same machine.

Don't forget, we're also entering a age with higher resolution Monitors.

a 4K 16:9 Aspect Ratio Large Screen display can host 9x 720p independent screens or 4x 1080p independent screens.

Imagine Local Couch Gaming with 9x Friends on a Super Gaming Rig with "Local Multi-Player".

Literally, forget about Networking, the Local session is run on the same machine, Sub Milli-second lag.

Imagine using these types of setup in "Cyber Cafe's" where you can get everybody to play together on the same machines.

With N-computing, they offer up to 100x Thin Clients or more per machine.

The amount you can stretch Local Multi-Player gaming is insane.
 
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I noticed that plug when I looked at the docking station earlier and can’t it rang a bell.

The I found out it’s dell proprietary for another add on.

The e-monitor stand allowed a docking station to snap into the bottom part (different stands went with different era docks) and was about 6" high as a monitor stand. It had it's own power button on the from of the "shelf", which I assume is where that port comes in.

I'm still looking for a definitive list of release dates for Dell docks, so I can try to find one that is a later release. Hopefully a newer dock will do the trick, but I'll need to be sure before I buy another one.
 
I'm still looking for a definitive list of release dates for Dell docks, so I can try to find one that is a later release. Hopefully a newer dock will do the trick, but I'll need to be sure before I buy another one.

My expectation is that you'll find that there was only one model compatible with your laptop - manufacturers tended to make accessories unique to each model.

Nice thing with USB-C/Thunderbolt/etc is that's broken a lot that lock in by vendors (though Dell still sells their own docks and they still have issues).
 
I know my work laptop won't work with the newer Dell docks (no usb-c)

Some of the people have newer laptops (and so the newer docks) and we've ended up binning the old docks as we get our systems refreshed.
 
My expectation is that you'll find that there was only one model compatible with your laptop - manufacturers tended to make accessories unique to each model.

Nice thing with USB-C/Thunderbolt/etc is that's broken a lot that lock in by vendors (though Dell still sells their own docks and they still have issues).

I know my work laptop won't work with the newer Dell docks (no usb-c)

Some of the people have newer laptops (and so the newer docks) and we've ended up binning the old docks as we get our systems refreshed.

The new USB-C ones definitely not. I think the PR02 & PR03 work with mine tho. Then there's e-port I, II and II+ (or something like that). It's worth looking at.
 
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