[HN Gopher] Explaining 4K 60Hz Video Through USB-C Hub (2019) ___________________________________________________________________ Explaining 4K 60Hz Video Through USB-C Hub (2019) Author : WayToDoor Score : 117 points Date : 2021-04-22 11:22 UTC (11 hours ago) (HTM) web link (www.bigmessowires.com) (TXT) w3m dump (www.bigmessowires.com) | danieldk wrote: | Be sure to read the update at the end, since the article is | partly outdated with DisplayPort 1.4. With DP 1.4, only two lanes | are necessary thanks to HBR3 (and DSC). So, you can have 4k@60Hz | while also having USB 3.1 Gen3 at 10Gbit/s. | | E.g. I use a Lenovo USB-C Dock Gen 2, which supports this. You | can have it all with just a single cable. | | Unfortunately, Linux misconfigures the lanes (does not use HBR3) | for this hub and apparently some other hubs [1], so 4K@60Hz is | not supported using a single cable. Windows 10 works fine and my | wife's MacBook as well. | | [1] https://gitlab.freedesktop.org/drm/amd/-/issues/1317 | thirtyseven wrote: | If this is the case, then how does the Caldigit TS3 Plus dock | (https://www.caldigit.com/ts3-plus/) support 4K@60Hz video and | USB 3.0 ports while only using DisplayPort 1.2? | [deleted] | Matthias247 wrote: | It uses Thunderbolt 3, not plain USB. Although sharing the | same connector, these are different protocols | EwanToo wrote: | That's a thunderbolt dock, which has higher bandwidth than | usb 3 and it's variants (usb4 mostly merges with thunderbolt | 4 but not entirely) | techrat wrote: | Thunderbolt mode over USB C is basically a direct PCIe | connection along with DP. | tmobileuser wrote: | I've that exact set up right now and it works great! | | Kubuntu+thinkpad nano+2.0 dock+4K at 60hz | Nextgrid wrote: | Does this require cable/hub support? I've currently got a hub | which provides USB3 ports as well as HDMI, and as expected, | only goes up to 4k@30Hz. | | Would a simple software change & hardware support on the _host_ | side be enough, or does the hub still need to be upgraded? | wmf wrote: | That hub presumably has a DP-to-HDMI chip that will never | support DP 1.4. HDMI isn't for monitors anyway... | danieldk wrote: | It's so annoying that many monitors (e.g. common LG models) | have 1x DP and 2x HDMI. | SECProto wrote: | I have a monitor with 1xDP and 2xHDMI and it's perfect. I | use the DP for my desktop, one HDMI for my laptop dock, | and the other HDMI for anything I might choose to use | instead (console being the only thing I've used so far) | vladvasiliu wrote: | I have one of those LG monitors, although mine has a | usb-c input which also handles display-port (so it's 2xDP | + 2xHDMI). | | What really bugs me with HDMI is that monitors and | computers never seem to agree on the image standard and | for some reason always default to washed-out colours, | even when connecting a PC to a PC monitor (as opposed to | a TV). | | Under Linux/X11 I know how to set it in full range mode | [0], but I was using such a monitor at home and connected | it the HDMI output of my gaming PC (Radeon GPU) and | couldn't figure out how to fix the washed-out colours. In | the end I bit the bullet and bought a display-port | switch. | | Now windows complains about the "limited display | connectivity" (the monitor has a USB hub whose upstream | is the usb-c/dp connector), but at least the colours look | OK. | | --- | | [0] `xrandr --output HDMI1 --set "Broadcast RGB" "Full"` | IIRC | danieldk wrote: | At the very least it requires DP 1.3 support of both the | dock/hub and the machine that it is hooked up to for HBR3 and | DP 1.4 for DSC. If either uses an older version, it doesn't | work. I don't know about HDMI, there is HDMI alt-mode, but I | think many docks use DP-Alt mode for HDMI as well. | | tl;dr: requires support from the host and the dock. | seba_dos1 wrote: | > there is HDMI alt-mode, but I think many docks use DP-Alt | mode for HDMI as well | | DP alt-mode is ubiquitous, while HDMI alt-mode support is | very rare on both host and peripheral sides. | Dylan16807 wrote: | > DisplayPort 1.4 can deliver 4K 60Hz video using only two lanes, | with a new high-bit-rate mode called HBR3 with a compression mode | called DSC. This makes it possible to get 4K60 video and USB 3.1 | ports in the same hub, but only if the computer, hub, and monitor | all support DisplayPort 1.4 and HBR3. | | You don't need DSC to display 4K60 over two lanes, only to go | above that or add HDR too. | | Also displayport 1.4 support doesn't guarantee DSC for some | reason. | bombcar wrote: | What's annoying is that the "Thunderbolt" connectors ALSO depend | on the chipset internally (and how it is routed) - for example on | my MacBook Pro (15-inch, 2017) - I can drive four external | monitors but ONLY if I connect two on each side of the laptop. I | have two daisy chained via Thunderbolt but I cannot use that | second Thunderbolt port on that side for a third monitor - it | must be on the other side. | AceJohnny2 wrote: | If I understand your issue correctly, this is a macOS issue, | where macOS only support DP daisy-chain (MST "Multi-Stream | Transport") for mirroring content, not multiple screens. | | https://medium.com/@sebvance/everything-you-need-to-know-abo... | | (I stumbled upon this limitation myself recently. Supposedly | Windows doesn't have this limitation though I haven't tried it | myself) | bombcar wrote: | I don't know what I'm technically using, but it's two | monitors daisy-chained via Thunderbolt and they're not | mirrored. | | System Report says "Thunderbolt 2" is how they're connected. | paco3346 wrote: | Part of it may also depend on the dock and how it routes | the TB lanes. My dock uses 2 lanes for dock features and | does passthrough for the rest. Are you able to daisy-chain | your monitors off any of those ports without the dock in | the path? | bombcar wrote: | I have no dock at all (though technically the monitors | may be a dock). | | Apple Thunderbolt 3 to Thunderbolt 2 cable -> 34UM88 -> | Thunderbolt 2 to Thunderbolt 2 cable -> 34UM88. | | To make it even more fun, Thunderbolt 3 looks like USB-C | and Thunderbolt 2 looks like Mini DisplayPort. | | https://i.imgur.com/5TJaIqg.png | | (Technically I do have a dock but it's on the other side | and is unrelated). | danieldk wrote: | _To make it even more fun, Thunderbolt 3 looks like USB-C | and Thunderbolt 2 looks like Mini DisplayPort._ | | What do you mean? Thunderbolt 3 _uses_ USB-C connectors. | And you can also use a Thunderbolt 3 cable as a USB 3.1 | Gen2 /DP-Alt/PD cable. | | The big annoyance is that it doesn't work the other way | around. There are even USB-C cables that only carry USB | 2.0 and do not have the SuperSpeed lanes. So, they are | not only worthless for Thunderbolt 3, but also for | getting good tranfer rates using newer USB revisions. | Worst of all is that there is no cable marking system. | bombcar wrote: | Exactly - I have no easy way to tell if something is "USB | USB-C" or "TB3 or TB4 USB-C" especially on the adapters. | It's frustrating getting everything hooked up. | citrusybread wrote: | it's hilarious you know. for almost 20 years we had this | perfect "it sits it fits" approach to usb, now here we | are, four standards three cables one connector. easily | avoided by just keeping a different connector for each | spec... | pinot wrote: | At least you have USB-C on both sides. Dell is shipping | 'professional' laptops with USB-C on only one side. | fireattack wrote: | But does it have the problem GP is describing? | | If not, I'd say it's definitely better than his/her MacBook | Pro since they're at least functioning. | anyfoo wrote: | Relatedly, does anyone have any solution for switching a 5k LG | monitor between two Macs? There seems to be only a single KVM | switch that does that, and it's around $500. It also does not | switch one Thunderbolt, but two Display Ports, so it seems that | you would additionally need a bunch of adapters which split the | USB-C Thunderbolt cable into two Display Port connections, and | back together at the other end. | | Note that there seem to be more solutions for 4k, but it's my | understanding that those don't work for 5k. | [deleted] | perryh2 wrote: | If you aren't switching between your computers too often, you | can just get a USB hub like this and switch between display | inputs from your monitor: | https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B083JKDNRJ/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b... | anyfoo wrote: | My monitor only has a single input, that's the problem I'm | trying to solve. I don't need to switch USB. | ggayan wrote: | Use a DP 1.4 switch: https://www.amazon.com/Angusplay- | DisplayPort-Switch-Bidirect... | | I tried ConnectPro's DP 1.4 KVM and the display blacked out | constantly in MacOS. Friends who purchased the same KVM ran | into the same issue with displays that push DP spec to the | limit like 3440x1440@144. | | The switch I shared works just fine. From time to time (once | every 1-2 months maybe) the display blacks out for a second but | a computer restart does the trick, or reconnecting cables. Also | make sure to get HBR3 displayport certified cables. | anyfoo wrote: | Just to confirm, this does work with LG 5k monitors? The | resolution there is 5120x2880, which is significantly more | (the vertical resolution alone is doubled, and then some for | the horizontal), but I don't know the refresh rate, so the | bandwidth could still be similar maybe. | | EDIT: I'm also wondering, the only switch I know to be | working uses two display port cables to the monitor (which | I'd have to adapt to one Thunderbolt 3 instead), while your | device only uses one. That doesn't bode well... | ianhowson wrote: | It won't work with the LG Ultrafine 5k, which _requires_ a | Thunderbolt connection to run at full resolution, and | behind-the-scenes is a tiled pair of DP1.2 displays. | | It ought to work with a DisplayPort 1.4 5k, though there | aren't many of those. | anyfoo wrote: | Thanks. So as far as I can tell, that ridiculously | expensive switch is still the only option (if even, I | wasn't able to fully confirm), and nowhere near worth the | cost vs. just physically swapping the cable between | computers. | ggayan wrote: | Not sure: | | irb(main):003:0> 5120 _2880_ 60 > 3440 _1440_ 144 => true | z9qjk wrote: | I think the whole concept of usb c/tb3 is flawed, cables should | be inside the computer not outside. I have a fairly simple setup: | 2017 Macbook Pro with two TB3 ports, a Dell monitor, an external | SSD, a TB2 soundcard and a wireless usb mouse, because a | traditional mouse works better in VMs than a Magic Mouse. This | setup worked perfectly with a 2015 13" MBP: the HDMI port | supports the Dell monitor, I connected my soundcard to the | dedicated TB2 port and I still had two USB3 ports for my mouse | and the external ssd. Now comes the revolutionized & courageous | setup with two TB3 ports: First of all I had to buy a USB3 dock. | That's ok but still 50 euros down the toilet. Then an Apple | issued TB2-TB3 adapter which was another 100 euros. But then I | figured I can't connect these devices at once so I've had to buy | an Apple Issued Digital AV Adapter for another 100 euros. We are | already at 250 euros and the fun part just starts: If I connect | my Dell monitor and my soundcard (even turned off) at the same | time the monitor starts to flicker and the soundcard starts | spitting out dirty electrostatic noise. Yes, a good old ground | loop! So now I can't listen to music with my soundcard and have | my monitor plugged in at the same time. I can't use my wireless | mouse because the wireless dongle is too far from my USB3 dock. I | can't use my external ssd reliably because every time I put my | Macbook to sleep it disconnects in a way that i have to | phisically reconnect it. Every fkn time. So I thought, gee I just | have to shell out another 300 euros for a Caldigit TS3+ and all | my problems will be solved, right? USB-C ecosystem: hold my beer | The statical noise comes through the TS3+ as well plus it heats | up my Macbook to a completely pathetic degree, so it throttles. | Because it has to be thin too. TDP is just stat for nerds. SSD is | still unreliable and the dock is still too far from my mouse to | have a stable connection. In the end I spent 550 euros on | completely useless environmental waste bullsh*t that shouldn't | exist at all. I get what Apple and the whole industry had in mind | with usb-c but it is flawed by design. It has to be reengineered | from the ground up. | [deleted] | [deleted] | _nickwhite wrote: | I'm over IT for about 40 remote workers. One of the comments in | this article rings so true about the pain of using USB-C to | DisplayPort: | | "I hate my USB-C monitor ports that work is making me use. | Sometimes when I plug the USB-Dock in, it works fine. Other times | I get one of the two 1920x1080 monitors attached to turn on. | Others, no monitors turn on, and I have to unplug it and plug it | back in. Then it usually works." | | It's SUPER finicky and picky, pretty much across the board. I | find this true for the PC/Windows- macbook pros seems to work | MUCH better, even with triple-2k monitors, but still not | perfectly every time. | danieldk wrote: | It's interesting how experiences differ. For me, USB-C <-> DP | has been super reliable for years - Mac, Linux, and Windows. | Admittedly, that was with a USB-C <-> DP (Alt mode) cable | without any other functions. | nikanj wrote: | I have a macbook and I'm sad to report it's just as finicky | abhorrence wrote: | I think it depends a bit on the generation. I have a 15" MBP | that inconsistently connects to the usb devices connected to | the monitor. And I have a 16" 2019 one that has never failed | to connect properly to the exact same setup. Of course there | could be a different configuration of monitor and usb devices | that my 16" would fail to work consistently with. | Rebelgecko wrote: | The problem I have with my MBP is that it randomly forgets | which monitor is which, so the left one becomes the right and | vice versa | sp332 wrote: | Does it work better to keep the monitors powered off, plug in | the hub, then turn on the monitors? | vladvasiliu wrote: | This looks to me like the controllers are sometimes badly | implemented. | | I have a HP ProBook with a USB-C/DP output that I plug into an | LG monitor with a USB hub. The hub works in USB2 mode + 4K@60Hz | (as advertised by LG). This has worked consistently for me for | more than two years, using Arch Linux + X11. Sleep, plug, | unplug whenever I like, it just works. It seems to also work | fairly consistently when colleagues plug in their Windows | laptops (also HP). | | I also have a HP EliteDesk with a Thunderbolt + USB-C / DP | port. This is a shitshow. The same LG monitor works every time | for BIOS and such when connected through USB-C. | | Installing Windows works. The Windows logon screen sometimes | shows up, but not reliably. The Windows desktop has only ever | worked once. This same setup _usually_ works with Linux /X11. | But after a display sleep, it sometimes figures it can only do | 4K@30Hz. Sometimes it chooses some other random resolution. If | I unplug it a number of times, it may end up working again. | Maybe. Or maybe not. Sometimes I have to reboot. Which may or | may not solve the issue. | | Plugging in a thunderbolt display (Apple) works more often. But | if the screen goes to sleep, there's a good chance it will wake | up with some ridiculous resolution, like 1280x720. It's | impossible to change it. If the computer goes to sleep or if | the monitor is unplugged, it's game over. The screen will never | come back again unless I do a cold boot (turn off & on, reboot | won't do). | | I keep hearing people complaining about macbooks being | unreliable with external screens. I wonder if it isn't the same | kind of issue with a broken controller implementation | somewhere. I've never had the slightest issue with external | screens on my 2013 MBP (15" with nvidia dGPU). Thunderbolt, | 4k@60Hz, you name it, it works. Plug / unplug when it's | running, when it's sleeping, whatever, it just works as | expected. | rozularen wrote: | With the following constraints how would one manage to have the | less amount of cable dangling around? | | 1 PC (personal use, desktop or laptop) | | 1 work laptop | | 2 Monitors | | Keyboard & Mouse | | Be able to connect the work laptop with only 1 cable and switch | keyboard mouse and monitors to it | | Maybe should I look for a KVM switch instead? | cephalization wrote: | I would look into usb switcher for peripherals and dock for the | laptop. Manually change displays using on screen controls. | | Having video switching gets real expensive and only a few KVMs | support high refresh / high resolution displays. | throwaway789394 wrote: | I remote into my work laptop from my desktop. Works like a | charm. | bradstewart wrote: | Is there an additional constraint to "not unplug things from | your personal machine"? | | If not, and you can get two machines with Thunderbolt, a TB | dock solves this. I have my monitors, keyboard, mouse, | ethernet, etc all plugged into a TB docking station. Then a | single TB cable I swap between my work machine (Macbook Pro) | and personal machine (Razer Blade). | sp332 wrote: | You could use a wireless mouseand keyboard that support being | connected to multiple computers. I have a Logitech MX Anywhere | mouse that works really well, and I know there are keyboards | that do that too. | GekkePrutser wrote: | Aha. Now I understand why my Lenovo USB-C dock doesn't do 4K@60 | on my Mac. It's not thunderbolt capable. | | By the way, it does have an extra limitation on Mac. It only | supports one external display. Apparently this is due to the Mac | lacking support for Multi Stream Technology over DisplayPort | (because it has Thunderbolt instead). | | Unfortunately Thunderbolt hubs are very expensive as the article | also mentions. So I added a DisplayLink adapter for my third | display (one 4K@60 directly connected to a USB-C port, the hub on | the other with one HDMI out and the display link and lots of | other USB stuff :) ) | | By the way DisplayLink support is pretty good now on Mac. Even | for the new chipsets. I wouldn't call it nonexistent as the | article does. It does have some limitations though, like Night | Light not switching on. | rsync wrote: | What, specifically, does this imply for the number of external | displays one can attach to a raspberry pi 4 ? | | Naively, you might think that with 2x USB-C ports, you could | attach two of these: | | Cable Matters 201055 - 2x DisplayPort, power, ethernet, 2x USB2 | | ... and also attach something to each of the onboard HDMI port | and have a total of _six_ monitors. | | However, I don't think that's the case because of something- | something-video lanes/memory/bios something-something ... | | Does anyone have a finer grained understanding ? | | EDIT: I am reminded that this post[1] discusses an alternate | route using the CM4 and the pcie port on the breakout board ... | and failing to succeed in using a pci graphics card. USB3 | monitors seem a more promising avenue but, again, I think there | is some memory/BAR limitation ... | | [1] https://www.jeffgeerling.com/blog/2020/external-gpus-and- | ras... | [deleted] | nfriedly wrote: | For a Raspberry Pi 4B, the USB-C port does not support | displays, only power and USB 2.0 data. The other pins are not | connected to anything. | | Without extra hardware, you can only connect displays to the | two microHDMI ports. | rsync wrote: | There are, however, the two USB3 ports which you'd think | could be used to drive displays ... I believe they cannot be, | however. | ddalex wrote: | Only DisplayLink... but I've tried to compile the | DisplayLink drivers for Pi4 for my adapter and failed | miserably. | jbverschoor wrote: | In other words, it's a big mess. | mnd999 wrote: | Everything involving a USB-C cable seems to have been a big | mess since day 1. | | The argument for having the same connector for everything only | works when you can plug in a cable and it just works. | | If I need special cables and capabilities for this, that and | the other let's just go back to having different cables so it's | at least obvious when we've got it wrong. | Ashanmaril wrote: | Yeah, I remember being excited at the beginning thinking we | finally had one cable to rule them all. | | Now we're a few years in and seeing a USB-C port just fills | me with dread cause I know I'm gonna have to do research. And | I yearn for the days where if I'm hooking up a monitor or | something, I see an HDMI port and know exactly what that port | is for and what kind of cable plugs into it. Seeing a USB-C | port in something could mean any number of things. | notJim wrote: | I disagree strongly, although I'm sympathetic. | | Yes it took far more research than ideal, but I have a TB3 | dock currently charging my computer, connecting a mess of USB | peripherals and connecting to my 4k monitor at 60 hz using | only one single cable and port, and it's wonderful. Totally | worth it. | minikites wrote: | How reliable is it? Everyone I know where I work has | problems with their Thunderbolt breakout boxes. | btgeekboy wrote: | I have an OWC Thunderbolt 3 Pro dock; I use it with my | work-issued 16" MBP and 2020 MBA. I have a 1440p and a 4K | screen attached; both running at 60Hz. | | It was rough at first when I picked it up last year. | However the driver updates in Big Sur seem to have fixed | my complaints, particularly with the MBA that almost | never worked. | | It works pretty well now. I unplug my work laptop and | swap it for my personal one when I want to work on | personal projects, and things just work. | | My biggest complaints about this dock now are that the | fan is loud, and it only charges at 60w. I worked around | the noise by attaching it to the underside of my desk, so | it's pretty hard to hear now. | notJim wrote: | Been using a CalDigit dock with two 2017 Macbook Pros | (one work, one personal), basically zero problems. There | was a slight hitch with the ethernet port when I first | started, but it wasn't hard to fix. | filoleg wrote: | Not the person you are replying to, but I've been using a | Belkin Thunderbolt 3 Dock Pro for the past year, and can | only claim positive experiences. | | No reliability issues whatsoever, despite me switching | the dock between my work laptop and a personal laptop | almost daily. The dock is connected to a bunch of | peripherals, as well as 2 external monitors (one 1080p, | another 4k@60hz). Only one cable going out of my laptop | (connecting the laptop and the dock, as the cable | connecting to the dock also charges the laptop at the | same time). | reportingsjr wrote: | I have the same experience with the dell usb c dock I use | at work. Two 1080p external monitors, ethernet, usb hub, | and I've never had a single issue with it. | cwt137 wrote: | It would be interesting if the author mentioned not just about | 4k60, but also how do you get something like 10bpp color. I have | a MBP and can watch YouTube videos in HDR on the laptop screen, | but not through the hub I have. | Camillo wrote: | If you're buying a hub now, you don't want any of these things, | you want Thunderbolt 4. I'd really like to see an equivalent | article for it. | ClumsyPilot wrote: | I am trying to get usbc connection to work on 4k monitor, and i | tried 5 different usbc cabkes, only one worked. | | Every week it falls back to 30 fps and needs to be replugged, | caressed, and incantations | minikites wrote: | I use HDMI and it works great. It's hard to see USB-C as | anything but a failure for devices other than | smartphones/tablets. | danieldk wrote: | I have two of these. They always work without any issues: | | https://www.coolblue.nl/en/product/723407/startech-usb-c-to-... | paco3346 wrote: | I struggled for a long time to find a "full featured" dock that | could support my setup with a single cable. I wanted 3x | 2560x1440@60 monitors, wired ethernet, USB 3.x, and power without | having 5+ cables to move around. | | Last year Dell finally released the WD19TB and it's awesome. | https://www.delltechnologies.com/resources/en-us/asset/data-... | | I happen to run an XPS with Arch & KDE Plasma and everything | worked perfectly out of the box. Highly recommended for anyone | who has a TB3 laptop and is looking for a good dock. | baybal2 wrote: | The problem with TB used to be the power consumption of the PHY | chip. | | A guy in a coworking next to me has a Dell dock which makes his | fans spin, and the laptop body painfully hot to touch. | | How is it for you? | paco3346 wrote: | Mine stays warmish but not enough to make the fans | consistently spin. The heat generated by using the dock is no | different than what's generated by using an AC adapter with | individual DP & USB cables. | twic wrote: | Can you boot off a USB-C external drive plugged into the hub? | | I have an XPS, a Sitecom USB-C hub, and a Samsung T5 drive. | Booted off its internal drive, the laptop can see the drive | through the hub. But it can't boot off it. I don't know why; i | imagine that a USB-C hub is not transparent, and the host needs | to explicitly reach through it, but the XPS firmware doesn't | know how. | paco3346 wrote: | Yes, I can. Note however, that this is not a USB dock- it's | Thunderbolt. | | In my particular case (literally just tested this) I needed | to enable Thunderbolt boot support and change the security | level (I have my thunderbolt settings pretty locked down). | | Booting off both a USB drive and a TB drive worked. | twic wrote: | Thank you! I am hazy about the relationship between USB-C | and Thunderbolt, but this information motivates me to go | and find out! | gerlin2010 wrote: | I made an account just to share _my_ experiences with a Dell | XPS 9300, Dell WD19TB and one Dell U2719x Display, running the | latest Linux Mint, in Cinnamon flavor. There's a reason, I'm | spelling out Dell so many times here, because my expectations | were that such an all-company-x setup would work out of the box | with the least amount of problems. Sadly it did not. Currently | the setup is workable, but what I've experienced in the half | year I'm running it was nightmarish. The thing wouldn't power | up, screen would black out and not come on again during | meetings, display must stay on all the time (no power safe), | sleep is impossible because the system won't come up again or | go to sleep again after a few seconds of waking it up. Web | research has lead me to believe, that I'm not the exception, | but rather the rule and there might be a reason Dell is still | sending out firmware updates for the XPS and the dock (which in | general is greatly appreciated). I have to add, the Laptop sits | closed in a stand behind the screen, which might contribute to | my problems, but I just couldn't let this 100% recommendation | stand here without an opposite experience ... I hope this it's | working out better for everyone else, but this is my "story". | Dell support is no great help either and a time investment I am | not happy to make anymore after several tries. | paco3346 wrote: | Thank you for pointing this out- as individual stories our | experiences are anecdotal but combined they paint a different | picture. I was hesitant at first when I ordered mine and | expected to have problems as others did. | | I should also point out that I use an XPS 9570. | gerlin2010 wrote: | I am happy for you, having a positive experience -- and | partly because of that, slightly optimistic that Dell might | improve my and my peers' situation. | | And of course you are right: A single anecdote is just | that, but a few more may paint a rather well-rounded | picture. | | Cheers | eulers_secret wrote: | Thanks for the recommendation, I've been seriously considering | one of these for my XPS. | | As a side note I am deeply in love with my XPS 9310 (Tigerlake) | on Kubuntu (kernel 4.11). Battery life is INSANE, instant wake | and sleep, keeps cool, but still has thermal overhead/power | (thanks to the fans) to do large kernel compiles or other | serious hard work. Also the screen (I got the non-4K model) is | very pretty, sometimes I just look at it and go 'wow, that | looks good'. Excuse me if I gush too much. | paco3346 wrote: | The recent XPS lineup has been really great especially with | the mainline kernel. | | I have a 15" so the thermal issues were a bit of a challenge | at first. I ended up undervolting the CPU and now I get | decent battery life (~4 hours) and no thermal issues. | | As for the dock- it has absolutely been worth every penny. | minikites wrote: | Remember when we had different connectors for different purposes | and it was easy to tell what a given connector or cable did? I | do, and I think USB-C is a massive backwards step in usability. | ants_a wrote: | It didn't have to be. If only there was some foresight into | standardizing a marking system to indicate capabilities of | cables and ports. And possibly reduce the number of options | available based on educated guesses on use cases and cost | drivers. Right now there's no way to determine what voltages a | PD port can supply, what voltages a device requires to be able | to charge, what amperages each one is capable of handling, if | the cable is capable of data, what data rates are supported, if | a port can output video, which standards it can output in, and | on and on and on. Instead of coming with the labeling genius | that is USB 3.2 Gen 2x2 (pop quiz, is that | better/worse/compatible with USB 4 3x1?), a marking scheme for | capabilities would have been nice. | philluminati wrote: | I bought a usb-c dock earlier this week. "Selore 8 in 1" (PS44) | with a separate usb-c power charger and an extension cable (2 | meter male to female usb-c cable) it seems to work great. Out of | the box on Debian Stable. I installed autorandr and saved my | laptop's solo profile and the preferred arrangement when I use | the dock with my monitor and it's fantastic. | | I slap a single cable into my laptop when I plonk it on my desk | and I get my monitor, keyboard, mouse autoconnect and my laptop | starts charging too. This is the future I wanted for my home | office arrangement. One cable does everything. I wish it were my | office too | | The device does have some interesting small print like the | article says, so it was an interesting read. 1 monitor = 4k @ | 60hz, 2 monitors = 4k @ 30hz (It has 2xHDMI outputs) but you can | have two monitors at 4k and 60hz IF they mirror each other too. | Regardless, I'm happy with 1080p (always at 60hz) so it doesn't | seem to affect me. | | I would recommend them even if the article does suggest they | aren't quite as mature as they should be yet. ___________________________________________________________________ (page generated 2021-04-22 23:01 UTC)