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I just want to use my monitor

colintemp

New Member
I bought an SP3 about a week ago, at least in part because I wanted to use it to replace my desktop. I currently have a Samsung 1920 x 1080 monitor, which works fine over DVI with my desktop.

So I thought I could simply hook up the monitor to the SP3 (via the docking station), and use it at its native resolution with the fonts just as crisp as they are currently. I used an adapter to connect the
Samsung via HMDI and I seem to have run into the scaling problems that others have had. The best I can get on the Samsung is a screen that is too small for the desktop, i.e., if I expand a window to full size, the top part of the window is "above" the top of the monitor (and the left part of the window also extends beyond the monitor boundaries). It's as if Windows (8.1) thinks my monitor has a higher resolution than 1920 x 1080. Fair enough, there was some warning when I set resolution that the monitor resolution was too low. On top of this problem, the fonts were fuzzy.

I sort of understand that there are scaling issues that apparently can't be resolved, but I would be happy, after many hours of frustration, just to have the Samsung display the desktop properly - I don't really care too much what the SP3 screen looks like when docked. (Would be nice to have that perfect, but it looks like that's not possible, so this is the compromise I'll have to live with.) I've tried setting the display output to appear just on the Samsung, but that doesn't work. It seems like even though there's no display on the SP3, Win 8.1 or something insists on linking the external display/resolution/scaling to the SP3 display. I've tried setting the monitor to main display as well, and that hasn't worked either.

However, I keep reading articles about how lots of people and tech journalists (or so it seems) are happily running external monitors - sometimes more than one - with the SP3. How are they doing it? Surely they don't have missing parts of the screen and fuzzy fonts? Is there some simple (or complicated) thing that I should be doing that I've missed out on?

As I said, in the worst case, I can live with some crazy resolution or no display on the SP3. I just want normal output on my monitor.
 

surfdock

Active Member
Try this workaround:
http://blogs.msdn.com/b/danchar/arc...on-with-surface-pro-3-dpi-scaling-tweaks.aspx
If you have 21.5" screens, it is a slam dunk. For other screen sizes YMMV.


When you have the external monitor attached is the SP3 screen or external screen set as the "primary"? Whatever setting you have now, switch it:
- right-click on desktop - screen resolution
- click the display you want to be primary and click the checkbox "make this my main display"

Hopefully this will get a lot better in a future Windows 10 release.

You'll see me post links to this solution a lot. That's cause I really believe in seamless multi-mon and want to get it working for as many people as possible. Multi-mon is *awesome* with SP3!
 
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colintemp

New Member
Thanks for taking the time to reply. Your method was one of the first I tried. My monitor is I think 23 inch.

Unfortunately I still ended up with the same problem. I'll take another look in case I missed a step.

But again, are all these people using monitors downloading Intel drivers and setting up custom resolutions? I rather doubt it.
 

surfdock

Active Member
Thanks for taking the time to reply. Your method was one of the first I tried. My monitor is I think 23 inch.

Unfortunately I still ended up with the same problem. I'll take another look in case I missed a step.

But again, are all these people using monitors downloading Intel drivers and setting up custom resolutions? I rather doubt it.

Agreed I doubt most people are messing with drivers. I bet most people are not as observant as you and me or are either not dragging windows across from the Surface screen to the 1080p desktop screen or are simply ignoring the Surface screen. I think the Surface screen is awesome and would hate to waste it in a desktop scenario. I like it right next to the 1080p monitor.



I misread your original post btw. The issue with your Samsung monitor might be related to underscan/overscan and is probably not specific to the Surface Pro. The monitor SKU might actually be a television even though its sold as a monitor. You can correct this in the on-screen monitor menu I think. Somebody probably wrote down the steps in one of these posts if you can't find your manual:
https://duckduckgo.com/?q=samsung screen overscan underscan osd

Why did this monitor work perfectly when plugged into some other PC? Who knows. Aren't video standards wonderful?

You can also correct for this on the Intel driver side BTW, but only if you have the full intel.com driver with the control panel.
 
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colintemp

New Member
Surfdock, thanks for those links, which were very informative.

I suspect the problem is HDMI and underscan/overscan as you said. The monitor works fine with another PC and DVI, so I shouldn't have tempted fate by buying a mini-DP to HDMI adapter; I should have gone with a mini-DP to HDMI adapter.

I did in fact use the Intel drivers to stretch/shrink the image and that helps quite a bit; at least everything fits on the screen BUT the fonts are still a bit messed up. If I can find the time I'll fiddle around with registry settings, as one of your links suggested. My longer term solution is getting a Dell U2414H and just using Displayport; I ordered one today :)
 

bluegrass

Well-Known Member
I've only installed cheap Acer 23" monitors to my SP3 via the SP3 dock. Since 90% of computer monitors don't have HDMI yet but have DVI, I 've purchase a cheap minidp to dvi adapter to connect to the Acer monitors. I think they work beautiful. I would spend a few bucks and try connecting your monitor via DVI and see how that works.
 
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CV81

Member
I bought an SP3 about a week ago, at least in part because I wanted to use it to replace my desktop. I currently have a Samsung 1920 x 1080 monitor, which works fine over DVI with my desktop.

So I thought I could simply hook up the monitor to the SP3 (via the docking station), and use it at its native resolution with the fonts just as crisp as they are currently. I used an adapter to connect the
Samsung via HMDI and I seem to have run into the scaling problems that others have had. The best I can get on the Samsung is a screen that is too small for the desktop, i.e., if I expand a window to full size, the top part of the window is "above" the top of the monitor (and the left part of the window also extends beyond the monitor boundaries). It's as if Windows (8.1) thinks my monitor has a higher resolution than 1920 x 1080. Fair enough, there was some warning when I set resolution that the monitor resolution was too low. On top of this problem, the fonts were fuzzy.

I sort of understand that there are scaling issues that apparently can't be resolved, but I would be happy, after many hours of frustration, just to have the Samsung display the desktop properly - I don't really care too much what the SP3 screen looks like when docked. (Would be nice to have that perfect, but it looks like that's not possible, so this is the compromise I'll have to live with.) I've tried setting the display output to appear just on the Samsung, but that doesn't work. It seems like even though there's no display on the SP3, Win 8.1 or something insists on linking the external display/resolution/scaling to the SP3 display. I've tried setting the monitor to main display as well, and that hasn't worked either.

However, I keep reading articles about how lots of people and tech journalists (or so it seems) are happily running external monitors - sometimes more than one - with the SP3. How are they doing it? Surely they don't have missing parts of the screen and fuzzy fonts? Is there some simple (or complicated) thing that I should be doing that I've missed out on?

As I said, in the worst case, I can live with some crazy resolution or no display on the SP3. I just want normal output on my monitor.

Dude I'm in the same boat. If you figure out that it has to be DVI or something instead of mini display port to vga or HDMI, let me know. I don't want to be messing with the scaling settings on side to suit the other output.
 
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colintemp

New Member
I've ordered a mini-DP to DVI adapter, but it'll probably take a while to arrive. My really long-term plan is to run two Dell U2414H monitors daisychained. But in the interim, I'll use the Dell (when it arrives) and - assuming no problems with the mini-DP to DVI adapter (when that arrives) - my current monitor. And of course there will also be the SP3 screen.....

I'll post back here on my DVI findings, but I'm estimating at least a week before I get the adapter.
 
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colintemp

New Member
I'm not aware of any official list, but the monitors need to have a DisplayPort out socket so that they can pass on the signal to the next monitor. The last one in the chain doesn't need it and the DisplayPort must be at least level 1.2. The monitors don't have to have the same resolution.
Here's a link that might be useful:
http://www.displayport.org/cables/driving-multiple-displays-from-a-single-displayport-output/

I chose the Dell U2414H because that seemed to be the model that cropped up most frequently when people discussed daisychaining monitors and the SP3.
 

Telstar1948

Active Member
@colintemp, thanks for the reply - good info!

I have a MS dock with my SP3. I've been reading about DP 1.2 MST Hubs, which allow you to use non-DP monitors connected to the MST Hub, which is attached to your dock's mDP, instead of having to purchase DP 1.2 monitors to daisy chain from the dock. From what I'm reading, the hub sounds like it will give you the same performance running ordinary monitors as daisy chaining DP 1.2 monitors will from the dock's mDP. My question is, if you use a DP 1.2 MST Hub, how is this different than running one external monitor from the dock's mDP and another external monitor from the mDP on the SP3 itself? I realize you have a cable attached to the SP3 one way, and with the Hub you'd only have one mDP connection through the dock. Other than that, is there a difference? In other words, is there an advantage to buy a DP 1.2 MST Hub in place of simply running one monitor off the dock's mDP and another off the SP3's mDP? Any help would be appreciated.
 

Chris Grew

Member
Hi all,

Not read all of this thread, but have seen some of you are having problems with poor quality on an external monitor.

I have the same monitor in my office and my study at home. I bought two HDMI adapters and to start with had fuzzy fonts ie poor quality on the monitors.

Unlike any other laptop, I discovered that after setting up dual monitors using the SP3 and the external ones, I had to re boot the SP3. Once done, all is fine. Took a while to work it out of course!

Regards

Chris
 
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