I just want to use my monitor

[surfdock]

@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.

Telstar,

There is no inherent technical advantage of using an MST hub vs a DP1.2 compliant daisy-chain monitor with DP in and DP out ports. From an aesthetic viewpoint, using the daisy-chain monitor is superior because there are fewer cables and power supplies to manage.

Early gen MST hubs had hardware flaws issues preventing more than 1 monitor from working with certain computers like Surface Pro 3 (Club3d, EVGA, etc.) You have to make sure to get new stock of these devices to ensure full compatibility. Likewise, some early DisplayPort monitors had problems too. To help future proof, find out which devices have field-upgradeable firmware and a vendor that has a track record of providing updates in a timely fashion. This is good advice for any consumer electronics and not unique to monitors.

 

[Telstar1948]

Telstar,

There is no inherent technical advantage of using an MST hub vs a DP1.2 compliant daisy-chain monitor with DP in and DP out ports. From an aesthetic viewpoint, using the daisy-chain monitor is superior because there are fewer cables and power supplies to manage.

Early gen MST hubs had hardware flaws issues preventing more than 1 monitor from working with certain computers like Surface Pro 3 (Club3d, EVGA, etc.) You have to make sure to get new stock of these devices to ensure full compatibility. Likewise, some early DisplayPort monitors had problems too. To help future proof, find out which devices have field-upgradeable firmware and a vendor that has a track record of providing updates in a timely fashion. This is good advice for any consumer electronics and not unique to monitors.

Thanks, surfdock! Do you have an opinion on just running one monitor from the dock's mDP and one from the SP3's mDP? Other than the aesthetics, as you point out about daisy chaining, is there another advantage of buying a MST hub (of proper tech specs) or buying monitors that will daisy chain? I'm asking because I'm using my SP3 currently with one external monitor driven by the mDP on my dock and the other driven by the mDP on my SP3. Yes, cabling isn't ideal, but do you think that's the only advantage over my setup as it is now? Thanks for any thoughts.

 

[surfdock]

is there another advantage of buying a MST hub (of proper tech specs) or buying monitors that will daisy chain? I'm asking because I'm using my SP3 currently with one external monitor driven by the mDP on my dock and the other driven by the mDP on my SP3. Yes, cabling isn't ideal, but do you think that's the only advantage over my setup as it is now? Thanks for any thoughts.

Yeah the only advantage is the cabling and convenience of not having to plug in multiple cables. Ideally, the dock would have two mDP receptacles built-in, but unfortunately it only has one.

 

[colintemp]

My Dell U2414H monitor arrived about a week ago and it works just fine using mDP from the dock. The Dell is surprisingly well-equipped with USB ports and provides a USB connector cable as well, so it could even function as a docking station (though no charging).

The one downside is what so many have reported about getting a satisfactory display size on the external monitor compared with the SP3. It's unfortunately not the grab and go experience I had hoped for, because - without going into all the gory details - either the SP3 display is OK or the monitor is OK, but not both. So if I've been working using the monitor and then undock and go downstairs, I have to reset the resolution on the SP3. Then when I redock I have to reset the resolution on the external monitor.

What the SP3 needs is profiles: if docked, set resolutions like this; if undocked, set resolution on the SP3 like this. I can live with the scaling issues (just), but this resetting of resolutions is quite irritating. On top of this, I have no idea when I have to re-login to get some settings to "take". And quite often my desktop background changes to black and I have to reset that as well.

The SP3 is so close to being a great desktop/laptop/tablet replacement, but the whole display thing really needs some attention.

 

[surfdock]

Colin, great observations. I agree 100%. I think the problem lies in how dpi scaling is treated in 8.1 - you have to logoff and logon for dpi scaling adjustments to take complete effect, otherwise some apps that don't play nice with the dpi guidance on MSDN would fail pretty miserably.