two screens-resolution issue

regedit

I have a HP EliteBook work laptop for which I have 2 monitors of my own while WFH:
ASUS VP249HR 24 Inch and an
iiyama G-Master GB2888UHSU-B1 28" TN LCD (Gold Phoenix)
The Asus has a VGA and a DMI port so, basic enough. The iiyama has 3 HDMI, one display port and a VGA.
My small dock for the HP accepts HDMI and display port.
My issue is that when I connect the Asus via HDMI to the dock and connect the Iiyama via displayport or HDMI, the resolution on my main screen (iiyama) drops significantly. The moment I disconnect the Asus, the resolution improves on the iiyama.
I used to have an old Lenovo and both monitors were connected to its own docking station the same way but I never experienced the issue with the resolution drop.
Am I doing something wrong?

Coyler

Which chipset is on your Laptop? Might not support two monitors.

ED E

(Also a HP Elitebook user)

This could be as simple as Windows trying to match scaling on both panels. Have you tried to manually set the res on both panels when theyre connected?

Also, use "External Only" and not extend (Laptop screen OFF)

Coyler

Sorry, yeah, I mean might support only two monitors, with your laptop screen being counted as a monitor.

s8n

are you running Windows XP as might not support the setup ?

empacher

Three monitors is alot of work for a graphics card

Coyler

For gaming, sure, but for WFH it's not that taxing. Just one of those fiddly things. My Intel 630 is driving three displays right now with one even running video.

Found this spec sheets covering 3 monitor support for Intel. Might answer some questions.

regedit

ED E wrote: »

(Also a HP Elitebook user)

This could be as simple as Windows trying to match scaling on both panels. Have you tried to manually set the res on both panels when theyre connected?

Also, use "External Only" and not extend (Laptop screen OFF)

Just checked and I have an HP EliteBook x360 1030 G4
When I have both monitors connected, Asus has a resolution of 1920x1080 which is the max it can output so OK with that and Iiyama, only manages 2048x1152.
If Asus is unhooked, Iiyama immediately goes to 250x1440 which I am happy with. It can clearly output way more but the VGA is likely the rate limiting factor.
I cannot change anything to up the resolution of Iiyama more.
The options I have are to:
Duplicate these displays
Extend these displays
Show on 1
Show on 2
The chipset (if I know how to check correctly) is 9D84 for intel 300 series chipset.
The graphics UHD Graphics 620. Surprised to see tha this chipset can do 4K. It also supports 3 displays.
My laptop is recognizing the current monitor as PLG288UH which seems right

ED E

Are you using the dock?

"HP USB-C Mini Dock" That looks to be limited to 4K total, much much weaker than the onboard 620 iGPU.

Coyler

I was just going to argue that a dock might be the missing part I'm using one for my two external displays.

Edit: Got a cheap Thunderbolt hub with HDMI and VGA out that I keep in my bag. Happy to loan it out if you want to test it and order one for yourself?

regedit

ED E wrote: »

Are you using the dock?

"HP USB-C Mini Dock" That looks to be limited to 4K total, much much weaker than the onboard 620 iGPU.

It is that Mini dock @ED E. yesterday, I connected the Asus (HDMI) directly to the laptop and kept the DisplayPort connected to the laptop with no change

Coyler wrote: »

I was just going to argue that a dock might be the missing part I'm using one for my two external displays.

Edit: Got a cheap Thunderbolt hub with HDMI and VGA out that I keep in my bag. Happy to loan it out if you want to test it and order one for yourself?

I suspected so @Coyler and tried connecting one monitor directly to the laptop and the iiyama to the dock.
The only thing I didn't try is the 'good' monitor (the iiyama) via HDMI to laptop and the Asus to the mini dock!
Can someone please advice of an affordable hub/dock that wont struggle with my 2 monitors? Happy to pay 60-80 euro max.

regedit

s8n wrote: »

are you running Windows XP as might not support the setup ?

Windows 10

Coyler

Just checked that cheap hub I have. Won't extend the display over the two outputs and just merely mirrors them. Only really bought to connect my laptop to TVs when travelling and never noticed or bothered to check. My proper dock costs a fortune and I only have that as it was supplied from work. You pay for power and dual display hubs.

Something like this should work though.

regedit

Coyler wrote: »

Just checked that cheap hub I have. Won't extend the display over the two outputs and just merely mirrors them. Only really bought to connect my laptop to TVs when travelling and never noticed or bothered to check. My proper dock costs a fortune and I only have that as it was supplied from work. You pay for power and dual display hubs.

Something like this should work though.

Thanks a lot for the help. Was also looking at this

ED E

This is what you want. Its about €200 but totally worth it. Theres no conversion/intermediate hubs (USB controllers etc) and thus directly leverages the laptops grunt.

I use it with 2x 1440p and while it runs it chugs a tiny bit at times. Personally I probably wouldnt opt for 4K without an eGPU. And 4K at 28" is a bit silly, 1440p at that size is plenty that you really gain no benefit from all the extra work being done.

Coyler

regedit wrote: »

Thanks a lot for the help. Was also looking at this

I case it's not obvious, that's the cheap one I have and it doesn't do dual displays. Hate to see you pick up the wrong thing. Update: No, not exactly the same as mine but has the similar output of just mirroring each other. Read the questiions and answers section. The Anker one I posted is confirmed as properly outputing two seperate outputs.

And, ED_E, I'm totally sold on the Thunderbolt docks now. They are the future. Our office switched to them last year and I do like the more universal aspect to them. Means we can source laptops from several sources and have a decent BYOD policy as well. If you're going to invest in a dock it makes sense for it to be a Thunderbolt one as you can use if across multiple devices. That all said, the old docks with the locking system did have something slightly "power-tool" feel about them. Locking them in place had a satisfying feel.

regedit

ED E wrote: »

This is what you want. Its about €200 but totally worth it. Theres no conversion/intermediate hubs (USB controllers etc) and thus directly leverages the laptops grunt.

I use it with 2x 1440p and while it runs it chugs a tiny bit at times. Personally I probably wouldnt opt for 4K without an eGPU. And 4K at 28" is a bit silly, 1440p at that size is plenty that you really gain no benefit from all the extra work being done.

Agreed totally on teh latter part of your post. The only reason I got the 4K monitor is because I use my son's room to WFH and he has his Switch connected to the monitor and soem of his games can apparently do 4K...

regedit

Coyler wrote: »

I case it's not obvious, that's the cheap one I have and it doesn't do dual displays. Hate to see you pick up the wrong thing. Update: No, not exactly the same as mine but has the similar output of just mirroring each other. Read the questiions and answers section. The Anker one I posted is confirmed as properly outputing two seperate outputs.

Ordered the Anker. Thanks Coyler

Coyler

Typical. Was just looking at the reviews for the Anker device out of interest and they mentioned a slightly higher cost but better value one. Found it here. You can plug your power supply into it directly which is handy for quick docking. Two USB ports for mouse and keyboard or whatever. Cancel or return the one I suggested and get this one. Way better value. Genuinely tempted to grab one myself as it would replace several bits and pieces in my laptop bag.