Thinkpad Mini Dock: How good is the DVI-output?

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ndee · #1 Post by **ndee** » Wed Apr 13, 2005 6:35 pm

I just ordered a Dell 2005FPW 20"@1680x1050 screen and I'm wondering if I should get the Thinkpad Mini Dock and go dual-screen in my room. Is the video card(ATI Fire GL T2) "good" enough to drive such a display?

Thanks for any input

#2 Post by **daeojkim** » Wed Apr 13, 2005 7:30 pm

The FireGL shold more than enough to run that display

awolfe63 · #3 Post by **awolfe63** » Thu Apr 14, 2005 1:07 pm

It is excellent - I can't go back to the VGA.

I ahve used it at 1280x1024 (Dell 1701), 1600x1200 (Dell 2001) and 1920x1200 (Dell 2405) - all are perfect.

#4 Post by **RonS** » Thu Apr 14, 2005 1:27 pm

The T42p's VGA output is horrible. I'm not one to bash Thinkpads, but I'm being honest here... it's the worst quality VGA I've ever seen, and I've seen a lot of them.

But the DVI output of the Dock or Mini Dock is excellent. It's a great way to run. Once you use the DVI, you'll never want to go back to VGA.

SKYravefever · #5 Post by **SKYravefever** » Thu Apr 14, 2005 2:33 pm

Pardon my poor reading comprehension skills, but according to the IBM site, the Dock II's "DVI pass-through port will support resolutions up to 1280x1024 based on attached system." Does that mean it will not be able to support 1600x1200 (on a sammy 213T), which I currently use through VGA?

Same question for the mini-dock. TIA.

awolfe63 · #6 Post by **awolfe63** » Thu Apr 14, 2005 4:16 pm

Yes - that's what it means. Unless you cheat.

The IBM drivers limit DVI resolution. There are 3rd party drivers that don't. See the FAQ.

n3il · #7 Post by **n3il** » Thu Apr 14, 2005 5:30 pm

T43 and T43p with discrete graphics now supports 1600x1200 through DVI with the preloaded IBM drivers. Funnily enough they also support screen rotation as well (e.g landscape to portrait).

HTH

#8 Post by **RonS** » Thu Apr 14, 2005 6:16 pm

The official IBM-release T42/p driver that supports 1600x1200 DVI can be downloaded here:

http://www.thinkpads.com/ftp_resource.htm

You want the "November 4, 2004 ATI video driver"

SKYravefever · #9 Post by **SKYravefever** » Thu Apr 14, 2005 6:35 pm

Bummer, just read the article from thinkwiki (http://www.thinkwiki.org/Problem_with_DVI_throughput), hotlinked via the FAQ. Despite the suggested solution, there is still the screen corruption issue.

EDIT: Thanks for the link, Ron. Do you or anyone know if "screen corruption" appears with that driver?

Sorry about all these previously discussed questions. I actually have yet to buy a mini-dock or port-replicator II, so I want to have all my bases covered before putting in $150-200.

jtheun · #10 Post by **jtheun** » Fri Apr 15, 2005 10:55 am

So, I have read about how bad the VGA port is... I have a T42p and quite frequently use it with an external monitor at 1600x1200. My video card is the ATI Mobility Fire GL T2 with 128MB video ram.

I guess I am curious about just bad this is? The screen looks pretty good to me (on a CRT monitor). Is it just that my standards are too low, and that the DVI output would make it look so much better? Are there any comparative pictures that would convince me to jump on the DVI bandwagon?

#11 Post by **RonS** » Fri Apr 15, 2005 11:53 am

Here's how bad it is: I had a project that required a laptop to drive a VGA flat-panel. The VGA display quality was so horrible that I had to return the Thinkpads (I actually tried two of them) to IBM and buy a Dell instead. Now, that's bad!

By the way, I always drive flat-panels at native resolution, 60Hz, so it wasn't a scaling problem. The problem appeared to be ghosting or noise on the analog signals.

#12 Post by **RonS** » Fri Apr 15, 2005 11:54 am

Do you or anyone know if "screen corruption" appears with that driver?

I haven't heard of any problems with this driver.

ndee · #13 Post by **ndee** » Fri Apr 15, 2005 1:25 pm

hm, could it drive that display at 1680x1050?

synapse · #14 Post by **synapse** » Mon Jul 04, 2005 5:36 pm

n3il wrote:T43 and T43p with discrete graphics now supports 1600x1200 through DVI with the preloaded IBM drivers. Funnily enough they also support screen rotation as well (e.g landscape to portrait).

HTH

I have a T42p 2379-DYU and I was wondering if anyone knew if there was a way to get screen rotation with my ATI FireGL T2. Is this possible with my machine? I would really appreciate some help here as this is really stumping me. Thanks!
-Dan

pphilipko · #15 Post by **pphilipko** » Mon Jul 04, 2005 9:20 pm

Hmmm..that's interesting. I use my X4 dock analog and it works fine without any ghosting or quirks.. I've used DVI with my desktop on the same display and I don't notice any difference! Maybe I need new glasses...

FYI, I have the Samsung 172x.

kaplanfx · #16 Post by **kaplanfx** » Tue Jul 05, 2005 2:04 am

jtheun wrote:So, I have read about how bad the VGA port is... I have a T42p and quite frequently use it with an external monitor at 1600x1200. My video card is the ATI Mobility Fire GL T2 with 128MB video ram.

I guess I am curious about just bad this is? The screen looks pretty good to me (on a CRT monitor). Is it just that my standards are too low, and that the DVI output would make it look so much better? Are there any comparative pictures that would convince me to jump on the DVI bandwagon?

DVI and a CRT are not compatible. The DVI is a true digital output, it sends the LCD monitor a stream of data where each pixel sent is represented as an actual pixel on the LCD. standard VGA output looks blurry typically on an LCD screen becuase an analog signal must be translated to actual pixels and things get a little fuzzy.

-kaplanfx

Thinkpad Mini Dock: How good is the DVI-output?

Thinkpad Mini Dock: How good is the DVI-output?

Is it really that bad?

Re: Is it really that bad?

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