Which dock, KVM or displayport solution for max resolution?
Which dock, KVM or displayport solution for max resolution?
Hi.
I have been given souped up X230 as a tool to work with (mostly coding, emails etc nothing too fancy)
Until now, I have been working from home on a PC or docked Macbook with multiple screens a quite a lot of real estate.
I am about to upgrade, probably to a dual screen setup, but I want to establish a sensible docking solution for x230 to see what is the max supported by the machine internals (intel GPU) and ports (displayport and dock) in terms of resolution and number of screens.
When I am at a client's site, I usually dock to a dual 24" 1920x1080p solution.
My current thinking is to mimic that setup for consistency, unless I know for sure that the machine can run a single, or better yet a dual 4k screen at 60Hz somehow?
Since I have to buy new screens anyway, it seems a bit pointless to be buying what is now almost 'legacy' 1080p screens, as 4k screens can be had for not that much more. But then again, 4k is still a bit fiddly and this is supposed tobe a rock solid work setup...
I am also thinking I could be running those 4k screen with 'pixel doubling' or just upscaling when plugged in to to x230 an native when running with my own HW?
Otoh, I can also get some very good 1080p IPS screens and wait until the 4k things matures a little.
One final option that I am considering is a very-widescreen (21:9)single monitor with real estate and resoultion equivalent to almost two 1080p screens. The advantage of such approach could be using just a single DP (or DP to dual-link DVI) cable) to drive the screen. I am only considering that option as it avoids the costs of dock or kvm - at the moment I m not sure how much would I need to spend...
In any case, since I am also plugging in other computers (PC, mac) to that same screen/keyboard setup, rather than a dock, I am thinking of getting a KVM instead, which also needs to support all the resolution and ports available on the x230 - any recommendations here are very highly welcome.
One other consideration is that I am plugging in/unplugging only once a week, so a dock is not so direly needed as for some who need to plug multiple times a day.
Still my ideal solution would be: x230 connected to a dock, connected to a KVM, connected to a pair of 4k displays (both at 60hz), usb kb+m and (optional) wired ethernet.
TO sum up what I am asking for is:
1. Are there any docks for x230 that can drive 2 4k displays at 60Hz and if so is my x230 also capable of doing that?
2. What's the cheapest dock to drive 2 1080p displays via DVI or DP? (and where to buy in Europe - can I trust ebay) ?
3. Any recommendations for a cheap KVM.
Thank you very much in advance!
I have been given souped up X230 as a tool to work with (mostly coding, emails etc nothing too fancy)
Until now, I have been working from home on a PC or docked Macbook with multiple screens a quite a lot of real estate.
I am about to upgrade, probably to a dual screen setup, but I want to establish a sensible docking solution for x230 to see what is the max supported by the machine internals (intel GPU) and ports (displayport and dock) in terms of resolution and number of screens.
When I am at a client's site, I usually dock to a dual 24" 1920x1080p solution.
My current thinking is to mimic that setup for consistency, unless I know for sure that the machine can run a single, or better yet a dual 4k screen at 60Hz somehow?
Since I have to buy new screens anyway, it seems a bit pointless to be buying what is now almost 'legacy' 1080p screens, as 4k screens can be had for not that much more. But then again, 4k is still a bit fiddly and this is supposed tobe a rock solid work setup...
I am also thinking I could be running those 4k screen with 'pixel doubling' or just upscaling when plugged in to to x230 an native when running with my own HW?
Otoh, I can also get some very good 1080p IPS screens and wait until the 4k things matures a little.
One final option that I am considering is a very-widescreen (21:9)single monitor with real estate and resoultion equivalent to almost two 1080p screens. The advantage of such approach could be using just a single DP (or DP to dual-link DVI) cable) to drive the screen. I am only considering that option as it avoids the costs of dock or kvm - at the moment I m not sure how much would I need to spend...
In any case, since I am also plugging in other computers (PC, mac) to that same screen/keyboard setup, rather than a dock, I am thinking of getting a KVM instead, which also needs to support all the resolution and ports available on the x230 - any recommendations here are very highly welcome.
One other consideration is that I am plugging in/unplugging only once a week, so a dock is not so direly needed as for some who need to plug multiple times a day.
Still my ideal solution would be: x230 connected to a dock, connected to a KVM, connected to a pair of 4k displays (both at 60hz), usb kb+m and (optional) wired ethernet.
TO sum up what I am asking for is:
1. Are there any docks for x230 that can drive 2 4k displays at 60Hz and if so is my x230 also capable of doing that?
2. What's the cheapest dock to drive 2 1080p displays via DVI or DP? (and where to buy in Europe - can I trust ebay) ?
3. Any recommendations for a cheap KVM.
Thank you very much in advance!
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fb1996
- Freshman Member
- Posts: 79
- Joined: Sun Jan 11, 2015 8:24 am
- Location: Friedrichshafen, Germany
Re: Which dock, KVM or displayport solution for max resoluti
The HD Graphics 4000 used in the X230 supports 4K displays only at a refresh rate of 30Hz.xchaotic2 wrote:1. Are there any docks for x230 that can drive 2 4k displays at 60Hz and if so is my x230 also capable of doing that?
10 (1st Gen), T420s, T440 FrankenPad, X1 Tablet (1st Gen)
Re: Which dock, KVM or displayport solution for max resoluti
Wrong: The X230 only supports 2560x1600 (@60 Hz) as the maximum resolution.
IBM ThinkPad R50e | lenovo ThinkPad X301 | lenovo ThinkPad Z61t
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pianowizard
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Re: Which dock, KVM or displayport solution for max resoluti
Are you saying this because you have actually tested a higher resolution and failed, or simply because 2560x1600 is the limit stated in Lenovo's official documents? If it's the latter, you could be mistaken. Dell's documents also claim that my OptiPlex 9010's DisplayPort goes up to only 2560x1600 at 60 Hz, but it drives my 3840x2160 monitor at 30 Hz just fine. Both the X230 and this OptiPlex use HD Graphics 4000.Ibthink wrote:Wrong: The X230 only supports 2560x1600 (@60 Hz) as the maximum resolution.
Microsoft Surface 3 (Atom x7-Z8700 / 4GB / 128GB / LTE)
Dell OptiPlex 9010 SFF (Core i3-3220 / 8GB / 8TB); HP 8300 Elite minitower (Core i7-3770 / 16GB / 9.25TB)
Acer T272HUL; Crossover 404K; Dell 3008WFP, U2715H, U2711, P2416D; Monoprice 10734; QNIX QHD2410R; Seiki Pro SM40UNP
Dell OptiPlex 9010 SFF (Core i3-3220 / 8GB / 8TB); HP 8300 Elite minitower (Core i7-3770 / 16GB / 9.25TB)
Acer T272HUL; Crossover 404K; Dell 3008WFP, U2715H, U2711, P2416D; Monoprice 10734; QNIX QHD2410R; Seiki Pro SM40UNP
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fb1996
- Freshman Member
- Posts: 79
- Joined: Sun Jan 11, 2015 8:24 am
- Location: Friedrichshafen, Germany
Re: Which dock, KVM or displayport solution for max resoluti
Wrong:Ibthink wrote:Wrong: The X230 only supports 2560x1600 (@60 Hz) as the maximum resolution.
According to Lenovo, it only supports 2560x1600@60Hz, but 3840x2160@30Hz works:
http://www.thinkscopes.com/blog/2014/08 ... -pro2840m/
10 (1st Gen), T420s, T440 FrankenPad, X1 Tablet (1st Gen)
Re: Which dock, KVM or displayport solution for max resoluti
Thanks for the answers.
I think I have given up on 4k for now.
Still:
2. What's the cheapest dock to drive 2 1080p displays via DVI or DP? (and where to buy in Europe - can I trust ebay) ?
3. Any recommendations for a cheap KVM, or ideally KVM over IP?
I think I have given up on 4k for now.
Still:
2. What's the cheapest dock to drive 2 1080p displays via DVI or DP? (and where to buy in Europe - can I trust ebay) ?
3. Any recommendations for a cheap KVM, or ideally KVM over IP?
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