Question Dual Monitor High Refresh Rate on Docking Station

[dzirkelb]

I purchased a Lenovo Legion 5, and I'm struggling with dual monitor support on a couple different docks.

The first dock i could only get power to one monitor at a time. My current dock only allows high refresh rate on one monitor at at time, with the other being throttled to 30 refresh rate, roughly, if i want max resolution. I can change resolution to one notch lower, and i can increase refresh rate, but that bloats everything on the screen.

So, what I'd like to know is what do I have to research to identify if a mount will give me dual monitors at a high refresh rate? I think it's a power consumption thing, but not sure.

 

[Lutfij]

You state using multiple docks, which ones have you worked with? Links to said docks would help us two fold. Which Lenovo Legion 5 do you? As in, you should pass on the SKU to your laptop. What BIOS version are you currently on for your laptop?

You've stated using two high refresh rate monitors, what is the make and model of said monitors? Just to clarify, the docks might state 60Hz at 4K but if you were to reduce said resolution, there's a chance you can bump up the refresh rate. I said chance since not all docks are designed/built equally.

 

[dzirkelb]

Sorry, i left it vague on purpose so no one would have to do the leg work for me. But, i realize that was probably a bad idea.

Lenovo Legion Pro 5 16IRX9
ViewSonic Elite XG350R-C
Dell UltrasSharp 49

The docks I've tried are as follows:
Sonnet Echo 20 Thunderbolt Superdock (I could only get one monitor to power on at a time with this)
Lenovo Docking Station 40B00135US (current dock)

My current dock i can get one monitor to max refresh rate, but it changes the resolution of the other monitor to an unusable resolution. The best i can get is 59.97hz on the 35" and 29.98on the 49" for the combo, but the 49" is sooo choppy at 29.98 refresh.

Another thing I don't like about my current dock is it technically does charge my laptop, but it really doesn't. It just prevents it from losing power.

With all that said, this laptop is brand new and if there isn't a dock i can get to achieve what i want, then i can return the Lenovo and go with a Dell XPS and hope they have a better docking system.

I'm coming from a Microsoft Surface setup, and those docks (the older ones) are so solid. I could run 2 monitors on them with no issues what so ever, and charge the laptop at the same time though it's power port. I was hoping the Lenovo dock would do the same, but it is Thunderbolt, and that just doesn't' seem to be passing enough power.

I have tried multiple different cables and multiple different connection types.

 

[SkyNetRising]

Sorry, i left it vague on purpose so no one would have to do the leg work for me. But, i realize that was probably a bad idea.
Lenovo Legion Pro 5 16IRX9
ViewSonic Elite XG350R-C
Dell UltrasSharp 49
I have tried multiple different cables and multiple different connection types.

Your laptop has two USB-C ports with DP 1.4 support.
Connect monitors to those ports with appropriate cables/adapters (USB-C to DP adapter).

 

[dzirkelb]

that defeats the purpose of a dock - i do not want to have to plug in two monitors, a keyboard, mouse, external usb drive x 2, etc every time i move the laptop.

 

[SkyNetRising]

that defeats the purpose of a dock - i do not want to have to plug in two monitors, a keyboard, mouse, external usb drive x 2, etc every time i move the laptop.

I suspect single USB-C connection from laptop to dock is just unable to provide enough bandwidth to support two high resolution monitors (5120 x 1440 + 3440 x 1440).
If those were 1080p monitors, connection would be sufficient.

At least one monitor will need to be connected directly to laptop (not via dock).

 

[dzirkelb]

That is the reason for this post - i need to know what to search for to find a dock that can do this. I don't see any reason why this can't be done, unless if Lenovo laptop just can only connect via usb-c, and usb-c just can't do it. If that is the case, then i will need to look for a completely different laptop, and will need to make sure it has a dock that can power two 4k monitors. Surface docks can do this no problem, but the surface laptops are not up to specs for what i need.