Question Help needed with connecting an external monitor to my laptop ?

[ciotime]

Apologize for the newbie question.

I plan to get a 32" 4K OLED monitor to hook up to my laptop for productivity and watching 4K videos/movies. I'm a home theater enthusiast and we only use the HDMI connection. But in the PC world I see that one has the option to also use DisplayPort or the USB-C connection. In terms of getting the best possible resolution movie wise, which one is the most recommended connection type?

Thanks!

 

[LordVile]

I plan to get a 32" 4K OLED monitor to hook up to my laptop for productivity and watching 4K videos/movies. I'm a home theater enthusiast and we only use the HDMI connection. But in the PC world I see that one has the option to also use DisplayPort or the USB-C connection. In terms of getting the best possible resolution movie wise, which one is the most recommended connection type?

Depends on the monitor. If you can use USBC for the video signal whilst powering the laptop that’s a win win. You get a single cable solution and your laptop won’t die. However it also depends on what the monitors USB port supports and what cable you have. For example if the monitor or laptop only supports DP 1.3/4 rather than 2 you might run into colour depth and HDR issues.

 

[ciotime]

Depends on the monitor. If you can use USBC for the video signal whilst powering the laptop that’s a win win. You get a single cable solution and your laptop won’t die. However it also depends on what the monitors USB port supports and what cable you have. For example if the monitor or laptop only supports DP 1.3/4 rather than 2 you might run into colour depth and HDR issues.

Thanks for the advice. The monitor only supports DP 1.4. while HDMI is 2.1 and USB-C VIDEO-IN has 90W charging. So I guess the best option is either HDMI or via USB-C ?

 

[JeffreyP55]

https://mowsil.com/en/blog-details/difference-between-hdmi-and-usb4-video-cables

 

[LordVile]

Thanks for the advice. The monitor only supports DP 1.4. while HDMI is 2.1 and USB C VIDEO-IN has 90W charging. So I guess the best option is either HDMI or via USB C?

What standard video does the USBC port support though? Could you link the monitor and laptop store pages?

 

[JeffreyP55]

What standard video does the USBC port support though? Could you link the monitor and laptop store pages?

You will have to look into it. Since thunderbolt and USB4 are now compatible with each other. Looked into using a Dell monitor with a built in hub but changed my mind. Gaming with a laptop putting out tons of heat doesn't appeal to me. USB4 40Gbps is fairly fast.

 

[ciotime]

What standard video does the USBC port support though? Could you link the monitor and laptop store pages?

Monitor-MSI MPG 321URX

Laptop-Asus Zephyrus G14 GA401IU-HE137T

from the specs it says the MSI has Type-c (DP alt.) w/PD 90W while the ASUS is USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-C with support for DisplayPort / power delivery / G-SYNC (data speed up to 10Gbps).

 

[LordVile]

Monitor-MSI MPG 321URX

Laptop-Asus Zephyrus G14 GA401IU-HE137T

from the specs it says the MSI has Type-c (DP alt.) w/PD 90W while the ASUS is USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-C with support for DisplayPort / power delivery / G-SYNC (data speed up to 10Gbps).

Yeah the port on the monitor supports 4K up to 240Hz you’ll be fine there however the laptop at 3.2x2 I think only does DP 1.4 so you’ll potentially be limited on your refresh rate.

I’d get a USB 4 or ideally Thunderbolt cable and use that personally

 

[LordVile]

You will have to look into it. Since thunderbolt and USB4 are now compatible with each other. Looked into using a Dell monitor with a built in hub but changed my mind. Gaming with a laptop putting out tons of heat doesn't appeal to me. USB4 40Gbps is fairly fast.

They don’t have any USB4 or TB ports which is the issue. Also USB4 and TB are barely “compatible”. USB4 is a weakened version of TB3 with half the features being optional to the manufacturer of the device, we’re on TB5 now.

 

[ciotime]

Yeah the port on the monitor supports 4K up to 240Hz you’ll be fine there however the laptop at 3.2x2 I think only does DP 1.4 so you’ll potentially be limited on your refresh rate.

I’d get a USB 4 or ideally Thunderbolt cable and use that personally

Thanks! Yeah I think DP is only 1.4. Pardon the newbie question but doesn't the refresh rate only applies to playing games? As far as watching 4k movies does the refresh rate also matter? Basically I'll be using the laptop to play 4k movies and watch them on the MSI.

 

[LordVile]

Thanks! Yeah I think DP is only 1.4. Pardon the newbie question but doesn't the refresh rate only applies to playing games? As far as watching 4k movies does the refresh rate also matter? Basically I'll be using the laptop to play 4k movies and watch them on the MSI.

Watching movies and video not so much as they’re typically locked to 24, 30, 48 or 60Hz, general navigating the OS however a higher refresh rate is nicer as it’s smoother to your eyes. If you have a phone with a high refresh panel you can turn down the refresh rate and see what I’m talking about

 

[ciotime]

Watching movies and video not so much as they’re typically locked to 24, 30, 48 or 60Hz, general navigating the OS however a higher refresh rate is nicer as it’s smoother to your eyes. If you have a phone with a high refresh panel you can turn down the refresh rate and see what I’m talking about

I see. Anyways I'm not sure but I think the laptop's USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-C port isn't Thunderbolt. Does it matter if I use a TB cable? Also from what I've gathered so far TB or USB4 is better compared to using HDMI right?

 

[LordVile]

I see. Anyways I'm not sure but I think the laptop's USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-C port isn't Thunderbolt. Does it matter if I use a TB cable? Also from what I've gathered so far TB or USB4 is better compared to using HDMI right?

It doesn’t matter if it’s TB or not, it supports DP alt which is the imoortant thing. A TB port would support higher rates of data for display but you’re not using an 8K monitor

They are better as they can push more data but if you’re not bothered about hitting stupid refresh rates or resolutions. I’d advise getting a TB cable for displays due to future compatability and they’re held to a tighter spec than USB but you don’t need it.

They support both HDMI and display port, an high data rate and power through one cable plus daisy chaining which is better but HDMI is more ubiquitous.

 

[ciotime]

It doesn’t matter if it’s TB or not, it supports DP alt which is the imoortant thing. A TB port would support higher rates of data for display but you’re not using an 8K monitor

They are better as they can push more data but if you’re not bothered about hitting stupid refresh rates or resolutions. I’d advise getting a TB cable for displays due to future compatability and they’re held to a tighter spec than USB but you don’t need it.

They support both HDMI and display port, an high data rate and power through one cable plus daisy chaining which is better but HDMI is more ubiquitous.

Thanks again for all the helpful advice...appreciate it.